Leo’s Lemonade (Butterfly Edition 🦋)
Postcard 37
こんにちは
Greetings from Tokyo!
On the Agenda
(Travel) Hello Japan 🇯🇵
(Film Review) Amélie 🎬
(Personal) Mentorship - The Next 2 Years
(Personal) Coaching - The Next 20 Years
(Biz Update) Guide to Working With Me
(Biz Update) Company Values 🎖
(CTA) Where To Find Me
1. Hello Japan 🇯🇵
Japan is a spectacular place.
Observations. Leaving your home dressed in “business formal” attire is normal. Girls form duets with their besties (I find this adorable). Money is not handed to a cashier; it is put on a tray first. You don’t cross the street until it’s green; even if there are no cars. 90% wear (mostly white) masks; even though they are no longer required.
Culture. The rest of the world says: “preserve original culture”. Italian handbags are made in Italy with leather imported from Italy. Japan says: “make everything your own”. Whether it’s Indian curry or Finnish saunas or Chinese ramen— they ignore traditions and instead focus on creating the best possible product or experience. By doing so they make it authentic.
Salaryman. The depressed, overworked, male stereotype. The Salaryman is first to the office and last to leave; he never challenges his boss (doing so is a no-no); he’s loyal to a company for life; he drinks with his coworkers after work (because not doing so is frowned upon); he never gets a chance to see his family. The Japanese work culture is very performative. Nobody cares about what you get done; they just care about whether you showed up. For this reason, Japan will never be as innovative or forward-thinking as the United States.
Dating. The best way to learn a culture is to date somebody from that culture. For this reason, I’m looking for a Japanese girlfriend. I was told that Japanese girls often visit International or English-speaking events to find foreign boyfriends. So guess where I’m going this week!
2. Amélie Film Review 🎬
Amélie has the best opening scene in a movie I have ever seen. And I don’t say this lightly. I’d put it above James Bond’s infamous Casino Royale parkour scene.
I’d like to highlight some of my favorite scenes:
Scene - Who Is Amélie?
Amélie is six. Like all little girls, she'd like to be hugged by her Daddy. But he never touches her, except for a monthly checkup. The thrill of this rare contact... makes her heart beat like a drum. As a result, he thinks she has a heart defect.
Scene - Amélie Likes…
Turning round and looking at people’s faces in the dark…
Plugging her hand deep into a sack of grain…
Cracking crème brûlée…
And lastly…
Bonus Scene - Teaching Babies How To Swim
Reviews - What Do Others Think?
This critic captures my exact reaction as I was watching the movie:
Imagine a movie that hooks itself directly into your brain's pleasure centers, triggering grin after joyous grin, and you'll have some idea of what it's like to watch Amélie.
But Amélie has its fair share of haters. Funnily enough, all of the harshest critics seem to use candy references:
Critic 1: “Jeunet's lavish, hyperactive, romantic whimsy is now the gooiest dish on the cinema menu. You will need a very sweet tooth to take it. In fact, you may need a tooth of pure sucrose, not to mention gums of marzipan and a jawbone of sherbet.”
Critic 2: “A dribbling lump of caramel taffy.”
3. Mentorship, The Next 2 Years
Meet Zach Carlsen. He’s a personal coach who I found online. I sought him out after reading several of his StrengthsFinder blog posts, which I found to be superior to the official Gallup ones.
I paid $25 for his “Discovery Call”. Within 20 minutes of our call, Zach told me: "I don't know why you're looking for a coach. If I were you, I'd drop everything I'm doing right now and become a coach myself tomorrow."
Wow, what a powerful vote of confidence. “I knew I was good but not this good 🥺."
A week later, we had a follow-up call where he helped me with scheduling, pricing and positioning. I even made a landing page to summarize my learnings.
Disclaimer: In the following days, I had several more discussions with “experienced” and “credentialed” coaches who expressed “serious” and “logical” concerns about labeling myself as a “coach”. For this reason, I will re-brand myself as a “mentor” and adopt that position accordingly. Consider the rest of this section outdated relative to my current course of action.
Landing Page Copy (Outdated, But Feel Free to Steal 😃)
Tagline: Helping You Live Your Best Life.
Welcome 👋! Chances are, if you're here, you're probably:
Optimistic, Positive. You bring energy, zest for life.
Kind, Generous. People say you're nice, supportive.
Ambitious, Passionate. You believe you can do more, be more.
First things first, why work with a coach?
Simple.
You want to be the best you can be.
