The Only Shortcut To Success...

Dear friend and subscriber,

There is only one shortcut to success:

And that is to steal it.

Now, before you do anything crazy, hear me out…

• We all want to be great.

• We want to be successful.

• We want to have complete freedom.

But getting there is though…

We don’t know the best route, we struggle a lot, we fail often, and we make a million mistakes along the way.

And this can be discouraging…

But success requires sacrifice.

And the fact that it is difficult, means that you’re going in the right direction.

So keep going.

But it doesn’t have to be this way forever...

Humans Are Wired For Survival.

We’re designed to conserve energy.

We naturally seek ways to achieve maximum results with minimal effort.

This is in our nature.

Which brings me to the idea of stealing.

Even though we know it’s morally wrong, deep down, it still sparks some excitement in us.

Think of bank heists, hackers, and scammers.

This is why shows like Lupin and La Casa De Papel(Money Heist) are so popular.

As I mentioned, we are wired to look for maximum results with minimum effort.

Stealing is the ultimate example of this.

A thief puts in a little work--one time…

…but he gets the results of someone else’s of hard work, pain, and suffering.

That’s the underlying principle of stealing.

Now, I know it sounds appealing...

…but don’t rush off to rob a bank just yet.

Because we can use this principle of “stealing” legally—to reach success.

Finding The META.

In Video Games, there is this thing called a META.

M.E.T.A. stands for Most Effective Tactics Available.

• In some games, it means that a certain weapon is the most effective.

• In others, it means that a certain character is the most effective.

• And yet, in other games, it’s the best weapons, characters, and strategies combined.

If you want to win in said game, you’d better research the META and use it. Because it will give you an advantage over your opponents.

It will give you a real “edge” that allows you to play most effectively.

And if you don’t use it…

…it will be used against you.

But the same is true in life.

• There is a META in business.

• There is a META in fitness.

• There is a META in health.

You name it.

In every area of life, certain strategies work better than others.

And if you want an advantage in life, you should study the META of whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish, and apply it.

For example, Content Creators often “borrow” high-performing content ideas from each other.

This is why you tend to see a lot of similar content online.

Just look on YouTube.

• People use similar thumbnails because they work.

• People use the same editing styles because they work.

• People create videos around similar topics because they work.

Why spend time learning something from scratch when there’s already a tested, proven method?

In the Video Game example:

You could spend hours experimenting with different strategies…

…or you could simply watch a YouTube tutorial from someone who has already done the hard work.

This brings me back to stealing.

Sometimes, people will tell you the META.

(Like with video games--You can find it on YouTube.)

But in life, you often have to figure it out yourself.

So How Do You Find The META?

You steal it from successful people.

You take their years of failure, struggle, and experience—and use it to your advantage.

This is why books are so powerful:

Someone may spend decades mastering a subject and then distill all that knowledge into a book you can read in a week.

So, instead of trying to figure it out yourself…

…why not read a book?

In the world of art, there is a famous quote:

The same is true in life.

From the moment we are born, we are copying others.

It’s how we survive.

We have to “fit in,” and thus, we copy different aspects of different people.

• First we copy our parents.

• Then we copy our friends.

• Later, we copy society.

But do they have the results you are looking for?

Do they live the life you want to live?

The answer is most likely “no”.

So if you want to be a successful athlete or entrepreneur…

...copying and behaving like your lazy friends isn’t going to get you results.

And even though their intentions are pure…

…their advice isn’t something you should rely on.

Instead, you have to find the META of your goal.

And here’s how:

1. Get Clear On What You Want.

How are you going to get somewhere if you don’t know where it is?

You won’t…

Most people have no idea what they want and thus they mindlessly follow society’s goals.

Go to school.
Get a job.
Retire at 70.

If that’s what you want, great! You have nothing to worry about.

But if you want different results, you have to take different actions.

Because if you keep doing what everyone else does…

…you’ll get the same results everyone else has.

So get clear on what you want.

Whatever it is, figure it out.

2. Find The Winners.

Find the top 1% of people who have achieved what you want to achieve.

NOTE: You have to find people who are actually doing it themselves, not people who just talk about it.

For example,

In college, you can study business…

…from a teacher—who has never run a business...

The teacher might give you some good principles, but he/she doesn’t truly understand how business works in real life. (It’s way different than just reading about it.)

Another example is course sellers.

Are they actually running the business model themselves? Or are they just selling courses?

A lot of gurus nowadays just talk about different business models…

But what are they actually doing?

They are growing an audience on social media.

So, find people who are currently doing what you want to do, or have a proven track record of doing it in the past.

(Side note: If you want to learn how to grow an audience on social media from someone who is currently doing it, click here and steal from me.)

3. Study Them Like A Stalker.

Study them inside out.

• What do they do?

• How do they think?

• Why do they take certain actions?

Try to get into their mind as much as possible…

If they have a course, buy it.
If they have books, read them.
If they have a podcast, listen to it.

Self-education is critical for making progress in any domain of life.

4. Synthesize.

Remember Picasso’s quote?

We don’t just want to copy—we want to steal. 

And the difference between copying and stealing is simple.

Copying is exactly as it sounds...

You copy someone else’s moves/ideas/product/style/etc - word for word. You don’t make it your own. You just do the exact same as someone else.

Now as the quote says: “Good artist copy.”

Copying someone is an improvement from trying to figure it out yourself.

Copying is good. But it is not great…

Stealing is great.

Stealing is studying what works--from multiple sources—and then making it your own.

When you do this, you can experiment and see what works for you.

Not only that, but when you study multiple sources, you’ll notice patterns. Those are often the most effective ideas to steal.

Create Your Own Lane.

Again, you don’t want to copy, you want to steal.

Everyone is unique, and what worked for one person might not work for the next.

Take what works for you and apply it to your own life.

As you test ideas you will see what works and what doesn’t work. You will find the things you like and the things you don’t like. You will start to gain a deeper understanding of the game you’re playing and you will create your own path.

Your own “sauce.”

Your own way of doing things—backed by proven principles.

That’s where success lies.

And if you follow those clues…

…you can steal them and make them your own.

That’s it for today.

This letter was a little longer than usual, but that’s because this principle is of extreme importance.

Anyway…

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this letter!

Your #1 fan,

-Elevate Start.

P.S. In case you missed it, here’s the link to “steal” social media secrets from someone who is currently doing it.