🥊 He Challenged Me. And I’m Scared Shitless.

This Is War. And I Need You With Me.

Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

Listen up,

Zalman just threw down the gauntlet and challenged me.

We have thirteen days before the deadline hits.

So, that’s Monday, June 9th at midnight.

Mark that down.

When a man challenges another man to a competition.

I don’t know.

There’s something primal about that.

I want to win.

But honestly…

I’m scared shitless.

I have my work cut out for me.

This is basically young Luke Skywalker going up against the experienced Obi Wan.

Worst of all…

The stakes are asking me to do exactly what I don’t what to do.

What scares me most.

Because…

It means I have to risk being seen…

And rejected.

And friggin’ Yoda just challenged me.

The guy is basically a walking transformation factory.

And I know this because I’ve seen the results in my life first hand.

But…

Fortunately, I AM insanely competitive.

So, again…

He may have the credentials…

And the 25 years of experience.

And the bigger following…

And the private practice with paying clients.

BUT…

I’m the Devil.

So what’s the challenge?

Simple…

It’s to see who can generate more income from their Substack in the next 2 weeks.

Winner gets an undisclosed percentage of loot.

Listen.

I respect you.

Money must be earned.

Especially these days…

If I asked you to become a VIP member…

I must show you why it’s worth your while.

Above literally anything else.

Why you shouldn’t spend your money elsewhere.

Or hold onto it in the bank.

And honestly…

That freaks me out.

Zalman has four letters after his name.

A University recognized him as an expert.

I’m just a guy…

Who learned how to heal on his own…

With no formal training…

He’s got a cool decade of experience over me.

As a matter of fact, I mostly just made my skills up.

With that said…

I am an Agora-trained copywriter.

That means something in my industry.

Agora is widely known for being the biggest and baddest direct response company out there.

It’s like saying you’re a Juliard-trained pianist.

Or like saying you’re a Navy Seal.

My words sold millions for Tony Robbins.

Neil Patel…

Ramit Sethi…

So…

I’m a master communicator.

I understand a thing or two about how to use words to deliver a massive impact.

To attract eyeballs…

To captivate…

To persuade…

But, I also have some very powerful psychological tools I’ve developed.

From a variety of places.

Firstly from a vast amount of therapy.

I’m like Madison from Billions.

“I’ve done 932 hours of therapy.”

lol - I can relate.

That’s why my friends call me an old soul.

I’ve had to grow like my life depended on it — because it did.

It dawned on me one day…

That if I could find myself all the way onto Tony Robbins’ payroll…

Little old me from a tiny rock in the Caribbean…

I must be one of the biggest self help junkies of all time.

As well as one of the most resourceful people on the planet.

Keep in mind I had to immigrate to make this dream happen.

That took years of planning and hard work.

I can speak at length about psychology because I spent years reading as many psychology books as I could get my hands on.

I think Permission to be Powerful more than demonstrates that.

But, what VIP will offer you will take things to a whole other level.

Instead of getting a surface level understanding of how to spot liars, or have boundaries, or persuade the masses…

I’m going to give you hands-on training…

So you can walk away with new skills that have the power to change your life.

Like I said before, I’ve read a whole library of psychology books.

It’s helped me master some powerful skills.

Like the skillset of boundaries, for example.

I used to be the kind of person that everybody took advantage of.

Everyone lied to.

Everyone took for granted.

I was a professional doormat.

Nobody took me seriously.

People walked all over me.

Everyone, everywhere.

I went from one dysfunctional, codependent relationship to another.

One nightmare client to another…

I was a slave to my need for approval.

I attracted toxic people like a magnet.

Perpetually stuck in one-sided relationships.

Perpetually depressed.

I was EXHAUSTED.

Not anymore.

Now, I’m the one who teaches you a lesson you never forget.

I’m the one that bullies avoid because they know better than to mess with me.

I’m the one who can read the entire room.

I’m the one who can spot liars and manipulators from a mile away.

I’m the one with boundaries that are set in stone.

I’m the one who walked away from toxic FOREVER.

The one who healed his core wounds.

Who is the life of the party.

And now, I have excellent friends.

Who treat me with respect.

Who show up for me reliably.

Who would never betray me.

Or, my ADHD…

There used to be a hard ceiling on my potential.

A point beyond which I could never pass.

Which meant that I spend many years struggling as a freelance copywriter.

I knew that because I couldn’t fully keep my act together…

I was always falling behind on something.

Things would go well for a while…

And then fall apart inevitably.

I always screwed up.

Since I got my ADHD handled…

I wrote for Agora, wrote for Tony, started earning six figures, became an author, dancer, Buddhist and athlete.

I built my own brand.

I got my shit together.

I turned my weaknesses into superpowers.

To the point where I far surpass the average person at a given skill.

Or, my communication skills…

I’ve learned some powerful communication skills that are priceless.

I’ve learned to be vastly more empathetic with others, for example.

So I can connect with them reliably.

Make them feel heard and seen…

So they let down their defenses.

So they open up.

So you restore their faith.

Nobody ever used to listen to me.

Now I have a voice that commands.

I have an entire toolbox of skills that together make up my “magic” voice.

My words are lethal weapons.

People pay top dollar for my words…

And my judgement.

I have to be careful because some of the stuff I know is legit dangerous in the wrong hands.

I could go on all day.

We haven’t even gotten into how I healed my low self esteem.

Stopped being codependent…

Or, how many days I spend in deep meditation.

But I think you have the idea.

So…

Here’s what I’m thinking:

If you’ve been reading Permission to Be Powerful for a while…

And you’ve felt the sting of betrayal…

Or the ache of being invisible…

Or the rage of being underestimated…

Then this next phase isn’t just about me.

It’s about us.

About what happens when someone who’s been knocked flat—
gets up swinging.

What happens when a man with no fancy credentials,
no institution backing him,
no rich daddy funding him—
beats the system anyway.

So here’s the deal:

I’m inviting you to upgrade to VIP.

Not out of pity.

Not out of charity.

But because I plan to make this the most dangerous Substack on the internet.

One that goes deeper,
hits harder,
and actually transforms you.

You’ll get access to the secret essays,
the voice notes,
the private experiments…

The stuff too raw for public consumption.

I’m not just writing posts.

I’m waging war on the inner tyrant that says:

“You’re not enough.”

“You can’t ask for more.”

“You’re too weird, too intense, too much.”

Nah.

We flip that.

💭 Interested in joining VIP?

👇 Drop a comment below and tell me:

• What challenge you’re facing right now.

• What kind of content or support you’d love inside VIP.

• Anything you’d want to learn from me.

You may have noticed that there’s no “buy now” link.

That’s intentional.

Only the most aligned folks will get access.

I’ll be replying personally—and giving the private invite link in a few days.

This next phase isn’t for everyone.
But if your gut says hell yes...
I’ll see you in the comments.

Until next time,

P.S.: I’m thinking of doing a VIP session where I show you exactly how I got to 1,000 Substack subscribers in under 5 months.
No fluff. Just raw tactics, strategies, and what actually worked.

Would that interest you?

👇 Let me know in the comments.

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