How I Built The First 1% Starting From One of the Hardest Years of My Life

"Every first sparks the journey. The right community turns progress into reality."

Nobody talks about how hard it is to go from zero to one.

Not the middle part or the grind. The very first step. The moment where you want to start something but you have no idea where to begin and you just can't find anything that tells you what to actually do first.

That's the thing that stops most people. It stopped me too.

I'm not going to dress it up. It was one of the hardest years of my life.

First surgery. Years of trade show floors, late nights, skipping warm-ups. It all caught up with me. I was stressed, burnt out, and honestly questioning a lot. Am I in the right place? Am I actually growing? Is this really it?

But it was also a year packed with firsts. Some I chose. Most I didn't. I started learning to code. I started posting more on LinkedIn. I set goals publicly for the first time and asked people to hold me accountable.

And every single time I started something new, the hardest part was always the same. Not the learning. Not the doing. Just getting from zero to one.

Here is the thing I keep thinking about. I had people around me who gave me that first step. Someone who said here is how you start, just do this first. And that changed everything for me.

Not everyone has that. Not everyone has a person in their corner who has already done the thing and can just point you to where to begin.

And that is honestly one of the biggest inspirations behind building this. I thought, you know what, if you don't have that person, I hope this can be that for you.

I am not a big reader. I learn by doing. By messing things up and figuring out what went wrong. Podcasts and short videos are how I absorb things. But every time I tried to find something that would just tell me the actual first step, everything was either too shallow or way too deep. Nobody was just saying here is step one, go do it.

How do you actually start investing? How do you learn to code? How do you build something when you have no idea where to begin? I kept looking for that and could not find it. So I decided to build it.

I was at lunch with some coworkers. We went around the table talking about what we each wanted to start. When it got to me I said I wanted to build a podcast.

Someone asked what kind.

I said something where people can just learn how to get started with something. Bring in guests, cover different topics, and just walk people through it step by step. Not a big theory or a motivational talk. Just here is how you do this thing, follow along.

Someone said that is actually really interesting. You are basically just trying to create a first for somebody.

And I said yeah, exactly. Because the whole idea is being 1% better every single day. But before you can do that, you need to take that first step. You need to create that first 1%.

There are so many podcasts out there talking about improvement and growth and getting better. But I rarely see anyone just sit down and say here is step one, here is step two, here are the pros and cons of starting this thing. That is what I wanted to do. And that is where the name came from.

The First 1%. Not how to reach 100%. Not how to be the best. Just how do you move from zero to something. That first move. That first percent. That is the whole thing.

I am not writing this from a place of having it all figured out. I am building this because I am still in it. Learning to code. Building a community. Starting a podcast. Getting healthier. These are not things I have done. They are things I am doing right now.

And I think that matters. Because if you are at the beginning of something, you do not need someone looking back from the top telling you how they did it. You need someone a few steps ahead saying I don't know exactly where this goes either, but here is what worked for me so far.

This is also me exploring new things and experimenting. And honestly that is what I want this whole thing to be about. Trying stuff. Seeing what works. Sharing it in real time.

No fluff. No theory. Just the actual steps from someone still taking them.

One more thing. The podcast is coming.

I do not have it all mapped out yet. But it is happening. And I am already looking for the right guests.

What I am looking for is simple. Someone who can close their eyes and walk a complete beginner through how to go from zero to one in something. Not a framework. Not a theory. The actual steps. How do you get your first client? How do you start investing with nothing? How do you learn something new completely from scratch?

If that is you, DM me. I would love to connect, have a real conversation, and get you on the show. Let's build this thing together.

And if you want more posts like this, subscribe below. The First 1% drops practical content for people figuring it out in real time. No theory. Just what actually works. See you in the next one. 👋