A speaker credits Russ's 2016 song "Do It Yourself" for inspiring him to self-teach Photoshop, build Shopify sites, and sell on Amazon. He argues the real lesson isn't doing everything alone, but learning hard skills first so you can attract the right partners. Start now, embrace the mess, and stop using lack of knowledge as an excuse.
Back in 2016 when I was in college, I used to listen to this song almost every day. I don't need her, I don't need him. Fuck it, I do it myself. No one's got this, no one's got that. Fuck it, I do it myself. I mean, I listened to it religiously. It was my daily motivation. At the time, I was doing a lot myself. I was designing things on Photoshop. I was working on Shopify sites, and I was trying to sell stuff on Amazon. I was trying to do everything myself. Do It Myself pushed me to try new things, learn new skills and make cool shit. Not knowing how is not an excuse not to make cool shit. I don't know how is just I don't know how yet. There are so many free tutorials on the internet, you could learn anything. But I also might have taken Russ's song a little too seriously. I was trying to be that loner doing everything myself. I wasn't making internet friends, I wasn't meeting new people online, I wasn't doing any strategic partnerships of any sort. I was trying to do it all myself. And even Russ doesn't do everything himself. He has his crew of friends, rappers, photographers, and artists all helping him. What do it myself really means is learn the skills yourself. What Russ was missing, and what I wish I could have told a younger version of me, was step 1 is do it myself, learn the skills, and get better. But step 2 is start partnering with other people. The most important thing though is you can't skip step 1. You can't start networking with people until you have hard skills, but it's worth it. When you learn the hard skills, you become a magnet for like-minded people. I saw someone ask a developer online, "How do you find a technical co-founder if you don't know how to code?" The developer replied, "Learn how to code." I always love that story because it's so true. You can't rely on other people for skills. If you don't have the skills there, then you have to learn them yourself or pay for them. Don't let a lack of knowledge or network stop you from making cool shit. Start ASAP. It won't be pretty, but you'll learn a lot and have fun.
