The Man at the Music Festival

[Read in your browser here.]() Hey friends, There's a [viral video of a man]() dancing at a music festival. At first, he looks foolish because he's dancing alone. Then a second guy joins him, and they both look foolish. Then, there's a third, a fourth, and a fifth. Once the group turns into a crowd, people sprint over to join until 100s of people are eventually dancing in unison. The lesson is simple: Pioneers are mocked in the moment but lauded in retrospect. This isn't just true for flash mobs. It's true for building companies too. Big business opportunities often begin as unpopular, low-status ventures. Startup studios were a strange concept when Paul Graham founded Y-Combinator in 2005, but he’s now one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley. And startup studios have unlocked billions of dollars in value. In 2010, someone bought a pizza with 10,000 Bitcoin, and people were laughing at crypto. But the people who held their BTC have 1,000x’d their money. The world rewards people who take risks, and to take a risk is to bet on what’s unpopular in the eyes of the crowd. Whenever you find a wide disconnect between perception and reality, it’s time to bet big. What’s my big bet? We’re still in the early days of online writing. Writing on the Internet is still considered a weird and cringey thing to do, and even after I tell people that more than 1,500 people have taken my course, they ask: “So... how do you make money?” Ummmm… course sales. [The course]( makes money. That’s my thing. People haven’t caught on to the fact that writing online unlocks extraordinary wealth. Bill Gurley was writing about marketplaces in the 90s, which led him to invest in Uber (one of the best startup investments of all time). Y-Combinator grew out of Paul Graham’s [How to Start a Startup essay](. Other examples include Mark Sisson with Primal Kitchen, Emily Weiss with Glossier, and [Alex Hormozi](=) with Acquisition.com. People always laugh at the first person to do something. But if that thing is interesting, someone else will join in. Then, another person, and another. Finally, a whole crowd will join, and the person who started the trend will go from looking like a goon to a genius. The world doesn’t necessarily reward hard work. It rewards people who make bold bets on a bold thesis that turns out to be correct. Be the first person to start dancing. Get it right and the crowd will eventually join. ​ Learn from One of Twitter's Fastest Growing Writers ​ Something about my [How I Write interview with The Cultural Tutor]() really resonated, so I asked him to host a live workshop with me this week where he'll share how he went from working at McDonald's to [1.5 million Twitter followers]( in roughly 15 months. The interview was high-level. This workshop will be tactical. Here's what's on the docket: - Writing engaging hooks to make your writing stand out - How to know when one of your ideas is worth publishing - Building a Personal Monopoly around your writing - Growing your audience in the early days We're calling the workshop "Grow Your Audience with the Cultural Tutor," and it's happening on Wednesday, September 6th, at 2 pm ET. [Sign Me Up!](=) — — P.S. I just published an essay called [Writing with ChatGPT](). For months, I'd been reluctant to write with GPT, but now I use it every day. This piece covers how I use it to find new ideas, critique existing ones, and breathe fire into my writing. Have a creative week, [David Perell Logo 2x] Thanks for reading! If you’re serious about learning to write, [sign up for my 50 days of writing series.]() I’ll send you a series of emails about every aspect of the craft, from finding new ideas, to editing your writing, to building an email list. If you'd like to update your email settings, choose one of the options below. 1. [Click here](=) to unsubscribe from Monday Musings only. 2. [Unsubscribe]( to be removed from all future mailings. That'll make me sad. But hey... I get it. You're busy. Just know that once you click this link you won't receive any more emails from me. If you want to opt-out of Monday Musings and don't see a link above to do so, just hit reply and let me know. I'll take care of it for you personally. 3. If you're interested in subscribing to my other emails, [click here](). In particular, I recommend my weekly [Friday Finds]() email. In it, I share my favorite books, articles, videos, and podcasts every week. 10900 Research Blvd Ste 160C PMB 3016, Austin, Texas 78759