A coach will help you with that.
Okay... But Why Work With You??
Look. I will be honest. I don't care if you work with me or not. I hope you do, because I'd love to help you. But either way is good with me. 👋 Hi, I'm Leo. World Traveler, Entrepreneur and Writer. Last year, I was coasting through life. I got paid 6-figures to work 1-3 hours a day. I had it easy. Why did I quit? Simple. I saw higher potential in myself elsewhere. September 1st, 2022— I packed up my bags and embarked on a year of solo-travel. 7 months later— My adventures have taken me through Bali, Lisbon, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Sydney, and many more. By day, I'm founding a technology startup in my "Building a Billion-Dollar Business"® series. By afternoon, I work in Influencer Marketing at Delka Talents. By night, I coach passionate people to live their best lives. How did I get here? Let me tell you the secret 🔑... Everything starts and ends with self-awareness. ==CTA Button: Develop Self-Awareness== PS: I've personally found Clifton Strengths™️ to be effective at developing self-awareness. My Top 5: Adaptability, Intellection, Relator, Maximizer, Self-Assurance.
Let me help you choose the right coach. First, a few words of advice:
Be careful. If I were you, I'd watch out for...
Crazy Promises. Want to be a millionaire in 3 weeks? If I were you, I'd ignore these people altogether.
Vested Interests. Many coaches have an incentive not to solve your problems— but to keep you for as long as possible (more $ for them).
Same-size-fits-all. They ignore your uniqueness. They'll walk you through a framework that clearly does not work for you.
Great! So who are your typical clients?
Young Executives. You’re a Gen Z or Millennial with responsibilities in an organization.
Struggling Corporate to Creatives. You’re burnt out at your job. You want to leave your dead-end role and embrace your passions.
You? I have helped all sorts of people from all different backgrounds from all stages in life.
Here Are Our Promises (What You'll Receive):
Gain Confidence. Be comfortable in your own skin.
Develop Self-Awareness. Understand who you are— not who others you want to be.
Risk-Free Trial. Hinge is designed to be deleted. My coaching is designed so you don't need me anymore.
CTA Button: Book a Discovery Call
Our Pricing
The status quo pricing structure is broken. Clients have every incentive to schedule as little as possible. Coaches have every incentive to schedule as often as possible. This is in neither party's best interest. The coach and the client should be aligned to put the coachee's personal development first.
Introducing.. an Innovative Pricing Structure
Flat Fee, Set Duration, 50% non-refundable, 50% refundable prorated based on time-remaining. Cancel anytime.
The model incentives clients and coaches to work together efficiently. Clients can cancel anytime IF they are not progressing OR they feel they are all set. Clients have flexibility and coaches have stability to forecast their cash flow.
Aside: Obviously I have to test the market, but I think $6,000 for 6 months (avg $1,000/mo) is a reasonable place to start.
Still reading? If you're still debating, let me help you decide. Here’s who our program is not for:
You don't believe you can change. We're not here to convince you. We'll show you.
You're content with life. Congrats! You probably don't need a coach anymore.
You have clinical depression. This is not therapy. Please go see a mental health professional.
And lastly... Hear it from others!
A place for future testimonials.
4. Coaching, The Next 20 Years
Too many put pressure on themselves: “What’s my passion??” People stumble across their passions over time. You can accelerate this process by trying a lot of new things.
Introducing… Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a matchmaking platform. We match coaches with coach-seekers.
Aside: Is This the Start of My Design Portfolio?? The colors dark blue and gold (1) provides beautiful contrast, (2) conveys a stylish yet premium feel, (3) resembles lightning on a stormy sky. The butterfly mimics the letter M. The word “Metamorphosis” represents change— from an ugly worm 🐛 to a beautiful butterfly 🦋.
Basic Facts About the Business
Our Value Proposition. Hand-Selected Talents to Efficiently Maximize Human Potential. We help people become better human beings.
For Clients
Self-Improvement. Be a better you.
Find a Coach. Get matched with the most suitable coach.
For Coaches
Flexible Pricing. You set your price.
Find Clients. Get matched with the most suitable clients.
Join Our Network. Access tools, resources, and events.
Revenue
20% Commission
Individual Donations & Major Gifts
Clientele
Politicians
Businessmen
Entrepreneurs
Creative Professionals
Building a Billion-Dollar Business Series 📺🍿
Leo is “Building a Billion-Dollar Business”® while doing his “One Year of Travel, New Year New Me”®. He is currently founding a technology startup which he hopes will be the largest in the world. Follow along!
