󠄉󠄉󠄉

How the F*ck Do You Get Better at Public Speaking?

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:10:00 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 9th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

If you came up to me 2-3 years ago and told me to introduce myself…

I would’ve flinched at first sight, tried to avoid eye contact with you, and mumbled my way into saying something like:

“Yeah uh… good to meet you. I’m Jeston, currently umm a senior in high school. Let’s see… I play the piano, and yeah, that’s who I am...”

Yeah. That’s not the type of greeting you want.

There’s this joke that people fear public speaking more than death, but if you think about it, I think there’s some element of truth to it:

Public speaking can be f*cking scary.

For most of us, we were never taught how to speak with confidence, conviction, and clarity.

But what if I told you that learning to speak eloquently (and also learning how to write well) is one of THE highest ROI skills you can learn in life?

2 years difference. Past version = way too shy, current version = way more confident

For anyone wanting to start their own business, do well at their career, or even meet someone new, learning to speak well is absolutely crucial beyond measure.

If you cannot clearly articulate your thoughts, you’re ngmi.

For example, I recently recorded a 10-minute uncut video of me being interviewed in real time, viewed by 3k+ strangers on the Internet:

This is @youdistro, where you can create social media posts via a simple conversation with an AI agent.
1. Go to youdistro[.]com
2. Go to "+ New Studio Session"
3. Select your persona
4. Start a convo!
In this video, I used Antoine, who speaks in a super excited, eager tone :)
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
1:53 PM • Jun 4, 2025

In this quick guide, I’m going to show how you can go from 0 to 1:

It First Comes from Within

Getting good at public speaking doesn’t first come externally; it comes from within.

If there’s only one thing to take away from this essay, it’s this:

How confident you are with public speaking is a direct reflection of how comfortable you are with yourself.

And how do you build that confidence?

You practice, and practice, and practice - until you’ve done it so many times that it feels completely second-nature to you.

For me, I’ve built an irrefutable stack of wins:

Journaled 750,000+ words
Started a podcast with 20 episodes
Hopped on calls with 30+ people the past 1.5 months
Met people from 25+ countries during my study abroad

If you’re not at a level where you’re speaking comfortably, chances are, you haven’t practiced enough.

Build the habit of regularly talking to people, and I guarantee you that you’ll get better over time.

But I’m not just going to tell you theoretical fluff.

Here are some ways you can tactically improve your public speaking game:

Own Your Intro Like it’s Yours (Cause it is Yours)

When I volunteered at Andrew Yeung’s tech event in Bel Air, I was petrified.

Why?

It was my first ‘networking’ event, and I wasn’t just meeting people my age at a career fair. I was meeting multimillionaires - tech entrepreneurs, investors, and creators.

If there was a place where I felt like the dumbest in the room, it was there.

But I learned a million-dollar lesson that still serves me super well today:

Cheeky pic with the 🐐, Andrew Yeung :)

Your first impression matters - a lot.

How you introduce yourself sets the precedent for the conversation moving forward:

Do you want to be someone who cowers behind their own shadow or someone who comes in with quiet confidence, graciously asserting themselves and what they do?

Of course, you’d want to choose the latter. Here are some tips to channel that inner zen:

If you say what you do, own up to it.
People love a good, firm handshake.
If you have 3 things to say about yourself, say ALL 3. Not 1, not 2.
Don’t walk around nervously. Keep your pace + movements assured.

There’s still more to share - let’s roll onto the next tip:

How to Be An Interesting Person

The biggest lesson I learned from podcasting is this:

If you want to become an interesting person, become someone who’s interested in other people.

The quality of questions is a direct reflection of how invested you are in learning more about the other person.

People love talking about themselves - who wouldn’t?

If you approach each interaction with genuine curiosity to connect, learn, and make a new friend, you’re going to get what you wish for: a genuine friendship.

Being a person you’d want to hang around isn’t that complicated:

Have a general sense of emotional intelligence. What does that look like?

