[Reflection] #21: What Can the 0.1% Teach Us?
Finally, the time has come! Smart, rich, successful influencers, graduates of elite schools, after a top career, with plenty of dollars in their bank accounts… are starting to spend their free time on social media to give back. I follow the following Instagrammers:
- Sara Jane Ho, a Harvard Business School graduate, trilingual, etiquette expert, she had her own Netflix show (Mind Your Manners), launched a brand of feminine products inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, and hosts a podcast. I love her way of passing on ancient knowledge. It’s thanks to her show that I got interested in the I Ching.
- Dianna Lee, a former student of the highly selective Raffles Girls’ School, ex-banker, fashion designer, polyglot (she speaks 4 languages), and now an influencer on Red Note (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Instagram. What I like about her is her ability to analyze the news or facts and draw practical, concrete lessons from them.
- There is a rich kid who seems very honest to me. Since she earns nothing from social media, she can say what she thinks and not worry about others’ opinions. I really like her stories about how her parents raised her, what her mother and father advise her.
The problem with influencers who rely solely on partnerships is that they constantly censor themselves, for fear of losing a sponsor or offending their audience. They are forced to follow trends and end up all saying the same thing, respecting political correctness. So if you must follow someone, prefer those who have other sources of income, who aren’t afraid to lose followers. Those who repeat ten times “it’s just my opinion” for fear of being cancelled are often the least interesting.
The influencers who are already successful successful elsewhere are in a “giving back” mindset because they understand the power of giving, and they will share truly exclusive information known in their elitist circles, which will serve as keys for us to open other doors.
When you want to succeed, whether financially, creatively, or personally, you must observe those who have already succeeded (like the women above). I’ve already said this here. Dianna Lee wanted to grow on Instagram. She studied the content of a successful influencer, analyzed the pacing, the angle, the details… Result? In just two months, she gained 200,000 followers. She, who was originally a nerd, understood that she had to polish her appearance, down to her fingertips, to capture attention. Few influencers will dare to admit it: they prefer to repeat “stay yourself.” But those who succeed know that image matters.
And above all, if you want to become rich and prosperous, you must absolutely not despise / envy those who already are. Jealousy is an opportunity killer. It blocks abundance, because you emit an energy of rejection, an energy of lack!!!! Even those born with a silver spoon can teach us something. For example, Privileged Few explains why she had to spend five years in the rat race American system while her father is a billionaire in Ukraine. She also says that rich kids stick together, not out of snobbery, but because they are constantly judged by “normal” people. Where others could have leveraged their connections and asked relevant questions, they prefer to criticize and close doors for themselves.
All these women have one thing in common: they have high self-esteem, and they choose their partner as an “upgrade,” not as a burden. Dianna Lee cites a study showing that a man appearing next to an attractive woman instantly becomes more desirable than when he is alone (cf. Mate-choice copying). In other words, just by her presence, the woman already brings something to him. So she deserves to receive in return as well. Too many women today, even brilliant ones, end up with men who cost them mental and emotional energy, their youth, their life.
And the good news is that more and more women are succeeding and have understood this. The more demanding they become, the more men adapt and evolve to measure up. Like in nature: males must show their worth to attract females. But instead, we are pushed toward mediocre men (like Big or Aidan in Sex and the City), we get served movies like The Materialists, a flop where the woman settles for crumbs. Lucy didn’t have to end up with the billionaire, OK, but she didn’t need to go back to her ex John either, who hasn’t evolved one bit in ten years !!!! In 5 years, even my cat Rosalie has become gentler, more patient; so why not John?
Choosing a partner is crucial, and for women it can cost them their lives. Indeed, when JB had emergency surgery in Vietnam, I noticed that the non-sick spouse had to sign all the documents and has the right to make critical decisions, sometimes directly related to life or death. In such a situation, having a(n) incompetent spouse by your side can become a real danger. In And Just Like That, having an incompetent spouse like Carrie contributes to Big’s death because she just held him in her arms and cried instead of calling 911 and performing CPR.
Looking back, getting married young (right after studies) saved us a ton of time. We probably saved 10,000 hours of crappy dating, disappointments, and wasted evenings searching for “the right person.” That time, we invested in our expertise, we coded at home, we became experts in our fields quickly… and it allowed us to become digital nomads for over 8 years.
So if a young person reads me: try to find that person as early as university. Potential shows quickly. JB had nothing back then, but he was already launching projects, he had ambition, discipline, and already spoiled me.
In short, follow these women, you’ll learn a lot!! If you don’t understand English, it’s time to use your CPF for English classes, otherwise you’ll cut yourself off from a large part of exclusive information.
