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.

This approach to multidisciplinary networking has helped dozens of clients, colleagues, and friends strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and listen to Just Press Record on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X) - now distributed by Epsilon Theory.

You can also check out my work as Managing Director at Sunpointe, as a host on top investment YouTube channel Excess Returns, and as Senior Editor at Perscient.

Feel free to steal these ideas directly - that's what they're for! I can't promise you'll learn FROM me, but I guarantee you can learn something WITH me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4!

Introducing... Lawrence Yeo!

Do you know Lawrence Yeo? He's the creator behind More To That, a writer who moved from Wall Street to the LA beat scene to become one of today's most thoughtful voices on creativity and fulfillment. His new book "The Inner Compass" explores how to navigate between external validation and internal mastery.

If not, allow me to introduce you. Lawrence embodies the rare combination of financial acumen and artistic sensibility - someone who understands both spreadsheets and soul samples. I wanted to connect with him because he embodies something I value deeply: the courage to follow your internal compass even when external pressures pull you toward validation.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Just Press Record YouTube channel (and this Cultish Creative Playlist). Listen and you'll hear fascinating discussions about hip-hop sampling as creative genius, the democratization of art, and why curiosity is actually a form of gratitude for the unknown.

THREE: That's The Magic Number of Lessons

In the meantime, I wanted to pull THREE KEY LESSONS from my time with Lawrence Yeo 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: Test Your Creative Compass Before Going Full Scale

Key Concept: Lawrence deliberately stripped away external expectations when transitioning from music to writing, investing massive effort in a single piece with zero audience. This approach allowed him to discover whether the craft itself fulfilled him, separate from any validation. The result? He found deep satisfaction in the process, which later attracted natural validation when he finally published.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: One of my “start with why” beefs is sometimes you don’t know “why” and that’s ok. Lawrence realizing you have to check how something feels - music to my ears.

A lot of people will say they want to write a book (or a blog post, or an anything, really) and what they mean is they want to have written a New York Times best seller and have all the accolades that come with it. Writing a book (or even a blog post) is hard. Some of us just like how it feels.

I’ve got a funny thing with streaks. Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn. Mostly, though, it’s I like how streaks feel. Whether it’s publishing these Cultish Creative posts or now, recording these YouTube shows, I’m obsessed with the feeling of keeping the streak alive.

And it’s not in a negative/self-destructive way either, it’s a creative pledge to myself to say, “You can do this,” and “You’re going to make it because look - you’re making it, again!” Making it doesn’t mean to the best seller list. Making it just means the state of how it feels in the creative zone I’m happiest in. No external validation required.

Work question for you: What project could you test with "zero external validation" to discover if you're truly drawn to the work itself?

LIFE: Curiosity As Gratitude for the Unknown

Key Concept: Rather than fearing uncertainty, Lawrence frames curiosity as appreciation for what we don't yet know. This mindset shift transforms the unknown from something threatening into something to be grateful for - a space for discovery and growth. Creative people aren't necessarily smarter; they're more grateful for mystery.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: The last step of my creator flywheel is habit. It’s got two parts to it too. The first is the idea that once you’ve put in the work of making something, you have to finish it, and the second is that you have to go looking for what to start on next.

The starting comes with gratitude. I think of it as invoking the muse. It’s where you admit you don’t know what you’re doing next, but you open yourself up to the world and see what pulls on your attention.

Once that thread starts to pull, you have to unravel the whole sweater until it’s a pile of yarn and then you go out and start all over again.

You can’t go looking for the muse except for in a place of gratitude. You have to accept whatever might come to you. And, if you assume the ideas are infinite if not at least abundant, you’ll never come up short.

Life Question For You: How can you reframe an area of uncertainty in your life as an opportunity for grateful exploration?

LEGACY: Mastery Is Only Comparing Yourself to Past You

Key Concept: True mastery isn't about beating competitors or gaining recognition - it's about consistent self-improvement measured only against your previous self. The "cringe" you feel looking at past work isn't embarrassment - it's proof of growth. This internal scorecard creates sustainable motivation that doesn't depend on external circumstances.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: The past-self cringe factor just keeps coming up, doesn’t it? I do think Lawrence is on to something profound here. Improvement means your prior standards are regularly being raised.

It doesn’t mean you can’t look back fondly on old memories or accomplishments. It does mean that - when I look back on old Cultish Creative posts for example, there’s a ton where I know I wrote about something, but then pull it up and go, “What even is THAT?!”

My standards have evolved over time. I’ve learned a ton about what makes posts the most useful, as entries in my Personal Archive, to my present tense self.

So yes, I too cringe when I look back, but I cringe because it’s a sign of progress. That progress spreads too. It means when I meet somebody like Lawrence, even if we do some very similar and very different things, we can share a small bond over the journey we’re on and the knowledge that we aren’t in competition with each other, we’re just striving to be better versions of ourselves, all of the time.

More people saying this in the world makes a difference. It’s a big reason I hope more people check out Lawrence’s book. The external validations aren't worthless, but they're overfocused on. Recognition and success feel good when they come, but building your creative life around chasing them is what gets you in trouble.

Legacy question for you: Looking at your work from a year ago, what "cringe" actually represents your most meaningful growth?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Connect with Lawrence Yeo on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and check out his wonderful newsletter, More To That

• Pick up his book "The Inner Compass"

• 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/click 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.