Don’t just talk about yourself
But don’t try to pick someone’s brain
Learn to adapt to where they carry the conversation

TLDR: Lean on the side of asking questions, but do it sincerely and genuinely.

It All Comes Down to Your Story

Everyone loves a good story.

Master your story, master public speaking.

One of my favorite public speakers is none other than Alex Lieberman. Listen to the way he tells the story of Morning Brew in a recent pod:¹

He remembers the events like they’re in his back pocket
He adds conflict to leave listeners on edge
Opening up about his struggles builds trust with the listener
His sentences flow and weave together, with minimal filler words

This is someone who has lived a tremendously interesting life and retold his story over and over again.

There’s so much I can talk about storytelling, but for the sake of length, I’ll create a separate essay on this topic :).

Conclusion

In order to win at the game of life, you have to become a master of skills.

For a lot of people, I recommend public speaking to be on top of your priorities list.

I’ll leave you off with a great quote from Vinh Giang. You’ve probably seen some of his videos, but yeah, he drops some banger advice:

“You’re only as good as you can communicate. As you improve your communication skills, you’re then able to amplify to the rest of the world the best parts of who you are. You’re then able to show the rest of the world what you’ve truly got inside.”

Vinh Giang

Have a killer rest of your week.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

Thanks for reading! If you have anything you want me to cover, fill out this form here. What did you think of today’s edition? Would love to hear back from you: just hit “reply” or reach out to me on X/Twitter.

Jeston Lu

I’m a 20 y/o UCLA sophomore, a former international classical pianist currently leading go-to-market strategy at an AI startup, Distro, with Alex Lieberman (Co-Founder of Morning Brew) Previously, I was an operating partner for Peter Yang’s 125k+ subscriber newsletter, “Creator Economy,” and cold DM’ed my way into helping out at Andrew Yeung’s (Founder & CEO of Fibe) exclusive tech event, Lumos House LA. Also create soundtrack, films, podcast, and run marathons. Reach out here!

1 Little shoutout from the podcast at 16:23 :).

This Will Probably be the Scariest Thing I've Ever Written

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 15:12:05 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 8th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

This essay will probably be the most vulnerable thing I’ve written publicly.

I’ve done quite a number of hard things in my life:

Studying abroad in an unfamiliar country halfway across the world
Running a marathon for the first time, with a negative split and time of 3:41:29
Being in rooms networking with investors and founders for the first time
Performing a 45+ minute concerto with a 40+ person symphony
Casually hopping on calls with decamillionaires talking about market strategy

While I’ve created a stack of wins that have built me into the person I am today, there has been one thing that has always brought me unshakable fear.

The topic of making and charging money.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it - this will probably be the scariest thing I will ever write about. But if I want to build a business empire?

Well, it starts with doing scary things:

Becoming an Entrepreneur

I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur… just yet. Why?

To put it simply, I don’t have a business.

One of my role models in my HS freshman year was Joel Marion, who built a 100+ million eCommerce supplement company.

I’ve always dreamt of starting my own business one day, but there have always been excuses, doubts, and internalized scripts that tell me:

“You’re too young.”
“You’re not credible.”
“I’m not skilled enough.”
“Go work a 9-to-5 job instead.”
“You don’t have x amount of followers.”

But as I began trailblazing a path into the business world that allowed me to:

Be in rooms with 8-figure entrepreneurs
Develop the skills to drive concrete results

It became crystal clear:

I was literally debunking my scripts one by one.

Soon enough, I realized that my time was coming up:

It’s time for me to start my own business, to take on personal accountability, and create the life of my dreams.

But if there’s one thing that has been holding me back since Day 1, it’s this:

The Idea of Charging Money

Every business is a value exchange vehicle.

The customer wants or needs something, the seller shares that resource, help, or knowledge in return for monetary value.

Simple, right?

To me, I understood that loud and clear. Provide people value, and you get money in return. That’s business 101.

The biggest problem for me has always been:

“I don’t feel like I’m worthy of being someone who charges others for money.”

