SPI 730: First to Act

SPI 730: First to Act

Announcer: You’re listening to the Smart Passive Income Podcast, a proud member of the Entrepreneur Podcast Network, a show that’s all about working hard now, so you can sit back and reap the benefits later. And now your host, the only two types of fishing he’s never done is ice fishing and spear fishing. Pat Flynn.

Pat Flynn: Hey, happy Friday. Welcome to Smart Passive Income Podcast. Today I want to talk about emerging markets and being first to act. And the reason why I wanted to share some of this is because a lot of times we think that all the ideas in the world have been exhausted. Like there’s nothing else new that we could possibly do.

And I think when you really think about it with how quickly things are changing, not just with the world, but even in your own industry, if you were to examine deep enough, you’re likely going to find that there’s always something that is new that you could share about and I’m not just talking about okay, here’s this new feature on this thing and then you can kind of create a news article about it or create a YouTube video about it, but I’m talking about new things like actual new advances that you could take ownership in.

And this is really important, this keyword being ownership. Like you can be first to act and no, of course not just because you’re first means you get to own something in many cases. Just because you’re first to act doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have the best version of something, but it gives you that opportunity, right? Being first to act.

In my history, the first business that I created was essentially kind of a first to act type of business. This was for an architecture exam called the LEED exam. And I was the first person to start posting my notes online. And I wasn’t the only one to start doing this. But I emerged as somebody who really was kind of taking ownership of that space.

There were other people who have talked about it before. There were people who have posted notes and, you know, exam tips and things like that on forums. But I was the first one to say, Hey, this is me and I’m going to help you do this. And this is what I want to be known for right now. Not always. I never was ever worried about being pigeonholed as that guy forever.

In fact, I always knew that there was sort of steps here and that whatever you get into is sort of a stepping stone into the next thing, into the next thing, into the next thing. But I took ownership of it. I basically told the world on my website at greenexamecademy.com, which still exists today, 14 years later, which is kind of wild, that I am Pat Flynn.

I took this exam. It was difficult, and I want to help you through that as well. And then what happened was people saw that I was taking ownership in that, and even though I probably wasn’t literally the first person, I was the first person to really claim that spot, if you will, and then demonstrate it, right?

It’s one thing to just claim, Hey, I’m going to be this guy, but to actually demonstrate that, Okay, yeah, okay, you could back up what you’re saying. And that’s really important to have that. expertise or that experience that you can share that shows others that yes, you indeed are not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

What’s really interesting is quick story. My son and I have started playing this TCG, or trading card game, called Disney Lorcana. Huh, it’s not Pokemon, yeah. I collect Pokemon, I do play Pokemon, but I wanted to play something brand new with my son. We’re playing Disney Lorcana, which is kind of Disney’s version of Pokemon, or Yu Gi Oh, or Magic the Gathering.

It’s kind of more comparative to Magic the Gathering. I actually used to play Magic the Gathering way back in the day when the revised set had come out and this was in the 90s and I was a young kid. And so it was kind of cool to go, Oh, I can introduce my son to a TCG one that not just we’re collecting.

I mean, I am collecting a lot of Disney Lorcana cards rather play and not just play online or play even at home, but go to actual local game stores. And so far, at the time of this recording, he and I have competed in three different events, and they’re just small local ones with 20 to 25 people, and we’ve each done really well.

I mean, we got 5th and 6th together, another one, I got 5th and he got 12th, and another one, I mean, we’re just having a great time, and it’s, it’s so fun because… You know, as he’s becoming a young man, he’s 13 now, he is experiencing the world, he’s meeting new people and understanding what it’s like to interact with people in different settings and to have him come in person, to meet new people, to compete, to be friendly, to have friendly competition, it’s, it’s like really good training, I think, for him just in the future, but more than that, we’re just having a blast.

Now, of course, similar to when I got into Pokemon, I started to get curious about, okay, well what could I do to get better at this skill or to learn more about it? And I go to YouTube and this being a brand new card game, I mean, it just came out in August of 2023.

In fact, it’s very high in demand right now. So much so that you can’t even see it at Target anymore because as soon it’s as it’s on the shelves, people come by and they, they, they snatch it up and they’re going for ridiculous prices on eBay right now. I hope that by the time this episode comes out, reprints will have been made, which I know devalues the cards, but I want more people to play so that this thing can be long lasting. It’s actually really fun. I would definitely recommend checking it out. But of course, as I was saying, getting curious, I go to YouTube, and guess what? There are Disney Lorcana channels. Lorcana. Cannell. I meant to say Lorcana channels, but I said Cannell.

Like Sean Cannell. There are Disney Lorcana specific channels. One is called First to Fifty or excuse me, First to Twenty, which is The whole point of the game is you get 20 lore to win the game. There’s other ones that are just absolutely amazing. And what’s really cool is a lot of these people who are stepping up, creating content for Disney Lorcana are seeing some good results.

