Contrarians,
2025 will be a year defined by how you choose your hard.
Believe it or not, you still have 92% of the year to choose challenges that push you forward — rather than let them choose you.
Take Blake Scholl. A decade ago, the man was trapped in the ninth circle of internet coupon hell.
This week, his company Boom became the first private biz in history to build a supersonic jet and watch it break the sound barrier. Dude has a Top 5 all-time LinkedIn profile:
Not saying you need to quit your job and start building aircraft like a maniac (Lord knows we wouldn’t…)
But if you’re going to spend a 3rd of your life working, might as well work to build something that doesn’t make you want to eject.
So today, we’ll show you how, starting with...
Biggest lie they told you: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
The truth is more like this: “Follow your passion” is feel-good nonsense that keeps people broke.
Here’s why…
99% of the time, money doesn’t flow from passion.
The guy in the video below didn’t make his money at the club being DJ D-Sol. He made it on Wall Street being David Michael Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Some of the best biz’s are often the ones you aren’t taught to be passionate about.
No kid is out there saying, “When I grow up, I want to work in self-storage” — but guess what they start to dream of doing once they grow into adults? Yup.
But here’s the thing — you’ll spend at least 1/3 of your life working. Might as well pick something that doesn’t make you want to slam your head into your desk every Monday morning.
To put that into perspective, we just learned about this data from our friend Sahil Bloom's outstanding new book, The 5 Types of Wealth:
But no, the real game for most of us isn’t necessarily about "finding what you love." It’s about getting so good at something the world needs that you start making real money doing it — and learn to love it.
This begs the question... How do you choose the right thing? What SHOULD you build?
Some people swing too far too fast. They hear “HVAC is a goldmine” and think, "Cool, I’ll buy one."
Fast-forward 6 months, and they’re knee-deep in dryer lint or fielding 2 AM calls about a broken A/C in July. That’s how you fast-track yourself to burnout (and your bank account to zero).
So instead, we use this: The Zone of Genius. It’s the sweet spot where:
…all collide to inform the right business for you. Because there’s no such thing as the perfect business — just the perfect business for you.
If there were a “10 Commandments” of business buying, this would be #1. Here’s how you use it.
Step 1: Grab a pen and paper. (Yes, pretend it’s 1998.) Write down the following:
Do this right, and you’ll stop chasing random business ideas and start building something that actually fits you.
You don’t need a rich uncle, a Harvard MBA, or Oprah’s phone number to build a wildly successful business.
What you do need? A clear understanding of where your unfair advantage lies. That’s what Step 2 is all about — finding your genius at the intersection of the 3 zones.
Some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs didn’t start with a revolutionary idea. They started with a weird mix of skills, connections, and interests — and made it work.
Here are 7 people who played the game pretty darn well:
= Starbucks (acquired after starting another coffee shop)
= co-founding Netflix
= Spanx (shapewear startup)
“Cool idea,” you say. “Too bad I don’t have Oprah on speed dial.”
Then let us introduce you to some other folks we know…
= cabanapools.com
(Our fund, Contrarian Thinking Capital is a proud investor.)
= Innovative Imprints (acquired screen printing & merch company)
(Alex has been in the Contrarian Community for a couple of hard-earned years.)
= On a deal search in construction or real estate investing verticals
(Angela joined our community this month)
= Contrarian Thinking (investment, education & media startup)
This framework works for deciding...
Everything — and we mean everything — in business buying starts with you knowing you. Without clarity, even the best strategies fall apart.
And once you’ve got this foundation figured out… now the real fun begins. Because knowing what kind of business suits you is one thing.
Actually finding and buying that business? That’s a whole different game. Lucky for you, we’ve got a framework for that too…
It’s called a “Deal Box.” If your Zone of Genius is the foundation, then your Deal Box is the framing — the sturdy bones that actually hold your search together.
It keeps you from chasing shiny objects and helps you focus on businesses that actually fit your skills, goals, and, you know… life.
A Deal Box is where the rubber meets the road — the critical details that separate smart buyers from gamblers. A deal box is the nitty gritty:
Plus all the other details that make spreadsheet nerds like us a lil giddy
Ownership means you refuse to be a passive participant. That mindset is half the battle. The other half is the tactical — learning WHAT you need to do and HOW to put it all into practice…
That’s why we’re hosting a live, interactive, immersive event with Codie and the team to give you:
✅ Direct access to experts (real operators, not theorists)
✅ Proven playbooks for buying businesses (step-by-step, no fluff)
✅ The hands-on toolkit & guidance to actually learn how to build ownership
Our goal: Walk you through dozens of frameworks to collapse a year of solo business-buying into just a few days of action.
Sounds hard, but that’s why we’re doing it.
Most people waste time. The smartest ones collapse time. Yes, it’s intense. Yes, it’s challenging. But buying a business is hard. This is where you’ll learn how to do it right.
Tickets are still available — but the price goes up tomorrow:
👉 Grab your spot here before it's too late
The information contained here is educational, may not be typical, and does not guarantee returns. Background, education, effort, and application will affect your experience and the profitability of any business. Individual results may vary.
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