Money has always been a touchy subject growing up in an Asian household - one that can inflict great emotional reaction.

Some beliefs I was implicitly told about money:

Live below your means
Make money to save > invest
Making money is extremely hard
A traditional job is the only way to make money
If you don’t suffer, you don’t deserve to make money
If you’re making let’s say, $50/hr, you should be grateful and not ask for more

Looking back, it made a lot of sense. These beliefs were there to keep me safe from taking any unnecessary financial risks.

I grew up in a scarcity-based mindset, but… entrepreneurship operates in an abundance-based mindset.

In order to become financially rich, you must play a different game.

A game so radically different than what the 99% play, that requires you to break the beliefs of everything you know about money.

And what served me well in the past has to be completely vanquished.

Free Work

I’ve always been a big fan of doing free work for others.

That’s what got me into all these doors, and what I’m doing right now, leading go-to-market at Distro, an AI startup co-founded by Alex Lieberman.

I’ve been giving it my all, with ZERO expectation of any monetary return:

Spending 5-6 hours creating and custom-scoring a launch video
Leading GTM to achieving 3rd place on Product Hunt for the day
Brainstorming long-term growth / strategizing organic marketing
Hopping on frequent meetings with active users and team sync calls

Here’s what my friend, Sonith (who runs Z-Fellows), said as well:

Working for free changed a lot for me.
It’s interestingly clear, however, that certain people are against this.
When young, some opps are worth going all in on.
It’s low ego, scrappy and changes trajectory.
This isn’t just referencing my prev post - I have many takes.
— Sonith (@_sonith)
4:03 AM • May 24, 2025

While free work is awesome (especially when you’re working with your mentors), it comes at a great price when you’re starting a business:

For those who do want to work with you, saying you do free work is massively underselling your worth and the value you can provide.

Zero money? Zero business.

The lifeblood of business is cash flow. If you want to run a business, you have to make money. Simple as that.

A New Way of Looking at Things

This goes back to why I and many others pursued this path from Day 1:

The entrepreneurial journey is the greatest personal growth journey anyone can ever embark on.

Along the way, we unlearn the scripts that are holding us back from living our full potential.

The actual math of growing a business isn’t hard.
It’s overcoming the mental, emotional, and psychological barriers that hold us back.
— Jay Yang (@Jayyanginspires)
2:11 AM • May 18, 2025

And when we do, we create a life that enables us to live freely and successfully across all domains - financially, spiritually, socially, and more.

I share this to be brutally honest, and hopefully, one that some of you can resonate with. The journey is rewarding, though never easy.

This is just a small glimpse into some of the obstacles I go through on a daily basis.

If you’re somebody a few steps ahead, I’d appreciate any thoughts around this topic - definitely one that deserves more conversations about.

And of course, new things are cooking up. New business ideas, new ventures, new opportunities.

As I like to say, it’s just the beginning of everything.

Keep on getting after it, my friend. 👊

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

Why You Should be Creating Content on the Internet

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 27 May 2025 14:36:32 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 7th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

A huge announcement before I share this week’s essay:

I got featured on Alex Lieberman’s podcast, Founder’s Journal!

It’s about my story on how I public pitched my way to work for one of his companies, StoryArb, got rejected twice, before landing a role handling go-to-market for his AI startup, Distro (which you can read more about here :)

Was listening to this episode 30,000 feet in the air while flying across the middle of China. What a crazy life this is haha.

You can tune in to the episode below:

Hire wrecking balls

Founder's Journal · Episode

open.spotify.com/episode/4hyYIFkWv4pgknZ5ujvlDX?si=82417ebb2324413b

Now back to the essay:

We live in the most permissionless era of all time.

One way to make the most of this massive opportunity is by leveraging the Internet the right way, especially content.

One of my favorite online writers, Packy McCormick of Not Boring, writes:

“The Great Online Game is free to play, and it starts simply: by realizing that you’re playing a game. Every tweet is a free lottery ticket. That’s a big unlock.