They’re seeing really good views on their videos. They’re seeing a lot of community being built. It is a new opportunity that they decided to hit record on and take ownership of and claim their stake. There’s one guy who I think it is first to 20. He is somebody who’s known for a particular type of deck that he’s always running and he’s showing his results and he’s going over the strategy.

There’s all these kinds of things that are happening and there’s hundreds of these videos now and dozens of these creators who are stepping up and actually building a name for themselves. And I think that’s really cool. I mean, to do that at the start of something like this is really amazing. Now, at the same time, it’s quite risky because it’s like, okay, we’re putting this time and effort into something and it could go nowhere.

It could you know, Disney Lorcana could be a fail. There’s, there’s more failed TCGs or trading card games than there are successful ones. Of course, this has the Disney IP behind it. There’s a lot of fun things about the Disney card game, the actual characters, a lot of their abilities relate to their personalities in the movies that they’re in and the animations that they’re in.

It’s really cool. To see new creators come about, doing something they enjoy, sharing what they’re learning along the way, not being perfect. I mean, a lot of these creators in the space now of Lorcana, lore creators, I don’t know, it’s called Poketubers in the Pokemon space, what would we call Lorcana creators?

Lore creators? Lorcana creators? I don’t know. Yeah, there’s a better pun in there somewhere, but I’m not gonna try to take time to figure it out on the go here. But it’s just really neat to see people step up to stake their claim in the space, and to do it in a way Like, some of them are doing it really, really well, where it’s like they’re actually working in collaboration with some of the other ones.

They’re highlighting some of the videos that other people in the same space have made and are commenting on it and saying, This is what I like about this. This is what I don’t like about this. Like, this is very healthy to see. And so, I share this not just because it’s a new interest that I have and I’m enjoying the time that I have with my son to play this game and it’s cool.

Scratching my competitive itch and if you know me even a little bit, you know that I’m quite competitive and so it is, it is really fun, but I’m also seeing the landscape from an entrepreneur’s perspective and to see creators step up to hit record to show themselves, not just opening cards, but actually going through strategy and not being perfect.

I mean, there are commenters who are saying, Hey, you know, I don’t, I don’t agree with this, or I think that you did a misplay here and then they’re coming back and saying, Hey. You’re totally right. You know, they’re not trying to pretend to be experts. They’re just sharing what they’re learning as they go.

And that is a fantastic strategy that has been my entire strategy this whole time from the beginning. I’m not claiming to be an expert about the leed exam, but I took the exam and I’m going to share with you what I learned as I went. I don’t claim to be the expert in entrepreneurship, but hey, I’m going to build websites and build niche sites and create software companies and build a physical product and start a new YouTube channel and all these things.

And guess what? You’re going to come with me along the ride and, you know, start a podcast, YouTube channel. And I just teach the things that I’ve been learning. And I think that the last point here is that you don’t need to be the leading expert on something. You just need to be the leading person who’s going to say, this is what I want to be known for and here are the things that I’m doing to get better at it and here are the things that I’m learning.

The connection to your audience in that way is much better than if you came at it from a here are all my credentials, follow me, right? Versus hey, here’s what I did and it didn’t go well, but here’s what you can avoid learning from somebody who’s just a couple steps ahead of you is actually more valuable. Truly. So no, you don’t need the credentials. You could you just need to share some of the stuff that you’re learning along the way. So I challenge you what was the latest thing that you did in the space that you’re in that could be used as an amazing example for others.

Whether you are leading by example, because you accomplished something and you did something great. Great. Uncover that. Share the story of that. What happened before? How did you figure this out? What happened after? That transformation story is huge. Or maybe it didn’t go so well. What did you try? Why did you try it?

What was your thought process? And then share what you wish you would have done differently in your recommendations for others. This is exactly what I’m seeing in the Lorcana space, and I love it, and I just think it’s a great example of another opportunity that’s coming by that a lot of people are taking, and again, they’re not forcing it, they’re just hitting record on the things they’re doing anyway, which is awesome, and again, if you don’t feel like there’s opportunities out there, they’re out there, and I think it was Branson who said, you know, business opportunities are like buses, as soon as one leaves, another one comes.

There will always be more opportunities. I mean, I’m thinking of Matt Wolfe. And his YouTube channel that has exploded because he decided to become the AI guy and talk about all the news and different changes in the AI software that we’re all following from ChatGPT to MidJourney and everything in between.

And he’s built this YouTube channel of hundreds of thousands of subscribers. And a website with millions of visitors in the span of a year. New opportunities are there. It’s just a matter of, are you going to get in your own way or not? Cheers. Thanks so much. And I look forward to serving in the next episode.

Thank you so much for listening to the Smart Passive Income podcast at SmartPassiveIncome.com. I’m your host, Pat Flynn. Sound editing by Duncan Brown. Our senior producer is David Grabowski, and our executive producer is Matt Gartland. The Smart Passive Income Podcast is a production of SPI Media, and a proud member of the Entrepreneur Podcast Network. Catch you next week!