The Systems Guy • Follow me for systems on health, wealth, and free time ⚡ Cornell MBA • 2M+ audience

Hi, I'm Ben Meer.

Tired of non-actionable life advice, I started writing online in February 2022.

Here are the results:

→ Built social audience from 0 to 2M+ (across IG, LinkedIn, and X) 
→ Grew 0 to 690K+ followers on LinkedIn in 21 months
→ Scaled newsletter—System Sunday—from 0 to 270K+ subscribers

There are 2 primary ways I can help you:

1) System Sunday Newsletter

Most people don't know how to build life systems to accelerate personal growth. So I created a weekly newsletter that teaches these systems (it's free). Subscribe to unlock new levels of wealth, health, and freedom.

→ Try it: benmeer.com/ss

2) Archimedes [Coaching]

Access the most exclusive members' club for LinkedIn thought leaders. Get the proven systems, resources, and community to 10x your personal brand. 

→ Check it out: joinarchimedes.com

——

Sponsorships: partnerships@benmeer.com

Ben Meer

How to live life like it’s your second time around.

5 rules to experience more joy and less regret:

1. Remember the Spotlight Effect.

We think people are paying far more attention to us than they are. 

Harsh truth: 

Your freedom begins the day you realize nobody is thinking about you.

—

2. Consider the things you won’t care about in 5 years. 

• Other people’s opinions
• Petty disagreements
• Sensationalized news 

Allow yourself to stop caring now.

—

3. Shift your mindset from ‘I don’t know how’ to ‘I don’t know how yet.’

In the words of Adam Grant:

• Impostor syndrome: ‘I don't know what I'm doing. It's only a matter of time until everyone finds out.’

• Growth mindset: ‘I don't know what I'm doing yet. It's only a matter of time until I figure it out.’

The highest form of self-confidence is believing in your ability to learn.

—

4. Make 'No' your default. 

Whether it's a new work project or social gatherings, saying 'Yes' to non-priorities ruins your priorities. 

As Derek Sivers says, if it's not a 'Hell yeah,' it's a no.

Then pour that time into what actually excites you.


—

5. Normalize being weird.

“Weirdness is what sets us apart, gets us hired. Be your unapologetically weird self. In fact, being weird may even find you the ultimate happiness.” —Chris Sacca

—

We only get one do-over in this beautiful life. 

Make sure to live it intentionally. 🙌

♻️ Repost to help others live life to the fullest.
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more.

This quote hit home for me.

12 small life edits that have outsized returns:

Morning Routines

1. Make your bed first thing. You build momentum and set the tone for the day. 

2. Step outside. A healthy tide of cortisol is released when you step outside at daybreak, allowing you to become more alert. You'll reset your circadian rhythm.

3. Send a good morning text. Gm texts >>>. Make someone's day.

—

Evening Routines

4. Write down your 3:3:3 plan for tomorrow: 3 hours on your most important project, 3 shorter tasks, 3 maintenance activities (h/t Oliver Burkeman).

5. End your workday with a shutdown ritual (h/t Cal Newport). Close your laptop, plug in the charger, and spend 2 minutes tidying your desk. Then say "shutdown". Separating your work and life is key.

6. Journal 1 beautiful life moment. Delicious tacos, presentation you crushed, a moment of inner peace. Write it down. Gratitude programs a mindset of abundance.

—

Meals

7. Prioritize unprocessed, whole foods: eggs, blueberries, dark leafy greens, and walnuts. You'll feel on (finally).

8. Hydrate before you caffeinate. Drink a full glass of water right away. 60% of your body is water. Replenish it.

9. Follow Japan's 80% Rule: Only eat until you are 80% full. Overeating makes the body divert blood & energy to digestion (causing drowsiness). Nobody has time for a food coma.

—

Home

10. Establish a home for every item. My advice: List your most misplaced items (keys, wallet, etc.) and standardize a home for these things today.

11. Choose practical materialism. Buy things that make you healthier, wealthier, or provide you free time. Products that make a material difference in the quality of your life.

12. Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule. If you purchase one item, then donate, toss, or sell another. Manage both inbound and outbound possessions to enjoy equilibrium.

—

One last thing:

It's not just your environment worth editing. Your inner dialogue shapes your life, too.

Audit your thoughts to make sure they align with who you want to become.

Your future self will thank you. 

♻️ Repost to share these tips with others. 
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more.

How to subtly upgrade your life in 2026.

Dial in these 5 everyday inputs:

1. Social Inputs

You become the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Choose wisely:

• Find intellectual sparring partners (where you help one another).
• Resist false kindness: Create an inner circle that will give you honest feedback.
• Avoid energy vampires: Spend more time with people who give you energy and less time with those who steal it.