Anyone can play. You can choose how to play given your resources and skills at the current moment. You can level up fast. Financial and social capital are no longer tied so tightly to where you went, who you know, or what your boss thinks of you. This game has different physics and wormholes through which to jump. It’s exponential instead of linear.”

Packy McCormick, “The Great Online Game”

Creating content online is like being granted free lottery tickets. The more shots you throw, the more your luck surface area expands.

Every career-related opportunity I’ve gotten was by putting myself online.

But when you’re starting out, you may be bombarded with so many questions like:

Where do I start?
What do I talk about?
How do I stay consistent?

In this essay, I’ll be diving into into 3 fundamental principles to surcharge your content. Whether you’re just starting out or already creating, this is the post for you:

Beat Your Competitors by Sheer Volume

I’ve posted 3,700+ times on X/Twitter.

But before you say, “That’s a lot!” - look at how many times other successful people have posted.

Chances are, they’ve posted WAY more.

When you’re trying to grow an audience or market your product, you can beat 99% of people simply by:

Showing up every day
Doing that for months + years on end

Before you try to find the best strategies to use, first get in the habit of doing something consistent for a long time.

Why? Only by doing a lot of something can you collect enough data to know what you need to improve on.

3,700 posts is honestly not that much. Some do well, some flop, some do alright.

I'm not too attached to the outcome of an individual post because I know I'm going to continue posting hundreds, thousands, if not tens of thousands of posts.

This moves on to my next point:

Move Beyond the Plateau

When you’re starting out, you’re inevitably going to feel like you’re shooting yourself into the void.

You publish your first post and then… crickets.

The reason why creating content online is such a great skill to have is because it builds mental resilience over time.

For anyone creating content, we all know what it felt like when we were just starting out. You put all this effort into creating something but receive no external validation back.

This was me a year ago:

Reminder for anyone starting out: KEEP GOING.
This was me ONE year ago. 😂
Felt like I was shooting into the void, but looking back, the compounding was already taking place.
I just had to trust it, and sure enough, I did :).
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
3:25 PM • May 21, 2025

But how many people have moved past the so-called “valley of despair?”

A lot of people quit after not seeing any traction. It’s more common than you think, and it makes complete sense: why would you continue if you don’t see any progress?

But here’s the honest truth:

Every time you post, the compounding is working its magic behind the scenes.

Externally, you will see crickets. But internally, you are slowly refining your voice, writing, and adding another point of data for improvement.

"Make 100 videos, and with each new video try to add one new thing to make it better than the last one."

Mr. Beast

So keep going. Your breakthrough is just around the corner.

Creating Content is NOT About You

This is probably the most important lesson I’m learning:

Creating content is not about you.

The other day, I came across a short video by Caleb Ralston.

He’s an absolute baller - he was working behind-the-scenes for people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Alex Hormozi.

In the video, he said a few things:

Content is when you make it about other people
Making things for others = conversions
Find what the audience likes → hammer that in

The hardest challenge is when you're starting out and have no idea how to stand out / go viral.

After all, there are thousands building in public, sharing unsolicited life advice, repurposing quotes, etc.

The big question to answer is: “What makes YOU worth following?”

Here are several principles I’m currently following:

Everyone's story is unique. Stories > content
Courage goes a long way. Do the thing 99% won't do.
Play to your strengths. What are you better than most at?
If one piece of content does well, double down on it.

Remember: creating content isn’t just about you.

It’s about serving others and doing that repeatedly - over and over again.

Conclusion

Here’s a quote by Naval Ravikant, co-founder of Angel List, to top things off:

"The most powerful money-makers are actually individual brands.

In fact, if you’re starting out today as a young, ambitious person, you don’t learn real estate; you don’t learn coal and oil mining; you don’t go into the extraction of physical resources to create wealth. You go into ideas space. You go into programming, books, movies, blogs and podcasts and building robots, which are mostly intellectual property underneath.”

