Inspiring Insights

Jake's insights inspired me to embrace learning and pursue my passions with renewed energy and independence.

Alex Smith

★★★★★

I have always had this nervous feeling about posting on social media.

Constant reminders of the potential dangers I received growing up.

For example, the Hawk Tuah girl this year was fired from her job because the TikTok of her went viral.

Hearing that is my worst nightmare and the reason why I stayed away from any social media.

But what I read online next was remarkable...

Last week, I saw she made nearly $300,000 in the first month after that video (No, that does not mean you should quit your day job and start dancing on TikTok).

Some people who work 40 years with benefits don't even have $300,000 in their IRAs.

With my jaw wide open, all I thought was—you gotta be kidding me...

Her story was a massive transfer of energy.

And my goodness, she monetized that continuously growing energy.

Thanks to my engineering classes, the law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; only converted from one form to another.

Her energy was transformed and then concentrated into one giant problem:

Opportunity.

Alive and beating like a pulse.

The New York Mets even let her throw out the ceremonial first pitch in August.

That was the exact moment I realized social media wasn’t just a place to share memes or dodge potential pitfalls—it was a launching pad for growth and success.

With the right mindset and a bit of savvy, you can flip the script and see social media not as a risk, but as a superpower.

This is how I am going about social media now.

I see something like LinkedIn or Twitter as an opportunity to write about what I am learning, doing, and thinking.

And I know many people struggle with opportunity (especially on social media), so I thought it would be brilliant to share how to use it to your advantage and save you the headache of going around in circles.

But it doesn't really exist.

There is no magical algorithm.

No rays of heavenly sunshine pouring through clouds as I discover the holy grail of content.

Instead, my opportunistic problems slowly dissolved in favor of more productive entrepreneurial exercises.

After seeing the statistics on some of my posts, I can't deny I am more confident in posting on social media.

Sometimes I felt like Batman being up all hours of the dark night. (I hate that I love puns)

Despite the endless studying I put into data science, I wrote 3 articles on Medium last year on topics that interested me.

I'm itching to post more. But that's only after finding out the truth:

You don't 'find' your opportunity. You create it.

My progress felt like being stuck in rush-hour traffic in the summer on the Garden State Parkway watching all the Benny's clog up the place (A Benny is an acronym for a person from north New Jersey).

But after I graduated with my master’s, I must have been struck by lightning or something because my energy has been electric.

Since then, I’ve been gunning past my own expectations and exceeding my goals.

In fact, I’ve started to use data science and AI to analyze trends, understand what resonates with my audience, and optimize my content strategy. What used to feel like guesswork is now a calculated approach to success.

I have this thought in my head like every day is 'Day 1' at my new job, and I am trying to make a great first impression on myself each day.

I have been dieting and working out more, and I feel like Rocky Balboa screaming 'Yo Adrian!' when he beats the Russian, like nothing will stop my momentum.

It may take a while to get to where I want, but I am determined to make a run.

So, stay along for my new social media journey.

You're going to love it.

-Jake