—

2. Information Inputs

Elevate your sources. 

If you want to level up your information diet, here are some immediate upgrades:

TED Talks, documentaries, insightful podcasts, books that challenge and inspire, and unbiased news sources.

See the comments below for a curated list of my favorite resources.

—

3. Mental Inputs

Small shifts in language create big mindset shifts.

Among my favorites:

• Failure → Learning
• Stuck → Exploring new angles
• Nervous → Energized
• Hate → I prefer
• Have to → Get to

—

4. Health Inputs

Your brain influences every thought, feeling, and action you take.
So prioritize your brain health:

• Take long walks.
• Sleep 7+ hrs nightly.
• Have a strong rest ethic to avoid burnout.
• Rebalance your dopamine with less screen time.

—

5. Environmental Inputs

Pare down to essential items.

Then, manage both inbound & outbound possessions.

Inbound:
• Choose quality > quantity
• Purchase less; love every single item more

Outbound:
• Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule: If you buy one item, then donate, sell, or toss another

—

Your future results are a lagging measure of your current inputs.

Choose wisely. Everything else is downstream.

♻️ Repost to spread this message to your network.
➕ Follow me Ben Meer for more systems like this.

Social intelligence quietly determines who gets promoted.

Here are 20 sentences to master it:

These may be called soft skills, but there is nothing soft about their impact. 

♻️ Repost if you found this useful. 
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more like this.

The ultimate career superpower?

Learning faster than everyone else.

These 4 science-backed frameworks make it possible:

1. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
↳ Identify the 20% of material driving 80% of learning.

2. Spaced Repetition 
↳ Revisit concepts at growing intervals. Memory compounds with time.

3. Feynman Technique
↳ Break an idea down into its simplest parts to deeply understand it.

4. Memory Palace
↳ Attach facts to memorable mental images. Visuals are hard to forget.

 —

Accelerate your learning with AI:

Here’s 3 prompts to use:

1. “Explain [topic] to me as if I’m 12.”

2. “Quiz me on [topic] with 5 questions, then give hints only if I’m stuck.” 

3. “Generate a spaced-repetition schedule for mastering [skill] in 30 days.”

Paste these into your favorite AI to take action. 

—

The best investment you’ll ever make is in your own mind.

Information is abundant. It’s the willingness to learn that’s rare.

💾 Save this to find it later.
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more frameworks like these.

6 simple secrets to become quietly confident:

1. Allocate time every day for learning

Confidence starts with competence.

• Block out 30 minutes for reading
• Listen to an audiobook or podcast during your commute to work
• Treat everyone like they were sent to teach you something

—

2. Hone in your body language

Nonverbal communication is underrated. 

People will like or dislike your communication based on:

7% words, 38% face and tone, and 55% body language. 

Stand up straight. Keep your shoulders back. Make eye contact. Smile. Give a firm handshake.

—

3. Be more interested than interesting 

Make people feel important using the SHR Method:

Seen
• Give eye contact
• Offer a specific compliment

Heard
• Ask good questions
• Be interested, not interesting

Remembered
• Follow up
• Remember name(s)
• Recall something you discussed

—

4. Build your own momentum

• Write down your wins (compliments, successful presentation, solo trip, etc.)
• Consistently review these wins

You’ll build an undeniable stack of evidence showing how far you’ve come and how seriously capable you are.

—

5. Pause before speaking

When speaking, we allow ourselves only 30% of the time a listener would give us to fill a pause.

You have more time to reply than you think.

Wait for 2s first.

Pause in Speaking + Eye Contact = Confidence

(h/t Charlie Newport)

—

6. Embrace your flaws (Pratful Effect)

Think of your favorite character from the movies or TV.

They always had at least one major weakness (you wouldn’t like them as much otherwise).

Owning your flaws is humanizing; you’ll be magnetic.

You don’t need to hide parts of yourself to be accepted by others. 🙌

—

It doesn’t matter whether you’re introverted, extroverted, or ambiverted.

Confidence isn’t the loudest voice in the room.

It’s the calm belief that you'll figure things out.

♻️ Repost this if you learned something new.
🔖 And save it so you can master all 6 strategies.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." —Peter Drucker

20 simple phrases to build a healthy team culture:

If you want to install a growth mindset:

1. "What did we learn?"
2. "How might we…?"
3. "I need your help…"
4. "What are your thoughts on…?"
5. "Thanks for taking that risk."