Naval Ravikant

Have a killer rest of your week.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

I’m a 20 y/o UCLA sophomore, a former international classical pianist currently working with Alex Lieberman (Co-founder of Morning Brew and StoryArb). Previously, I was an operating partner for Peter Yang’s 100k+ subscriber newsletter, “Creator Economy,” and cold DM’ed my way into helping out at Andrew Yeung’s (Founder & CEO of Fibe) exclusive tech event, Lumos House LA. Also create soundtrack, films, podcast, and run marathons. Reach out here!

What I've Learned Working at a Startup for 2 Weeks

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Mon, 19 May 2025 14:20:59 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 6th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

Never would I have ever imagined being part of and featured in a Product Hunt launch.

Not only that, but to launch a startup alongside Alex Lieberman (co-founder of Morning Brew) and a killer technical founder, Dev Sharma.

We also have PH’s top hunter, Karthik Puvvada, helping us rise the ranks to the featured page and hopefully… TOP 5 by the end of the day. ¹

We’re super excited to announce:

Distro, your personal AI interviewer / podcast host – turning conversations into content. Distro’s the host, you’re the guest. Distro asks, you answer.

If you’re struggling to build a consistent content habit, wanting to build a personal brand, or seeking to drive revenue to your biz through content, Distro is for you.

You can find us LIVE HERE on Product Hunt. ² Would be awesome if you could:

Smash that upvote button
Share it with family & friends
Comment the hell out of the launch page

Here’s the launch video that I personally filmed, edited, and created music for:

How did I get here?

Well, read the beginning of my journey here and my essay on pursuing unconventional career paths :).

But long story short, Alex needed someone who could handle GTM (go-to-market strategy) for Distro’s upcoming Product Hunt launch.

I said, “Why the heck not?” and here we are, less than 2 weeks later.

Even got a crazy comment from the goat himself:

This guy is the definition of a wrecking ball.
He's a 20yo at UCLA, currently studying abroad in China.
He wanted to work with me, so he posted a thread pitching ideas he had for my company @storyarb.
The thread ended up getting 50k views.
We didn't end up having a need
— Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
12:33 PM • May 19, 2025

As a way of sharing being transparent with what I’m learning, here are 5 pieces of “insider wisdom” I’ve learned on marketing, sales, and product success.

Let’s roll. 🍻

5 Pieces of “Insider Wisdom”

1. Speed of Iteration is Key

When you’re a startup, you want to move quick and nimble. Work hours or taking weekends off are nonexistent - you just work (a super fun type of work :).

But there’s no better feeling: working at a startup feels like you’re being onboarded on a spaceship.

It’s just you and a few key team members, and you’re all off to the races.

The quicker you can ship out updates, market your product in front of users, the better.

The faster you iterate, the faster the rate of improvement.

2. Document in Public

My X account recently hit 500 followers - all from documenting my journey, building in public, and befriending other Internet wackos like me.

300,000+ impressions in the last 1.5 months

Here’s the truth about launching any type of product:

If you’re not mastering your distribution systems, your product will almost never take off - especially in the age of AI.

Here’s one of my favorite startup aphorisms:

“First time founders are obsessed with product. Second time founders are obsessed with distribution.”

Justin Kan, co-founder of Twitch.tv

Learning how to go viral and build a genuine following online has never been more important than before.

Check out my guide if you want to start out on X/Twitter - it’ll be the best decision you’ll make if you’re interested in startups, biz, or anything in between.

3. Create an Amazing Launch Video

I wasn’t kidding when I spent 6+ hours on a 90-second launch video.

From one convo with AI,
To infinite pieces of content.
This is @youdistro.
LIVE NOW on Product Hunt: 👇
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
12:16 PM • May 19, 2025

When you’re launching a product, people WILL see your launch video. A+ quality has to be the standard.

Creating this for Distro, I actually learned a lot:

The first 15 seconds should clearly communicate your product
The next section should show the audience how your product works
The last 15-30 seconds should include a specific CTA

A launch video is taking your pitch on steroids - include killer edits, storytelling, and music and you can take your product launch to the next level.

