In this interview, the host (Speaker A) asks the guest (Speaker B) about the role of authentic, long‑term connections in his personal and professional success, especially for creators trying to build a consistent online presence. The guest shares a counterintuitive insight: his most valuable investment has been nurturing a 15‑year friendship that began at Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit, where he met travel blogger Jodi Ettenberg while backpacking and writing for Nerd Fitness. He explains how staying connected with Jodi, whose health challenges became the focus of the ninth chapter of his book, illustrates the power of sustained, genuine relationships. The conversation highlights how such relationships have underpinned major wins for the host as well, and the guest offers practical advice for listeners seeking to forge meaningful, authentic connections online—emphasizing consistency, authenticity, and a long‑term mindset over quick‑fix tactics.
Chapters
And if it's all right, like I'd love to touch on, I was just gonna ask you about connection and your approach to that because, and I feel like you've touched on a little bit with kind of your way you relate to authenticity and sharing kind of from being in it. But, you know, it's funny, the thing that came to mind, you know, we talk a lot about relationship and what I've experienced at least in my journey over the last 10 years is I can trace back relationships that I have to almost every huge win that I've been able to accomplish. It's funny, I saw, you know, you were on one of the notes I shared here on Substack, and I saw you reconnecting with Ryan Levesque, who's someone we've also had on the show. And, um, and I was just, yeah, I was just curious, like, how, you know, if you could share what, you know, and you said you're also betting your future on this, you know, this connection and this aspect of things. I'm just curious, like, what has that— what part has that played in your journey, like, through creating what you've created? And, you know, for someone who might kind of feel like they struggle with how to do meaningful, authentic connection online, what advice might you give to them? Who's, you know, for somebody who's trying to share more consistently.
This is going to sound, I don't want to say counterintuitive, but it's one of the best things that I've done for myself. 15 years ago, a gentleman who I followed by the name of Chris Guillebeau, who maybe some people here listening are familiar with, he started a conference. Called the World Domination Summit. And at this time I was backpacking around the world while writing Nerd Fitness articles. So I made sure that my trip went through this conference. And at that conference, I'll say I met a woman by the name of Jodi Ettenberg, who ran a website called Legal Nomads. She was a, she was a lawyer turned travel blogger. And it's now been 16 years since I've met Jodi, or or maybe let's say maybe not 16, 15 years since I've met Jodi. And the entire 9th chapter of my book is not dedicated to Jodi, but tells Jodi's story because she went from being a world traveler. She had a routine, you know, spinal tap surgery go wrong and she's now essentially bedridden and don't know if things are going to get better. I've stayed in touch with Jodi for 15 years. I'm so— excited to be able to tell her story and how she navigated this, because sometimes, like, just keep trying and you'll get better. Like, that is not an option for a lot of people. And I wanted to make sure that those folks had a— Yeah.
