Read time: 3 minutes

Taking you behind the scenes of what's actually driving my growth.

Raw notes from inside a $30K room.

The Secret

Let me share something personal.

I just returned from a transformational retreat in Southern California — one of several I attend each year as part of a $30K annual mastermind.

For almost a decade now, I've been intentionally putting myself in rooms with high-level coaches, mentors, and peers — using these environments as forcing functions for growth.

But it wasn't always this way.

The expensive cost of DIY thinking

For years, I tried to "figure it all out" alone. I was good at my corporate job, making great money, but it was taking everything from me and my family. And deep down, I knew I was meant for more.

Instead of taking decisive action, I did what most of us do – I treated the symptoms.

Netflix binges to decompress. Venting to friends and family. Reading endless self-help books. "Planning" my escape. These were fake improvements – incremental to the point of stagnancy.

When I finally had an honest look in the mirror, I realized I was just spinning my wheels. I needed to do something radically different.

The uncomfortable breakthrough

I’ll be honest — investing serious money in myself was terrifying. The internal battle was constant: "Shouldn't I be putting this toward practical things? Real estate investments? Stocks?"

It felt deeply uncomfortable. Illogical, even.

But here's what I learned the hard way: All that self-soothing and DIY mentality was actually keeping me stuck. I was trying to solve everything through willpower and "being smart enough" to figure it out alone.

The real breakthrough came when I finally understood something that changed everything: I am my own biggest asset. Not my skills. Not my resume. Not my investments. Not my network. ME.

And that meant I needed to invest in myself like I was my most valuable asset — because I am.

What started as uncomfortable soon became obvious. Putting serious skin in the game (significant and scary money, time, and energy) activated my attention like nothing else could.

It became the greatest catalyst for growth in my life, creating tangible and intangible outcomes I never imagined possible.

Today, I've far surpassed my corporate income, with a level of freedom, impact, and quality family experience I never thought possible in my old life.

The hidden power of environment

Here's what nobody tells you: The right environment does most of the heavy lifting. When you're surrounded by people playing at higher levels, transformation becomes almost inevitable — as long as you show up.

Just like my friends, Becky and Shobhit, who are making between $300k-$600K per month and feeling alive, free, and purposeful.

Those are the people in my head. My new best friends. The ones I’m on WhatsApp groups with asking questions and sharing ideas. The ones who inspire me to take brave new actions.

You don't need superhuman willpower. You don't need to figure everything out first.

The environment itself:

Reshapes your thinking
Expands your belief system
Activates actions you wouldn't otherwise take

Powerful lessons from the inside

Let me share the most powerful lessons from this latest event. These aren't just concepts — they're transformations I'm integrating into my business and life right now:

1. Your tribe defines your trajectory

When you find people building the future you want, make them your closest allies
Give and take relentlessly in these relationships
Yes, you'll need to let go of many old connections — that's the price of growth
These relationships will transform you faster than anything else

2. Be your word

What’s the gap between what you say…and what you do?
Your patterns tell the truth, not your declarations
Every day of inaction has a massive opportunity cost
Alignment between words and actions is non-negotiable

3. Eliminate “should” from your life

Suffering comes from feeling you “should” be in a different place
Move from resistance to acceptance to appreciation
Problems aren't failures — they're springboards
Future fears have no evidence in the present

4. Treat the root, not the symptoms

Stop self-soothing with temporary fixes
Create space as a fundamental solution
Attack core problems in your work-life like a CEO
Root fixes cascade into widescale improvements

5. Sales is human psychology in action

Sales = love and service
Stay human, drop the formality
Help people live into higher identities
All objections are fear from lack of information

6. Measure or die

Business without metrics is just hoping
Fear of measurement keeps us small
Specific numbers eliminate BS stories
Your standard (and scorecard) defines your progress

7. Pressure unlocks your power

Your greatest capabilities emerge when comfort disappears
Tight resources force creative solutions you'd never see otherwise
“No safety net” activates a version of you that's been dormant
The "impossible" becomes possible when there's no Plan B
Your resourcefulness skyrockets when you're really all-in

The truth about transformation

Here's the beautiful reality I've discovered: Being in the right rooms, with the right people, transforms you from the inside-out.

It's not about forcing change through willpower. It's about letting these high-level environments do what they naturally do — pull you up to a new level of thinking and being.

You feel this healthy pressure to rise to their level.

You can spend years trying to bootstrap your transformation, waiting for willpower to kick in, hoping you'll finally "figure it out." Or you can immerse yourself in environments that make growth inevitable.

The energy, belief, and momentum you get from being in the right rooms, with the right people, is worth more than a thousand books or years of trying to go it alone. These environments change you at your core – your identity, your standards, your capacity for action.

You have so much more capability right now than you realize. But that potential stays locked away until you put yourself in environments that pull it out of you.

Look, I'm not saying you need to invest $30,000 like me — but you do need to find environments that stretch you beyond your comfort zone and pull you toward your potential.

If you're feeling that pull toward something bigger, trust it. Your future self will thank you for investing in growth today.

—Matt

P.S. The power of these environments is contagious. I'm thrilled to share that Cecilia and I are hosting our own mastermind retreat for our clients this weekend! We're in a state of creation, actively passing forward what we learn and who we become, so it spreads like wildfire. This is how transformation works — it compounds and multiplies.

P.P.S. Need an environment to help you smartly transition out of corporate life? Start here.

Mind-Bender

Podcast

136: Anti-Commodity

Tired of being another corporate commodity?

This episode is your wake-up call.

Learn why "finding your niche" is dead wrong, and how becoming a Category of One transforms everything — from your paycheck to your purpose.

Warning: Not for those who love playing it safe.

👋 Final Note:

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For senior professionals who want to:

Smartly downshift corporate (protecting lifestyle)
Become happy, energized, and self-directed
Build your dream online service business

START HERE: Book a Dream Scan chat. We'll explore what's right for you.

That’s it for today, my friend! I appreciate you.

—Matt

Corporate Graduation™

What I learned last week in a $30K room