4. The Simpler, the Better

When you’re talking about your product on social, make your messaging as clear, concise, and easy-to-understand as possible.

Here’s the 3-part framework I’ve learned to implement:

Novelty
Familiarity
Approachability

A good product has to feel fresh, new, and novel. But at the same time, it needs to feel approachable and familiar.

Here’s some feedback I’ve learned:

Got some valuable feedback when promoting a product

For example, we recently launched a huge update for Distro, the Distro Editor.

It allows you to edit content using AI while making it sound authentic and personalizable. We called it: “The ChatGPT canvas but for content.”

We recently launched a ChatGPT-like canvas but for content creation.
We call it... Distro Editor.
New features include:
・Post editing + formatting options
・Preview functionality for X/LinkedIn
・Export to post capability
・Post archive access
Much more to come!
— Distro (@youdistro)
12:09 PM • May 16, 2025

It’s novel (there’s no AI canvas for content yet that’s high standard) and approachable / familiar (many people in AI know of ChatGPT’s Canvas feature).

Explain the product as if you’re explaining to a 5 y/o. Bring in something new but reference to something familiar.

When in doubt, simplify.

5. Hammer in the Differentiator

Find your product’s biggest differentiator and hammer that in the messaging.

Per Alex, “For Distro, it's being interviewed by AI and ideas & insights are pulled out of you." Distro is your personal podcast host / AI interviewer.

People won’t remember all the nitty-gritty details about what your product is - they’re going to remember the 1-2 things that particularly stood out to them.

One way to do that is to leverage what’s unique about your product and promote that everywhere - posts, launch videos, sales calls, etc.

Play to your strengths and you shall be rewarded.

Conclusion

These lessons can not only be applied to startups, but also when it comes to building your own personal brand.

If there’s something to take away from this post, it’s this:

Mastering distribution is one of the best skills you can learn. Why?

Distribution can allow your work to be seen by millions
Distribution can land you your dream job
Distribution can help you build a loyal following

In the meantime…

Go check out our Product Hunt launch! Would be super grateful if you could give an upvote, comment, and share it with others.

I believe one of my businesses can change millions of lives.
And we just launched on @ProductHunt!
It'd mean a ton to me & the team if you'd take 30 seconds & support the launch (link below).
Here's the quick story behind @youdistro.
This business solves a problem I've
— Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
11:04 AM • May 19, 2025

🚨New Launch Alert 🚨
Just hunted @youdistro on Product Hunt 🚀 earlier today
Built by the incredible @businessbarista@jestonlu & Dev Sharma
Distro is your personal podcast host, turning everyday conversations into ready-to-publish content in minutes.
Build a daily
— KP (@thisiskp_)
11:17 AM • May 19, 2025

Go, go, go :).

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

I’m a 20 y/o UCLA sophomore, a former international classical pianist currently working under Alex Lieberman (Co-founder of Morning Brew and StoryArb). Previously, I was an operating partner for Peter Yang’s 100k+ subscriber newsletter, “Creator Economy,” and cold DM’ed my way into helping out at Andrew Yeung’s (Founder & CEO of Fibe) exclusive tech event, Lumos House LA. Also create soundtrack, films, podcast, and run marathons. Reach out here!

1 A “hunter” in Product Hunt is someone who submits (or “hunts”) a new product to the platform. Products hunted by well-known hunters = more likely to get noticed + upvoted early on.

2 Product Hunt is a platform where startups and builders launch, discover, and promote new products. Think Reddit meets startups.

20 Lessons From 20 Years

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:26:16 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 5th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

I turned 20 years old a couple of days ago.

Spent my 20th birthday at a K BBQ with friends + night hike up the Great Wall :)

This past year has been life-changing for me, partially driven by this pressure to get my life together before I would become an “adult.”

If you’re 19, you’re considered “a teenager.” But 20? Now, you’re well and truly in the real world.

