Peer Role Model #001

Meet this week’s peer role model — a doer who is neck-deep in chasing something. They’re probably obsessed and they shape their own processes and frameworks.

Mai Nguyen

Mai is a force of inspiration, play, and unapologetic drive. She shapes her workflows in accordance with her values. And in that way, she never burns out. Whether it’s content creation, selling a product on Amazon, or dealing cards at a casino, Mai loves what she does because she’s having such a great time. She’s got a constant creative drive that shifts and evolves. Keep up with her latest projects on YouTube or Instagram.

What is the part of your process that yields 80% of the results?

I LOVE seeing other people win and never hesitate to reach out to people who inspire me. This is how I met the amazing Mike. "Your network is your net worth" is absolutely right and connecting with people in this way has led me to many opportunities. I got my first professional video editing internship at Forbes simply from genuinely congratulating a friend of a friend that I barely knew on their journey. The key word is "genuinely" though. I never hesitate to show my enthusiasm for other people and try to give a lot more than I ask for.

Favorite piece of content that changed you or influenced how you operate?

A video essay called "The Backwards Law - Why Happiness Is Ruining Your Life" created by Pursuit of Wonder. It's not for everyone but it changed my perspective on life. It's a very Alan Watts-y/Buddhist/Stoic perspective on letting go. Almost every problem I've encountered, I've found can be resolved by the things this essay addresses.

What’s one piece of advice you often hear in your field that you disagree with?

"Try to get 1% better each time." While I understand the sentiment and importance of consistency plus the compound effect, it is completely and utterly uninspiring to me to get 1% better. I think I'm generally a quick learner simply because with each iteration I do, I'm a little obsessive over making it a LOT better. The percentage is irrelevant; I edit until there's at least a specific thing I'm pretty proud of. Then I obsessively watch my videos over and over and over again. I actually enjoy watching my own stuff because I remember each time I've painstakingly tried to make something much better. 1% is bullshit. Sorry not sorry, James Clear.

Why do you think you have not “made it” yet?

I've already "made it" because I currently get to live my "perfect day", a goal I wrote down years ago. It's simply having my bills paid and having the autonomy to work on projects I want to work on five days a week. Anything else is a bonus.

As far as "making it" in terms of financial wealth or influence, I haven't made it yet because my goals are lofty and I want to build wide before I build tall to have as solid of a foundation as I can. Although, if we're being honest, I am probably also way more distracted than I need to be or else I'd probably "make it" sooner.

Brag, Ask, Give

Brag: What’s your biggest, baddest, real brag? Lay it on thick. Flex on 'em.

When I first started learning entrepreneurship, I attended the 10X Growth Conference. I was by myself amongst 30k people with no clue WTH I was doing. The conference sucked badly but I resonated with a speaker named Jesse Itzler, who looked like a hobo but is a super successful serial entrepreneur. Over time, he became my "virtual mentor". I watched all his interviews. Flash forward, I became a video freelancer and one day I replied to his IG story saying I'll edit videos for him for free. He actually replied to me to link up with his assistant and I ended up working on his speaker reel. For the intro of the speaker reel, I used footage of that exact conference I had attended three years prior before I knew anything about him and anything about entrepreneurship. It was a full circle moment I was really proud of because I went from a clueless "wantreprenuer" in a sea of thousands of people to creating my own freelance business and doing work for one of the headlining speakers.

Ask: What or who are you on the hunt for right now?

Knowledge, skills and genuine connections with cool peeps.

Give: What can you offer to potential collaborators/mentees/clients?

My awesome jokes.

I am enthusiastic, passionate, ambitious blah blah blah. But I think those people are a dime a dozen (just being real here). I think people forget to be a kid, make stupid jokes, and enjoy the ride too. I'm genuinely more happy than I've ever been because of this and I hope that energy rubs off on people.

If you want to connect with Mai, reach out on Instagram.

Also, if you know any peer role models, please send them my way!