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Good morning Launch Key 🚀 community!

We get numb to the size of dollars swirling around in the headlines. Government debt, unicorn tech startups, big league contracts, Hollywood stars. Talk about currency devaluation.

I stayed up past my bedtime watching the World Series and learned that the Dodgers starting rotation cost more than $100 million this year. Just crazy.

But I was blown away with last week’s news of Taylor Sheridan signing a billion dollar contract … to write stories! Sheridan is just the most recent outsize example of betting on yourself.

Let's get into it.

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• Comment below and let me know if we’re on the right track.

Table of Contents

• Pull to Eject

• Modern Tools

• Free Knowledge

• Recommendations

• Visual Crapshoot

Pull to Eject

While the term ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ started as 1800’s sarcasm, there are plenty of modern day bootstrappers who have created outsized success. And the common denominator is betting on themselves.

Taylor Sheridan’s billion dollar news is the latest.

Sheridan’s backstory is similar to many entrepreneurs. He dropped out of college. He got a couple of lucky breaks and landed a gig or two. He finally found something decent in his 40’s (Sons of Anarchy role) but was unfulfilled. Being an employee did not give him financial security.

He kept writing and selling stories while starting a family. There were lean times and his wife maxed out her credit card to buy him screenwriting software.

He bet on himself. With 15 years of trying to land roles, he knew what types of stories didn’t work. He loved ranching more than Hollywood. He wrote about it.

Sicario, Hell or High Water and Wind River all won praise and eventually led to Yellowstone. The iconic show turned into an epic payday which allowed Sheridan to purchase 6666 Ranch (over 250 thousand Texas acres) which he leased back to Paramount as a Yellowstone location. In a profession where AI is threatening many jobs, Sheridan has used authentic storytelling to create generational wealth for his family.

Bootstraps indeed.

The best entrepreneurs double down when they have a little success. Elon famously put all his PayPal chips in on Tesla and SpaceX. Howard Schultz doubled down on Starbucks expansion during the 2008 recession.

The question isn’t whether you’ll face risk in your business. The question is: Will you be bold enough to take the kind of risks that lead to life-changing rewards?

Your passion is the foundation:

• The Beautiful Truth about Amateurs

• Your PTO has been Denied

• The Two Types of Professions

I’m not saying that you can earn a billion dollar payday.

But I’m not betting against it either.

Now go launch something 🚀 

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Modern Tools

Taylor Sheridan’s wife maxed out her credit card to buy Final Draft so her husband could write screenplays. Her investment looks to be paying off. 😉 

Free Knowledge

Recommendations

🗃️ Dealroom Business Success Uncovered : Learn directly from billionaire entrepreneurs on how to grow a business. Join a community of 2,000+ innovators.

💼 Thriving Freelance - Gigs and Growth : Hundreds of job opportunities sent directly to your inbox each week, plus timely resources to support you as you grow and evolve.

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Visual Crapshoot