Turning 20 is weird. You feel simultaneously young and old. It’s a paradoxical feeling, a push-and-pull of sorts.

While I’m only 20, I thought I’d offer 20 lessons I’ve learned over my 20 years of being on this planet.

I’ve been through a fair share of experiences, challenges, and events that I believe are helpful for those reading.

So, without further ado, here are 20 lessons from 20 years. Enjoy <3.

Work + Career

1. How to Escape BS Work

You’re told that entering the workforce is one giant, mindless slog you power through for 40 years straight.

Let me cut to the chase: it doesn’t have to be that way.

You CAN work on interesting things and be able to do that for a living. My work right now has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life so far.

Be relentlessly curious, build things that are exciting to you, and publicly document it.

2. Forget the Traditional Way

The top 1% of careers aren’t found through traditional gatekeepers like job applications, resumes, or referrals.

Don’t wait around asking for permission, just do things.

Send out cold DMs, create public pitches, and create noise on the Internet. Be willing to do free work. Add value without any expectation of return.

3. Apprenticeship is the Best Form of Learning

Forget lectures. Forget the traditional school system.

The best type of learning is 1:1, where you’re learning under an expert who’s been there, done that.

This is what has gotten me from good to great in classical piano, and this will be the blueprint I’ll be following as I build my business empire.

Find your heroes. Then, find a way to work with them.

4. Don’t Get Trapped by Job Titles

Job titles restrict the scope of work that is available out there.

The best type of work is where there isn’t a job title yet. That’s the type of work that’s exciting. How can you be more on the fringes of what’s possible?

Job titles also box you into a certain identity. Once you’re locked in place, it’s hard to get out.

Don’t be categorized by titles; be fluid in your work. From there, create something fresh and exciting.

5. Start Posting on X/Twitter

One of the best decisions of my life was creating content on Twitter last April 2024.

I attribute all my jobs, opportunities, and network to come from this platform.

If you’re interested in startups, tech, or just any high-agency domain in general, this is THE place for you.

If you’re interested in getting Twitter-pilled, I wrote a full guide here.

Relationships

6. Who You Hang Around Becomes Your Destiny

If you want to change your life, change the people you hang around with.

Something that has single-handedly contributed to my success so far was by making friends who had expanded my perception of what’s possible.

Be around those who are high-energy, high-agency, and high-integrity.

Cannot be stressed enough.

7. Create a Personal CRM

I’ve met hundreds of people online and IRL in the past few year.

Some have become my close friends, some have even become my business partners.

When you meet that many people, it’s super valuable to track who you’re meeting, what they’re working on, and ways you can add value to their lives.

I’ll talk more about it in a future post, but one of my mentors, Andrew Yeung, has a great essay going more in-depth.

8. Cherish Your Early Supporters

True friendship is revealed in those who root for you, even during your loneliest, darkest hours.

Their relationship with you doesn’t depend on whether you’re successful or not - they’re here for you, despite the circumstances. That’s a true friend.

For those who were there even when nothing was going for me, thanks for sticking around. It means everything. Truly <3.

9. Come With a Servant Mentality

When making new friends, don’t only talk about yourself. Instead, be interested in others. Ask questions, probe deeper into their lives.

Come first with, “How can I be interested?” or “How can I provide value to you?” instead of “Let me first talk about myself.”

The way to be an interesting person is to be an interested person.

Make the other person feel comfortable sharing about themselves. It’s human nature 101: we like to talk about ourselves.

10. Protect Your Energy

While it’s great to come with a helping hand, it’s just as important, if not more, to set boundaries.

Protect your energy. Say no when you don’t feel like sharing. Avoid one-sided, transactional relationships. Don’t let people pick your brain.

Your energy is limited and valuable. Don’t willingly give it to those who just want it to benefit themselves.

Life + Personal Growth

11. Travel as Much as You Can

At the time of writing this, I’ve visited a dozen locations in China during my study abroad here:

Beijing, Tianjin, Chengde, Jinan, Zhangjiakou, Cuandixia, Datong, Qingdao, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Chongqing.

