For years, I've been connecting with interesting people and documenting insights that might help my clients and myself. What was once private is now (mostly) public.

People often ask: "How do you know all these people?" and "How do you connect these (re: random) ideas?" The answer is simple: consistent relationship cultivation and thoughtful note taking. My north star is trusting my instincts, my maps are the constellations in these reflections.

Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X).

This approach has helped dozens of clients strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. You can:

- Steal these ideas directly 
- Hire me to implement them with you
- Create your own combination that works for you

I can't promise you'll learn from me, but you'll definitely learn something with me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4…

Do you know Chris Vasseur (aka Coach Vass)? He's a former high school football coach who's making a fascinating career transition into financial advisory work while building a business helping coaches with defensive strategies and systems.

If not, allow me to introduce you. Chris spent years as a defensive coordinator, learning directly from one of the best coaches in the business, Keith Burns, before pivoting to consulting and content creation for coaches. I wanted to connect with him because he embodies something I value deeply: the courage to reinvent yourself and apply transferable skills from one domain to solve problems in a completely different field.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Just Press Record YouTube channel (and this Cultish Creative Playlist). Listen and you'll hear how scoreboard thinking translates across industries, why teaching is the highest form of expertise, and what happens when someone approaches finance with fresh eyes and genuine curiosity.

In the meantime, I wanted to pull THREE KEY LESSONS from my time with Chris Vasseur to share with you (and drop into my Personal Archive).

Read on and you'll find a quote with a lesson and a reflection you can Take to work with you, Bring home with you, and Leave behind with your legacy.

WORK: Learn From The Best, Then Make It Your Own

Key Concept: Chris demonstrates the power of modeling excellence before developing your own voice. Rather than trying to reinvent everything from scratch, he systematically absorbed the knowledge and methods of a master coach, then gradually incorporated his own insights and adaptations. This approach accelerates learning while building confidence through proven frameworks.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: When I worked in a recording studio, my old boss (Miles) would regularly have to defend our cost to potential clients. It was the early 2000s and the personal computer (not to mention the proliferation of ProTools) was slowly cannibalizing our business. We were in a second or third tier “city” - and the bedroom rigs were quickly catching up to what a previously successful regional studio could offer.

Now, the home studios hadn’t quite caught up yet, and Miles had acquired a lot of cool gear too, on top of years of experience, but that never stops artists for asking for breaks. Over and over I’d hear people pitch how much cheaper another guy around the way could do the album or demo or whatever and Miles would just tell them, “That’s fine. This is what it costs. Try them first and if you’re not happy, come on back if you want me to fix it.”

At first I was shocked. I had only been on the artist side of that conversation before. But then, I started to see how often people came back. I started to see how much it mattered to let people know you were confident in your abilities, and in your ability to be available later when they realized what you were worth.

I still say a version of that line to this day. You have to find mentors who say things in words you can steal. Then you have to steal them, make them your own, and find your own way. I’m forever grateful for that lesson. Hearing Chris tell his story took me right back.

Work question for you: Who is the "Keith Burns" in your field that you could model more closely? How might you systematically study and absorb their methods before developing your own variations?

LIFE: Create Your Own Scoreboard With Others

Key Concept: Unlike the fixed scoreboards of competitive sports, life and business often allow us to define success collaboratively. Chris recognizes that moving from coaching (where winning and losing are predetermined) to financial advisory work means helping clients define what victory looks like for their unique situations - whether that's buying a boat, funding education, or achieving financial independence.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: I still get hung up on how transactional so many people are. Especially some business people. They keep score. With everybody. It’s all about who is winning and if they’re losing and they wake up and go to sleep with that scoreboard on in their head. They find it motivating.

And then, having met and watched a bunch of them age, there’s a common denominator. They’re the adults who barely have friends. They’re the adults who barely have family who cares. They’re the adults who, even if they have a big bank account and a ton of successful investments, that suck. You wouldn’t want their life in a million years (or at least, I know I wouldn’t).

Relational decisions beat transactional decisions every day of the week. Winning and losing matters every so often. But, playing infinite games with people you like, respect, and care about, that’s the only way to create a life of meaning and meaningful experiences. I always want to be in that business. Even if I ever change businesses again like Chris is thinking about now, I know it has to be relational and not transactional at its core.

Life Question For You: In what areas of your life are you measuring yourself against someone else's scoreboard instead of defining success on your own terms? How could you collaborate with others to create more meaningful metrics?

LEGACY: Embrace Being The Student Again

Key Concept: Chris demonstrates intellectual humility by openly acknowledging his beginner status in finance while still engaging thoughtfully with complex topics. His willingness to ask questions, admit ignorance, and learn from experts shows how expertise in one field can create confidence to tackle new domains - not through arrogance, but through applying proven learning frameworks to unfamiliar territory.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: You know how in every kung fu movie the eventual hero has to camp out on the steps of the monastery wanting to be trained, only to be left there for what feels like forever, before they’re eventually invited in and then offered to do a bunch of remedial and very much not training oriented, frustrating tasks?

I think about that a lot. I think about what it feels like to know nothing and wanting to know everything. And I think about what it feels like to meet somebody who knows they’re starting from zero and is willing to wash some floors just to be around it, versus somebody who wants to be at the top on day one.

My recording studio internship turned into a job because I vacuumed without being asked. Apparently no other intern had done that before. I knew we had a session the next morning, and that the session we’d just finished had resulted in a lot of crumbs on the rug, so, I didn’t think twice about it. I just wanted to be in the studio. I just wanted whoever was walking in tomorrow to be excited about being in a studio and not distracted by a mess.

The humility principle works in both directions. You have to find people who demonstrate humility and care if you’re on the top. And, if you’re at the bottom, you have to demonstrate humility and care to someone who cares to notice in the first place. It’s rare. I want to always have that beginner and master in my mind - talking to Chris helps.

Legacy question for you: What field or skill have you been avoiding because you'd have to start as a beginner again? How might your existing expertise actually accelerate rather than hinder your learning in a new domain?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Connect with Chris Vasseur on Twitter @CoachVass and LinkedIn

• Check out his coaching materials and consulting services via this link tree

• Reach out if you're a coach needing defensive systems help OR if you want to mentor someone making a career transition into finance (he asked for it…)

• Take a moment to reflect on all these ideas!

You have a Personal Network and a Personal Archive just waiting for you to build them up stronger. Look at your work, look at your life, and look at your legacy - and then, start small in each category. Today it's one person and one reflection. Tomorrow? Who knows what connections you'll create.

Last thing: Don't forget to click reply/here and tell me who you're adding to your network and why! Plus, if you already have your own Personal Archive too, let me know, I'm creating a database.