Navigating No

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I'm out here in the warehouse trying to get some things worked out, because right now I do not have power in the main building in the back. As you can tell, this is a little different than the videos I've shot prior where I'm building up the walls and everything. But this building has just enough power for me to plug in three machines, put some fans on, set up our network, really test things out before the power gets on in that back building.

Why is the power not on? Effectively - the utility company has told me no in not so many words. It's a little bit more complicated than that, but I won't go into the details of it. Basically, I don't have power and I have to have power to have a business in Bitcoin mining. Now, I have been spending the last few weeks getting as creative as possible, turning over every rock, talking to every person I can, working every different angle possible on getting things in place to be able to have the utility company flip that switch and give me the power that I need need so that I can get started.

It reminds me of this part of the movie, Air - with Michael Jordan going to Nike - where Matt Damon's character is told by Michael Jordan's agent there's no way Michael Jordan's going to Nike. It's a sleepy, boring company. He's going to Adidas. If he doesn't go to Adidas, then he's going to go to Converse, but he's definitely not going to Nike. You can't even get a meeting with him.

But Matt Damon finds a way. He ends up circumventing the agent (which was a big no-no), he goes to North Carolina, meets with Jordan's mom, and he gets them to take a meeting. He ultimately gets him to Nike because he didn't accept no for an answer.

So the last video was all about the power of saying "no." This one is all about navigating "no." Because as an entrepreneur, it's so important. You have to do it all the time. Whether it's a customer telling you no. A vendor telling you no. A partner saying it can't be done. An investor saying this isn't my thing, I'm not into it.

You hear no a lot. And if you think that you've got what it takes to be an entrepreneur or you're already an entrepreneur, then you know it's going to be a hard path forward where you hear a lot of no's. You're going to be faced where no is not an option in a lot of cases.

You've got to work through that. There's not a lot of playbooks or guides for that. Sometimes you've just got to figure out a way.

And I hope that you do that if that's what you're facing right now.

Some articles from the last newsletter:

• How I Use ChatGPT To Save 20 Hours Every Week
  - Random Google Doc, not even sure who to attribute it to
  
  

• The Power of No
  - Nir and Far
  
  

• By 40, Our Middle Finger Is at Half-Mast
  - Donna Ashworth
  
  

• Stanley Druckenmiller's Case for Cutting Entitlements
  - The Pomp Letter
  
  

• Pursue Purpose, Not Happiness
  - Timeless and Timely