A nurse found me passed out in a bush in front of UCLA hopstial…
18 hours before that I was having an awesome dinner with A List copywriters Conner Larkin and Mike Abramov.
And now I’m resting up at my boy, Mike Abramov’s place…
(Mike, I know you’re reading this. I fvcking love you brother)
Mike graciously dropped all his work…
Stayed at the hospital and took care of me for nearly 36 hours.
After various Blood analysis and EKG tests later…
I learned arguably the most important lesson I’ve ever learned.
And no it’s not a copy or markteing lesson…
(or maybe, if you read between the lines, it is)
The most important lesson in life (and business)
I could focus on how hospital I offered the UCLA staff anything they wanted, including money, to bump me to the front of the line and get treated immediately…
Showing me, in real time, how powerful it is to tap into real, urgent, iminiment pain…
I could focus on how precious life is, and how things can change in an instant.
I mean just look at mine and Mike’s text (in the image attached), that spanned less than 5 minutes.
BUT
There’s an even more important lesson.
Here it is:
You need a tribe. A family. People you can lean on.
As introverted as many of us are… We aren’t love wolves.
Let me say that again.
YOU do NOT thrive alone.
In fact, I would argue that no healthy human is a lone wolf.
We require other people to thrive. It’s built in to our deep rooted ancestral DNA.
Every widly profitable piece of copy I’ve ever written or produced has been the product of 3 or more brains: Chris Wright, Robert Bennett, Mike Abramov, and others who’d like to stay anonymous.
But it goes deeper than that.
We need other people to lean on; especially in times of chaos.
As the world descends into what will (hopefully) be the shortest sledgehammer recession of our time…
You need a tribe to survive and thrive. People to call on when times get tough.
Becasue LIFE happens.
I did not wake up yesterday thinking I would wake up passed out in front of UCLA hostpial.
But I did. It happend. I couldn’t plan for that in a million years.
And if hadn’t taken the time to really culivate and water my relationships…
If instead, I just focused on business and making money (like many of us do)…
I would’ve been absolutly fvcked.
The last few days have been crazy.
And all I can say is that I’m grateful that I focused on the relationships in my life.
Yes money is important. It solves a lot of problems.
But it’s really hard to buy loyal, ride-or-die friends. Who will be there during the best of times and the worst of times.
So right now, I want you to do 2 things:
1. Go pick someone in your phone you haven’t talked to in a while and text them. Reconnect. Water that relationship.
2. Pick someone you’re grateful for in your life, and write them a HANDWRITTEN letter.
And then actually send it.
I’ve made this a regular practice over the years and it’s an absolute gamechanger.
There’s a famous quote that I’m reminded of…
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
African Proverb
Remember, life changes fast.
So go out and live it, now.
PT
P.S. A special thank you to the following friends who were there for me during this wild ride: Mike Abramov, Auna Littlejohn, David Castelanelli, Zara Ahmad, Charlie Gallagherand many more. I love you all!