Broke, scared, and ready to conquer: My story

"Some people have it easier than others."

True. This is very true, whether some guru tells you it is or not.

Some people were born into rich families, some had resources and opportunities handed to them on a silver platter from the day they turned 16. It's true.

But most of the successful people in the world have one thing in common (I talked about this in my last newsletter) - they're doers. The gap between you and them is literally hard work.

Let me take you on a journey - my journey - to show you what I mean.

The early days: Learning the basics

My very first job was at a farm. 6 am to 3pm, sometimes earlier. For a 15-year-old, that was brutal.

Our days were a whirlwind of activity:

• Counting crates of strawberries, making sure each one was perfect before they headed to market.

• Lugging heavy boxes of produce from field to storage, muscles screaming with every step.

• Racing against time to get everything done before the afternoon heat became unbearable.

But it taught me hard work, operations, and the power of a good team.

The daily routine:

• Mopping floors that would inevitably be dirty again by lunchtime (rainy days were the worst).

• Cleaning bathrooms that made me question humanity's basic decency. (Another pro tip: avoid this job during finals week.)

• Restocking shelves with books heavier than my student debt.

• And the pièce de résistance - dealing with a parade of stressed-out students and their equally frazzled parents.

It wasn't glamorous, but it taught me patience, discipline, and the power of holding onto dreams.

The creative spark

While working these jobs, I started creating content consistently. Instagram, YouTube - wherever I could. This caught the eye of a media company on campus. Suddenly, at 19, I had my own cubicle and access to a video studio. I was in heaven.

I fell in love with the creative process so much that I took a semester off to work there full-time. Speed, consistency, quality - these became my mantras.

Taking the leap: From college to career

As college was coming to an end, I had built a decent Instagram audience and started a media agency. But I felt stuck.

Then, an opportunity: a full-time position as a marketer focusing on videos and growing an audience. The catch? It paid only $50K a year. But for a 21-year-old, it was a goldmine.

I took a risk. I dropped out of college and took the job.

The Miami move: Betting on myself

After busting my ass day in and day out, I took another risk. I moved to Miami with only a couple thousand dollars in my pocket and a dream. I had friends there, my partner in crime, and a life I'd never been exposed to waiting for me.

Four years in Miami taught me more than I could have imagined. I worked for multiple startups - some failed, some raked in tens of millions. I was at the forefront, immersed in it all. All the knowledge I lacked before? Gone. I learned everything I wanted to learn so badly.

The present: Starting from zero (again)

So here I am now. I've deprecated the agency I started. I've launched new businesses. I've worked with clients globally - big names like Lexar, Panasonic, URTH, and Monos Travel. (I'll dive into that story in another letter.)

And now, I'm starting my second big business (with about 5 micro-businesses in between). I'm starting from ZERO. But here's the best part - this time, I'm sharing the journey with all of you.

For those of you reading this - you're early. You're going to see it all unfold, learn from my experiences without having to go through them directly.

The lesson: Bet on yourself, always

If there's one thing I want you to take away from this letter, it's this: Take calculated risks. Bet on yourself. Find that dream, that passion inside you, and chase after it 24/7.

From this journey, we've learned the importance of:

• Patience

• Discipline

• Speed

• Consistency

• Quality

And now, we add one more crucial element to the mix: the power of betting on yourself. Every. Single. Time.

The reality of betting on yourself

Let me be real with you for a moment.

Betting on yourself is terrifying. It's not all Instagram highlights and LinkedIn success stories. It's sleepless nights wondering if you've made the biggest mistake of your life. It's explaining to your family why you're dropping out of college for a job that pays less than what your degree promised. It's moving to a new city with nothing but a suitcase and a dream, questioning your sanity with every passing day.

But it's also exhilarating. It's the rush of landing your first big client. It's the pride of seeing your work plastered across billboards in Times Square. It's the quiet satisfaction of looking back and realizing that every risk, every failure, every moment of doubt led you exactly where you needed to be.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it: betting on yourself is hard. It's a constant battle against self-doubt, against the voices telling you to play it safe, against the very real possibility of failure.

But here's the thing: The alternative is worse.

The alternative is waking up 20 years from now, stuck in a job you hate, wondering "what if?" The alternative is watching others live out your dreams because you were too afraid to chase them yourself.

So yes, bet on yourself. Take the risk. Make the move. Start the business. Create the content. Do the thing that scares you shitless.

Because at the end of the day, you're the only sure bet you've got.

And trust me, the payoff? It's worth every sleepless night, every risk, every moment of doubt.

I'm living proof of that. And I'm betting that you can be too.

So, what's it going to be? Are you ready to go all in on yourself?

The table's set. The chips are down. It's your move.

Make it count.

Kiyo