If you want to build trust:

6. "I made a mistake."
7. "You've got my full support."
8. "I appreciate when you…"
9. Help me understand…"
10. "I trust your judgement."

If you want to cut out toxic language (avoid these):

11. "That's not my job."
12. "We've always done it this way."
13. "Who's to blame?"
14. "That'll never work."
15. "Just do what I say."

If you want to prevent eroding your culture (avoid these):

16. "They should have…"
17. "You're wrong because…"
18. "That's a stupid idea."
19. "Why didn't you…"
20. "I told you so."

The words you speak become the culture you work in.

The best ones don't just happen overnight.

They're built one word, phrase, and conversation at a time.

♻️ Repost to champion healthy workplace communication.
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more like this.

Justin Welsh

The $10M Solopreneur | Helping 100,000+ experts turn their expertise into income.

Over the last decade, I helped build two companies past a $1B valuation and raise over $300M in venture capital. Then, in 2019, I burned out.So, I decided to walk away from my high-paying executive job.But, before I could, I had a hypothesis.I believed building an audience online would be an incredible asset. That attention was the new currency and would play a major part in my success as an entrepreneur.So, I started building my brand on LinkedIn in early 2019. And the results were pretty phenomenal.In just 6 months, I grew from zero followers to over 20,000.And on August 1st of 2019, I walked away from my executive role at a fast-growing startup.Since that day, I've spent my time building a number of one-person Internet businesses.My results:→ $12.5M+ in business revenue at a ~86% profit margin.→ 800K+ people following my journey on LinkedIn→ 560K+ people following my journey on Twitter→ 180K+ people read my weekly newsletter→ 1B+ impressions in the last 7 yearsIf you want to learn more about how I did this, you can take my self-guided masterclass.THE CREATOR MBA DIGITAL COURSEThe Creator MBA teaches you frameworks for turning your knowledge and expertise into a quality product that people will buy. Come learn to build a lean, focused, and profitable Internet business.→ Start watching here: learn.justinwelsh.me/creator-mbaEmail: support@justinwelsh.meX: @thejustinwelsh

Founder

Join 75k+ subscribers to the Saturday Solopreneur. Every Saturday morning, you'll get 1 actionable tip on audience and revenue growth for your online business.

A stupid simple way to stand out in business (and life):

Be extremely easy to work with.

Be an optimist.
Be a pleasant person.
Respond quickly to requests.
Always do what you said you'd do.

That's the basics.
That's really the whole strategy.

An alarming number of people are bad at all of these things.

They're pessimistic.
They're miserable to be around.
They take weeks or months to respond.
They drop the ball on every major project.

Then, when that eventually catches up to them (it always does), they tell the whole world that everyone else is the problem.

I've worked with a lot of incredible people over 23 years.

The ones I stay in touch with had a few things in common:

They were excellent at their job.
They made my life (and MY job) easier.

Want to build a better life and business?

Clear that bar.

It's a competitive advantage that costs you nothing but a little time and extra energy.

If this kind of thinking resonates, I write a weekly newsletter you might enjoy.

Counterintuitive ideas on earning money, reclaiming your time, and building a life you choose.

Join 200,000+ ambitious readers here: https://lnkd.in/gkf8cwy8

Your brain is sick and tired of content.

It wants you to be creative.

Over the past 6.5 years, I've written:

- 3,559 LinkedIn posts
- 4,107 Tweets
- 789 Instagram posts
- 456 Threads
- 278 Substack notes
- 266 newsletter issues

And here's what I've learned:

1. The more you create, the happier you are:

On the days I'm sharing my creations, my mood is incredibly elevated. There's nothing better than learning something and sharing it with other people.

2. The more you consume, the more pessimistic you become:

Whenever I go down a rabbit hole on LinkedIn or X, I get bummed out. Culture wars, fighting, lack of empathy for our fellow humans. It's gross.

3. The longer you write, the better at your craft you become:

If you write every single day for a long time, you will eventually become a relatively decent writer. And there's no better way to communicate your thoughts.

4. The more you outsource creative work to AI, the dumber you become:

The more AI does your creative work, the more you forget how to be creative and original. You sound like everyone else. You blend in. You're not interesting.

TL;DR:

1. Create daily
2. Consume less
3. Write until you're good
4. Don't outsource creative

I teach 200,000+ creative entrepreneurs how to:

- Get attention
- Keep attention
- Monetize attention

I'll show you how when you join my weekly newsletter: https://buff.ly/iKAl3na

(→ You'll also get my free 2026 LinkedIn writing guide instantly.)

Losers play zero-sum games.

Winners root for everyone around them.