Table of Contents
5. Guide to Working With Me
When I was a kid, I used to play a game. Visualize a screen. Trains (red, blue, green) spawn on one side and move to the other. A timer sits in the upper corner. Your task is to flip the railroad switches so all the trains arrive on time and there are no collisions.
Running a business is analogous. Everything happens in parallel, there are tons of moving pieces, and every aspect has its own timeline, deliverable, characteristic, and function. Your job is to continuously create a synchronous, efficient, directed effort toward the ultimate goal.
I recently read a “Guide to Working With Me”. I found this an excellent idea for me to adopt as (1) it will help my co-workers know what to expect from me and (2) lets me define my own preferences and develop self-awareness.
I'm a natural delegator. As soon as I can offload something— I tend to do it. Of course, I have to be “quality ensurance”, but I'm more than happy to work through people. I’d go so far as to say it’s my preferred style of working.
In my short time as an "entrepreneur", I've outsourced design, research, development, recruiting, and more. Heck, I even tried to delegate my own role a few times! Whether a formal arrangement or casual ask— I find this super effective and fun.
With respect to working with me, here are a few additional things:
What I Like 😄
Short-Term Urgent Requests. I love these. I excel at helping people with problems in the moments they have them. Don’t be surprised if I just pick up the phone and call you.
Give Me Reading Material. I’m a quick reader & I’m happy to skim whatever you send me. Please don’t hesitate!
Present Me With Opportunities. I’ll always help you with problems, but I’ll be more excited if you come to me with opportunities or suggested courses of action.
Be Liberal With Praise. I’d like to know when I’m doing well. I’m ultra-sensitive to feedback, which is both a superpower and a potential vulnerability. If you must criticize me, please do so in a way that’s constructive, empowering, and positive.
I Need Flexibility. This lets me adapt quickly to changing realities. If you want to “lock me in”— then it better be important. Please do not mistake my flexibility for uncommittedness.
What I Don’t Like 🙅♂️
Wasting Time. I’m a busy guy and so are you. Respect for me means you don’t carelessly waste my time. Just like I won’t waste yours.
Negative Energy. I can’t stand constant criticism or passive aggression. It’s not healthy for anyone. If you have problems / objections / pain points— please be forthright.
6. Company Values 🎖
As an HR-first company, we are always #hiring. Applicants want to know: “What’s it like to work here?” Company values provide an answer to this question. So I decided to write up a draft of our values:
Peers is an HR-company first.
⭐️ Value #1: Happiness First
Wake up in a good mood on most days.
We encourage everyone to lean into what makes them happy.
⚙️ Value #2: Better Execution
Can we do better? We will.
Better everything.
🎭 Value #3: Passionate About Passionate People
We're a group of passionate individuals.
We’re a place for creators, by creators. We encourage everyone to explore their passions whatever they may be. We are not fixated on race, ethnicity, gender, age, or sexual orientation. We embrace individual uniqueness in all its forms.
7. Where To Find Me
Write of Passage. Signing up for WoP was the first best decision of my life. It instantly plugged me into a worldwide community of passionate writers. Do you want to switch from consumer to creator to citizen? The next cohort starts on April 17th. Register here.
Generalist World. Milly built a 200-person ($30k ARR) virtual community on a little Scottish Island with 170 population. Her thesis is: Embrace our multitudes. Three words to describe the people: supportive, kind, and multi-faceted. Three words to describe the demographic: ages 28-45, mid-to-senior level, strategy + ops. Join the Community.
Thanks for reading & have a great weekend!
If you’re new here, welcome to Leo’s Lemonade! My name is Leo Ariel, and I am a World Traveler, Writer, Entrepreneur, Marketer and Mentor.
Every week I write a postcard to you from wherever in the world I am. I generally like to share travel tips, business ideas, pieces of art, and mundane observations from life.
My readers have previously enjoyed Why Did Amazon Pay Me $170k/yr to Update a Wiki Page?, Growing Up in an Asian American Household, and Top 5 Life Advice for 23 Year Olds.
I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my postcards with your friends. It would help me reach others like you :)
Oh my gosh, I haven't seen Amélie in years, need to revisit that film. Your idea that dating someone from a culture you want to learn about is the fastest way to do it makes perfect sense, though I'm anticipating pushback from my wife as I pursue learning more about Italy using this method.
Have fun in Japan! Was awesome to chat the other day! 🗻