⭕️ You have to be odd to be number one

In partnership with

Hey friend,

This week’s newsletter is abit personal.

See, a lot of us are great at working hard. At showing up for others. At building cool things, chasing big goals, and being “on track.”

But you know what most of us struggle with? Actually owning our story.

The messy parts. The weird parts. The parts that make us feel like we don’t belong.

For years, I used to hide those parts. I thought they made me less credible. Less impressive. Less “leader-like.”

But the older I get and the more stages I step one, the more I realise: Those parts? They’re not weaknesses. They’re your edge.

So today, I want to share a lesson from my TEDx talk about what it really means to own your story and why it might be the one thing holding you back from the impact you’re meant to have.

Let’s get into it.

read time: 4 mins

Opportunities This Week

If you’re looking for more opportunities, check out our living document of 25+ opportunities here

Try Artisan’s All-in-one Outbound Sales Platform & AI BDR

Ava automates your entire outbound demand generation so you can get leads delivered to your inbox on autopilot. She operates within the Artisan platform, which consolidates every tool you need for outbound:

• 300M+ High-Quality B2B Prospects, including E-Commerce and Local Business Leads

• Automated Lead Enrichment With 10+ Data Sources

• Full Email Deliverability Management

• Multi-Channel Outreach Across Email & LinkedIn

• Human-Level Personalization

Book a demo to see what Ava can do.

p.s: my goal is to never charge you for this newsletter and opportunities I share. To enable my to do this, I work with advertisers. If you don’t mind, please click on any of the above links (it will help me make rent this month aha)

Owning Your Story

Let me tell you something I wish I knew earlier:

People can only connect with you when they can see you. Not the polished version. Not the perfect version. The real you.

And the fastest way to show people who you really are? Is to own your story.

In my TEDx talk, the second step of the T.O.D.A.Y. framework is O – Own Your Story. And it’s one of the hardest ones to do, especially when the story you have feels too weird, too different, too “out of place.”

For me, that meant starting a menstrual health project as a teenage boy. People called me “PAD Man”. I got made fun of. Questioned. Some people even told me I shouldn’t be doing it. But the truth is? That “oddness” was my edge. That story became my strength.

Because when you own your story, you take control of your narrative. You turn what could be shame into something powerful.

It reminds me of this quote my brother used to live by: "You have to be odd to be number one."

He had it everywhere. His WhatsApp status, his Instagram bio, even tattooed on his skin. I didn’t get it then. Now? I live by it.

Your quirks, your awkwardness, your failures, the things you think are too different—those are the things that make you unforgettable.

Let’s be real:

If you’re trying to change the world, stand out in your field, or lead in any way... you won’t get there by blending in.

Think about it:

• MrBeast counted to 100,000 on camera before becoming one of the biggest creators on YouTube.

• Messi was told he was too small to go pro—and now he’s one of the greatest to ever do it.

• Taylor Swift got hate for writing about her feelings—and now those feelings sell out stadiums.

They didn’t hide their story. They owned it.

And the same goes for you.

If you’re writing poetry in your free time, building something on the side, or leading a movement no one understands yet—own that.

That’s the thing that will set you apart. That’s the part of you that others will remember.

And when you do that? You don’t just shift your own life—you give others permission to do the same.

So here’s what I want you to reflect on today: What part of your story are you hiding? And what would happen if you chose to own it instead?

Because the truth is: You have to be odd to be number one. And the sooner you start embracing that? The sooner the world gets to meet the real you.

My friend, there’s so much going on around the world and I don’t know about you but it feels really hard to keep up with everything. From politics to AI to socials, the list goes on. On top of that, the constant feeling of “I am not doing enough” feels so overwhelming sometimes. If you feel anything close to this, just want you know that you’re not alone and I am here with you sitting side by side. And I say this every week but I genuinely am very grateful to have you part of this community (even though this email may feel automated lol).

Before I say bye for this week, just wanted to remind you of my goal of having my TEDx talk viral (see last week’s newsletter for context). We are now 23 days away from launch date and 102 people from our community have joined the inner circle. It would mean the world to have you join as well (our goal is to hit 1000 people by launch date).

Thank you for always supporting my friend,

Forwarded this email? Sign up here

Let’s connect on Linkedin and Instagram