If you don't believe me, look at the vast majority of successful people on this platform.

They aren't jerks.
They don't play games.
They don't hate on each other.

They simply try their best to lift up everyone around them.

Is it a perfect data point? 
Do haters sometimes win?

Of course.

But I'm not interested in the outliers.
I'm interested in what happens 90% of the time.

Lead from the front, be optimistic and supportive and lift someone up when you see them accomplish something worth celebrating.

Be a karma entrepreneur.

Because even if you're successful as a hater, it's far more lonely when you get there, and nobody's there to congratulate you.

If this resonated with you, consider joining 180,000+ entrepreneurs who read my newsletter each week.

It's all about rethinking money, time, and what it means to live well.

You'll also get my bonus 2026 LinkedIn Growth Guide for free instantly.

Come join us here: https://buff.ly/NOgUROV

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justinwelsh

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Unhappy people ignore the basics.

They make life insanely complicated.

They sleep poorly.
They neglect their relationships.
They destroy their health while building.

The happiest people I know do four (boring) things really well:

1. Marry someone who compliments them.
2. Spend time working on their health.
3. Build a business they own.
4. Protect their time.

That's it.

Sure, there are lots of other things that are nice to get right, but if you nail these?

You're miles ahead of the average person.

The basics aren't sexy.
But they're the whole game.

If you're overcomplicating your life, maybe it's time to revisit the building blocks.

I write about this every Saturday for 180,000+ entrepreneurs. One short essay that helps you rethink money, time, and living well.

Join us here: https://buff.ly/j3X8mQw

Maybe nobody in your family is an entrepreneur.

Nobody in mine is.

They didn't work for themselves.
Nobody built something from scratch.

My parents didn't bet their income on an idea they had in the shower.

From when I was a kid, the path was always laid out:

Get a degree, get a job, stay for 40 years, and retire.

That was the plan. 
And everyone I know from back home followed it.

So when you say "I want to build something on my own," sometimes you don't have anyone in your corner who understands.

They're not being mean or disinterested.

They just don't have a frame of reference for what you're describing.

I've found that to be a big advantage, actually.

The people who grew up around entrepreneurs usually inherited someone else's playbook.

They work through a set of assumptions about what a business should look like. 

How much funding to raise. 
How hard it's supposed to feel.
How many employees you need. 

Maybe you don't carry any of that baggage.

You get to start with a blank page. 

You don't have to live up to anyone else's expectations about how big your business should be, or how fast it should grow, or what success is supposed to look like.

The first person in any family to do something different has one thing nobody else has: 

The freedom to define their life and business from absolute scratch.

You just have to be willing to figure it out without a map.

I write about this path every Saturday for 180K+ entrepreneurs.

How to build a lean, simple, profitable business as a solo operator (especially when nobody around you has done it before).

If you want one email a week that feels like the mentor you're looking for,  join 180,000+ weekly readers here: https://buff.ly/t4J7aFD

As a free bonus, you'll also get my 2026 guide to LinkedIn growth (how I built 830,000+ followers) when you sign up.

See you inside.

Image credit: tiffani kilgore

Pessimists are right.

Optimists are winners.

It sounds cheesy and cliché, but the fact is, you attract people like yourself.

So, if you're one of these people that complains about everything, and life is terrible and unfair, and everyone and everything is against you...

You're going to lose.
Misery is contagious.

Those people are downright awful.

You can get 1000x farther simply by being an upbeat, enthusiastic, wildly inspiring cheerleader.

Be excited.
Have confidence.
Support everyone around you.
Make connections that are helpful.

Whatever you lack in skills and knowledge can be at least partly made up for in your sheer attitude.

I just wrapped up with some of the coolest, most upbeat, most excited people down at Kajabi HQ in Newport Beach, and we put together a new, completely free course for folks who want to build their own business.

But you can't be some down-on-your luck sad sack if you're going to make it happen.

If you've got good energy, good vibes, and believe in yourself, come check it out. 

It's called The Expert OS.

Over 30 days, I'll walk you through what to sell, how to build it, and how to get paid.

You'll also get:

- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells
- My AI prompts for when doubt is a little louder

It's free.

Have a business in 30 days with the right attitude.

Start here if you're ready → https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

Living well comes down to 5 things.

Here's my personal take on it:

1. Help people: 
A life of service gives you purpose.

2. Get healthy: 
Nothing matters unless you're in good health.

3. Love your family: 
A close-knit circle warms life incredibly.

4. Build cool $h*t: 
The best vehicle that lets you achieve this.

5. Travel the world: 
Learn how others live so you can relate.

(and of course, for each person, there are other additions)

Things not on this list:

1. Working weekends.
2. Climbing the corporate ladder.
3. Chasing the most money possible.
4. Working to impress people you don't even like.

The crazy part is that most people spend 90% of their time on the second list.

Then they wonder why they feel empty when they "win" that game.

Here's what I've learned building my business:

The more I subtract, the more I can focus on the first list.

Fewer projects to manage.
Fewer obligations on my calendar.
Fewer things that pull me away from what matters.

You don't need more. 
You need less of the wrong stuff.

Protect the five. 
Ignore the rest.

👋 If that resonates, join 180,000+ weekly readers learning to make more money, reclaim their time, and live a life most people won't: https://buff.ly/t4J7aFD

Come join our tribe of people living differently.

The richest people I know aren't multi-millionaires.

They're people with empty calendars.

They hardly have any meetings. 
They don't have Slack on their computer. 
Sunday night is just like Thursday night...

No dread.

They designed their businesses primarily for peace of mind.

Everyone else is on autopilot, doing the exact opposite.

More clients.
More projects.
More revenue.
More complexity.

And every time they add more, they get less of what actually matters in life.

I know because I did this for a long time. I took a startup from $0 to $70M and nearly destroyed myself in the process.

Not sleeping. 
Coping with alcohol. 
Paramedics at my house after a panic attack.

Nobody told me to live like that. I just kept saying yes to the next logical thing until I looked up and didn't recognize my own life.

So when I built my own business, I designed it around one question: What do I want my average weekday to look like?

Here's how I approached it (and how you can too):

1. Set your "enough" number. 

Not your dream number. 
The one where money stops being a daily worry. 
Build to that and don't go beyond it.

2. Work backwards from your ideal day. 

What time do you stop working? 
How many meetings do you have? 
When do you exercise, eat, read, hang with fam? 
If the model doesn't fit the life, change the model.

3. Subtract before you add. 

Every new project costs you your time. 
Before adding, ask "what does this take away from?" 
If it takes away something important, don't add it.

4. Automate earning money. 

Your sales page, your emails, your delivery. 
Everything should be automated. 
If you have to be "on" 24/7, it's not a business.

5. Protect empty time like it's revenue.

The white space on your calendar is yours.
It's where your best decisions happen. 
Fill it, and everything gets worse.

Save this post and revisit it often. 

It's the difference between building something that makes you money and building something that makes you absolutely miserable.

I write about this stuff every week in my newsletter for 180K+ entrepreneurs. 

What's working, what I stopped doing, and what I'm still figuring out.

As a free bonus, you'll instantly get my 2026 LinkedIn Growth Guide when you sign up. 

It's the playbook I used to go from 2,000 to 830,000 followers.

Get it all here: https://buff.ly/t4J7aFD

Who cares about revenue?
Who cares about followers?
Who cares about press coverage?

None of that stuff will ultimately make you happy.

Here's what an awesome life looks like:

You wake up without an alarm.
You spend some time working out.
Your calendar has nothing you hate.
Your work fills you with incredible joy.
You spend quality time with your family.
You get to go outside and be in nature.
You get a little time to yourself, too.

What a life.

And guess what?

If you prioritize fulfillment over status, your dream life probably costs less than you think.

Every Saturday morning, 180,000+ people open my newsletter to learn more about building a life they love, supported by work they enjoy.

Why? 

Because it's the one email that makes them feel less crazy for wanting a smaller, slower, richer life.

You belong in there: https://buff.ly/t4J7aFD

The older I get, the more I realize how much work can screw up your health.

Especially if you're in a terrible environment.

- Awful boss
- High pressure
- Poor communication
- Unrealistic expectations

You'll grind all day, for years.

You'll work yourself to the brink of physical and mental exhaustion.

And then one day?

*Poof*

It all vanishes.

Why?

Because the board wanted to cut costs, or your productivity looked a little light on the spreadsheet that quarter, or maybe it's time to give bigger bonuses to execs.

Forget that. Don't ever let that be the position you're in.

That's why I always recommend you own something of your own. Even a little side hustle.

Something. Anything. You need some leverage.

If you've never built an audience or business online, I'll show you how to do it, for free, over the next 30 days.

You can sign up for The Expert OS (free) and you'll get:

- All of my templates
- All of my prompts
- All of my pages
- All of my emails

And one video per day that shows you how to get your first paying customers.

Start here: https://buff.ly/1c87Alu 

Take your life into your own hands.

A lot of the people who get promoted before you aren't necessarily better employees.

They're just a lot louder.

That's one of the truths about how the world works that most folks don't want to accept.

The best person doesn't always win.
The most visible person wins.

That's inside your company, in your industry, online, and basically everywhere.

You think these "top voices" are top at what they do?

Absolutely not. 
They are the loudest. 
And they get paid because of it.

So if you're sitting around thinking, "My work will speak for itself..."

It doesn't and never will. 

The people with the most attention, the best opportunities, landing all of the high-dollar clients are the loudest, not the most talented.

They put themselves out there unapologetically.

If you don't know how to do that, follow this simple framework and see what happens over the next 30-60 days:

1. Stop sharing what you know.

Instead, start talking about what you've solved.

Share a framework, talk about a client who had a problem that you fixed.

Toot your horn and tell the world! That stuff gets saved.

2. Comment on 5 posts a day from people in your industry. 

Don't write "Great!" Go out there and have conversations. Maybe challenge someone or provide a contrarian take. Get into it. Have fun. Use respect, but show your expertise.

3. Use the "before and after" format. 

Start with an incredibly messy scenario and how you cleaned it up. Take people behind-the-scenes and show them how a real expert gets the problem solved. Show the end result.

4. Say the thing everyone in your industry is thinking but nobody's posting. 

Most people are too afraid to go out there and actually say that thing. So, say it. Don't be afraid to ruffle a few feathers. For every person who gets irritated, 10 more will look at your profile and wonder how you can help.

Just remember that the person charging 5x more than you isn't doing better work, they're just 5x more visible, 5x louder, and 5x more confident.

You can learn to talk about what you do without becoming someone you hate or someone who constantly feels "salesy." 

If you're ready to stop being the best-kept secret in your industry, I built a free 30-day challenge called The Expert OS.

I'll walk you through packaging all of the stuff you know, getting loud, putting it in front of people, and getting paid for it.

You'll also get:

- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells
- All of my AI prompts to speed up your build

It's free. 

Start now, and you'll have a business in 30 days.

Get it all here → https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

P.S. Bookmark this post and revisit it each Monday for your plan of attack.

The smartest people on earth are finding time away from their job to build something small.

Something lean.
Something profitable.
Something they can earn with.

A micro-business or side hustle or whatever the heck you want to call it.

Because building something of your own is the truest way to become a better person.

There's power in building.
There is learning in building.
There's failure, adversity and success.

And in order to get ahead in this world, those are things you're going to need.

Yes, you might fail.
Yes, there will be days that suck.
And yes, someone will make fun of you.

Who cares?

Do you want to sit around for the next decade and wonder when the robots are coming for your job?

Or do you want to be proactive in taking control of your life, career and family?

I know what my decision is.

So go out there, get curious, learn about something incredibly useful and then come share it here on LinkedIn.

A few years later, you'll have the leverage you need to completely own your life.

-----

📌 Want to learn how to market yourself here on LinkedIn like I do?

Download my 2026 LinkedIn Growth Guide (free - how I grew to 830,000 followers) and join 200K+ in my newsletter: https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

There's nothing worse than holding onto a terrible job because you have to.

But a lot of people are in that situation exactly. It sucks.

I can remember being there back in the mid 2000s.

$35,000 in credit card debt, living paycheck to paycheck, trying to figure out how to find a better job that would pay me a little more.

Something I actually enjoyed.

Back then, there weren't that many additional options.

But today? There are more options, at low-to-no cost, than ever before.

- Selling an eBook
- Producing digital products
- Landing a few consulting clients
- Doing some coaching on the side
- A community of people with similar interests
- Productizing anything you know or are good at

The world is literally your oyster.

It's not easy at all.
It takes time.
It takes energy.
It takes effort.

But life (and work) is infinitely better when you have options.

If you don't know how to start, try building an audience first.

I'll show you exactly how inside my free 2026 LinkedIn Growth guide.

It'll break down:

- The one posting strategy for 10K+ growth
- Why networking is the winning strategy
- How to write for massive attention
- The #1 thing I did to hit 800K+

Get it free when you join 200,000+ in my newsletter here: https://buff.ly/iKAl3na

I think you already know the best thing you can do for your business. You know how I know it?

Because it's as easy as picking what you're most afraid of.

Fear and discomfort are the one-two punch  predictors of "stuff I should be definitely doing." 

Things like:

- Sending that first piece of content out.
- DM'ing someone you greatly admire.
- Asking someone to buy your offer.
- Building in public.

You've been thinking about this stuff for months or weeks.

Maybe you're distracting yourself and stalling by reading, thinking, and talking all about it.

Maybe it's time to stop all that?

Because doing something makes it REAL.

And real means you might fall on your face and look a little silly.

But it's nearly impossible to do something great without looking like a fool for some period of time.

That's just part of the journey.

The longer you wait...the louder that fear's gonna get.

I've got a simple solution for you.

I will grab your hand (digitally) and walk you through the first 30 days of building an online business for free.

One step at a time, so the fear never gets to make the decision for you.

It's my new 30-day challenge called The Expert OS.

I'll show you how to choose a niche, craft an offer, set up a funnel, and get moving.

You'll get free stuff, like:

- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells
- My instructions for building a lead magnet
- All of my AI prompts for when your brain is frazzled

It's free.

Have a business in 30 days.

Start here if you're ready → https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

P.S. This week only, sign up and get a live session with the Kajabi team before your trial ends. 

Bring your questions, your half-built funnel, whatever — we'll work through it together so you actually launch.

Build your life first.

Build your business second.

Most people mess up and do it in reverse.

Here's what that mistake looks like in reality:

- Not paying attention to your spouse
- Not prioritizing your health and wellness
- Not being fully present with your family
- Being too tired to enjoy the money you make
- Not being able to sleep because you're stressed

I've been there and done all of that stuff. It sucks.

The reverse is a helluva lot easier:

- Sacred coffee time
- Scheduled family walks
- Always present when it matters
- Getting great sleep and feeling refreshed
- Sacrificing a little money to live a real life

Is it easy? Hell no.
Does it take time? Of course.
Will you make less money? Maybe.

But who cares??

Do you really need to spend 40+ years just trying to survive so you can finally enjoy some semblance of a normal life once you retire?

I dunno. Never sat right with me.

If you want to build something that fits around the life you actually want, I built a free 30-day challenge called The Expert OS.

I'll walk you through building one simple offer that makes money without consuming your entire calendar.

You'll also get:

- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells 
- All of my AI prompts so you can build in hours

It's free.

You'll have a simple micro-business in 30 days.

Start here if you're ready → https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

Everyone wants to start once the fear goes away.

Newsflash: It doesn't go away.

It doesn't once you've made your first sale, or your first post, or $10,000, or $100,000.

Fear just morphs into something else during the entire journey of entrepreneurship.

In the beginning?
You're scared no one will care.

Then?
No one will buy.

Once they buy?
They won't keep buying.

On and on and on it goes for the rest of the time.

You'll literally always be worried about something, whether you like it or not.

Here's why I'm telling you this:

If fear doesn't go away, then what the hell is the point of waiting?

Start the idea before it's finished, sey sell before the product is perfect, and ship before you're confident.

All that confidence you're sitting around waiting for will finally show up the moment you decide you're sick and tired of waiting, and you just DO something.

It's like going to the gym. 
Reps, everyone.

That's how stuff gets built. 
Not with some big plan.

With motion.

If you're tired of sitting around waiting to feel ready, I built a free 30-day challenge called The Expert OS that will get you up and building a business today.

And you'll get one short action item every morning to continue.

Inside, you'll also find everything you need:

- My process for profitable niches
- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells
- All of my AI prompts for momentum, not motivation

It's completely free.

Start today, and you'll have a business in 30 days.

Join us here: https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

P.S. This week only, sign up and get a live session with the Kajabi team before your trial ends. 

Bring your questions, your half-built funnel, whatever — we'll work through it together so you actually launch.

Quiet people don't win.

I hate that, but it's true.

Look around at who's getting all of the opportunities, the clients, and the attention on social media.

I guarantee you that most of the people with the biggest followings aren't the most talented people around.

They're the hand-raisers.
The people who post the thing.
The guys and gals who send the DMs.

The world doesn't reward you for having the best-kept secret.

And if you think your work will speak for itself? Think again.

Will someone notice if you just keep your head down? Probably not.

The facts are:

The people winning aren't smarter than you.
They're probably not more qualified.
They may not even have better ideas.

They just decided to speak up.

They got over the cringe of being public.

They stopped waiting for someone to hand them a mic.

They started acting like they belonged in the conversation.

And guess what?

It never stops feeling a little weird.
You just get used to it.

You realize that staying invisible is a choice with consequences.

So if you're sitting on some expertise, ideas, or a business you believe in, please stop hiding it.

The world isn't coming to find you.

You have to go find the world.

That's exactly what The Expert OS does for you.

It's a (free) 30-day challenge where you'll put yourself out there, build a small profitable offer based on your skills, and sell it.

In 30 days, you'll have your first paying customer.

It includes:

- My emails
- My templates
- My landing page
- My automations
- My AI prompts for ease

Start here: https://buff.ly/HdEvVii 

Your expertise deserves an audience. 

Go get one.

Smart and miserable is a bad combo.

But it's everywhere.

You've got opinions on why everyone's wrong.
You can spot a bad strategy from a mile away.
You're the smart one who knows it all...

Meanwhile:

You're burned out.
You dread Mondays.
You haven't taken a real vacation in years.

If you're so sharp, why does your life look like this?

Being smart isn't the same as being effective.

Having the right answers means nothing if your results say otherwise.

I used to be exactly like this when I was younger.

Thought I was smarter than everyone else around me.

Meanwhile I was 40 lbs overweight.
Working 70 hour weeks.
No energy.
Exhausted.

Brilliant, right?

The shift came when I stopped trusting my opinions and started trusting the outcomes.

My life was the scoreboard.
And I was losing.

So I changed.
Built something small.
Something that worked for my life.

Now I work when I please.
No employees.
No meetings.
No deadlines.

All because I got honest with myself.

If your results don't match your confidence, something's off.

Maybe it's time to build something different.

Something small. 
Something you can manage.
Something that doesn't eat your soul.

I teach 180,000+ entrepreneurs how to build that kind of online business every week in my newsletter.

Join here: https://buff.ly/gqZIz2O

(and get my free 2026 LinkedIn growth guide as a gift)

What's the point of a big, sexy business if you're miserable?

I know it's cool to raise a bunch of money, and hire tons of employees, and be the "next big thing," but you know what's even cooler?

- Free time
- Lunch with your partner
- Time to take your kids to school
- Being able to travel anytime you want
- Complete and utter location independence

No team.
No office.
No investor calls.
No Slack channels. 
No quarterly reviews.
No "culture" meetings.

Instead, you build your life first and your business to support that life.

You probably won't get covered in Forbes.
Nobody will talk about you on X or LinkedIn.
Your family and friends might not brag about you.

But on the inside, you'll have everything.

Thursday afternoon off when the weather's nice.
Dinner on the table at 6 without rushing around.
No alarm waking you up because something's on fire.

But, no matter how often I advocate for this life and business, people still do the opposite.

And I've watched a lot of them burn out because of it.

If you're interested in a better way of living and working, I built a free 30-day challenge called The Expert OS.

I'll walk you through building one simple, profitable offer that doesn't require a team or a 60-hour week.

Just choosing an offer, learning to market it, and automating the sales process.

Inside, you'll also get:

- My $12M sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells
- All of my AI prompts so you can build in hours

It's free.

Start now and have a business in 30 days.

Here's where you join → https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

P.S. This week only, sign up and get a live session with the Expert OS team before your trial ends. 

Bring your questions, your half-built funnel, whatever — we'll work through it together so you actually launch.

Put down your ridiculously complex business plan and go make a move already.

99.9% of people who want to be entrepreneurs just stall constantly.

Always waiting to feel ready, or for a better idea, or for some sign from the cosmos that shows them it's finally time.

That sign isn't coming.
It never comes. I promise.

The only thing that comes is another week where nothing has changed at all.

If you need a first move to make, try this one today (it takes 15 minutes):

1. Open your phone and scroll through your contacts or text messages.

2. Find 3 friends who are in your industry or area of expertise.

3. Send each of them a really simple message: 

"Hey, I'm working on something new. What's the biggest challenge you're facing with [area of expertise] right now?"

4. Don't pitch or sell or respond, telling them a bunch of stuff. Just read and ask follow-up questions until you fully understand.

5. Write down the EXACT words they use to describe their problem.

Congrats, you've taken a first step.

You've done something 99% of people who want to start a business won't ever do: 

You've sourced real language from real people about a real problem.

A lot of those words end up in your offer.
The most painful ones are on your sales page.
Nearly all of your content revolves around them.

Everything in business starts with understanding how your customers describe their most painful feelings and problems.

Save these 5 steps somewhere. 
This short post is worth more than most courses charge.

If you want the full system built around this entire theory, I built a free 30-day challenge called The Expert OS.

I'll walk you through picking what to sell, talking to people about it, building it, and then (finally) getting paid.

You'll also get:

- My $12M plug 'n play sales page template
- My 10-email launch sequence that sells on auto
- All of my AI prompts so you're never staring at a blank screen

It's free. 

Start now and have a business in 30 days.

Get it all here: https://buff.ly/arpZ2Om

taplio

The Battle

Ben Meer

Justin Welsh

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taplio

The Battle

Ben Meer

Justin Welsh

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ben Meer's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreBen Meer's LinkedIn Performance