When you’re young, fit, and living with few obligations, travel as much as you can. Broaden your horizons, expand what’s possible, and enjoy the journey.

12. Don’t Range Bound Your Life

On a spectrum of 1 (feeling the absolute shittiest) to 10 (feeling the absolute best), most people live a range-bound life, between 4 to 6.

If you want to experience life on the 8s, 9s, or 10s, you must first experience the 1s, 2s, and 3s.

Living life to the fullest means experiencing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

You’re here to experience the fullest extent of what life has to offer. ZERO regrets.

13. Develop Morals Etched in Stone

As you grow older, you’ll be confronted with decisions and opportunities that will test you.

It’s your job to discern and do what’s right. And that can only be done by having a clear set of principles, morals, and values.

Maybe that’s through a higher power. Or maybe that’s through a personal set of pillars you create for yourself.

Whatever it is, make sure you’re living aligned with your inner self. Super important.

14. Develop High-Agency

The world is more malleable than you think.

If you’re unsatisfied with your current situation, you’re not stuck in it forever. You have the power to take control of your life and do things to make it better.

No one’s going to pull you up by the bootstraps - if you want to make something happen, get after it and get it done.

No excuses; only the excuses you give to yourself.

15. Nothing Happens, Then Everything at Once

Change often takes longer than you think. You wait, and wait, and wait. You doubt yourself, skeptical that anything will ever work out.

But then one day, it all changes. You hit a breakthrough. You strike gold.

Once you do, people will call you an “overnight success.” But behind the public glory are private nights of continuous hammering and consistency.

Nothing happens, then everything at once.

Art + Misc.

16. Create Things You’ll Look Back Forever

My music films are my magnum opus.

They will continue to be masterpieces I’ll rewatch over and over for the rest of my life.

Short-form creations are easily perishable (e.g: tweets, TikTok videos, etc.). Long-form creations are not (e.g: movies, albums, documentaries, etc.).

As Anu Atluru says, “make something heavy,” something that will last for the years and decades to come.

17. Journal Extensively

I’ve journaled ~750,000 words in the past almost 3 years. I’ve written 300,000 words in 2024 alone, averaging anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 words per month.

Why journal so fricking much?

I attribute so much of my self-awareness to typing out all my thoughts and my day-to-day activities in front of a computer screen.

A nice byproduct? My writing has improved significantly in the past few years.

18. Create a Second Brain

Another immensely high-ROI activity is to create a second brain. It’s essentially a digital repository of all your learnings, notes, and thoughts.

I started this back in 2021-2022.

Now, I have my favorite curated essays, podcast episodes, and book notes ranging from topics like geopolitics to copywriting all in one place.

Invest in creating one early and watch the compounding take place.

19. Become Fit

As I’m traveling around China, it’s become apparent to me that being healthy and fit is not optional, but a MUST if you want to experience life to the fullest.

More often than not, I’m biking 25 km around Beijing or racing up mountains in a random city close to Inner Mongolia.

You have to be fit in order to participate in any of these activities.

Take care of your health NOW before it’s too late. Do anything that will get you moving.

20. Go Back Home More Often

Something not many people tell you once you move out to college or work is how less often you’ll get to see your parents or be back home.

This year alone, I’ve only been home for 2 weeks. The rest of my time was abroad halfway across the world.

Cherish your time at home. Cherish your time with family. Because once you graduate from high school and move out, things won’t be the same anymore.

What’s Next?

It’s a bit surreal, knowing that I’m in my “20s” now.

I’ve been hearing all about how the 20s are supposedly going to be the “greatest years of your life,” and to some extent, I feel like I have to live up to that expectation.

I still don’t know where life will take me, and the only thing I have is a compass guiding me in a general direction.

It’s almost unfathomable how much progress I’ve made in the past year, but at the same time, I feel like it’s nowhere near enough.

So here we go. Time to buckle up and charge forward.

20s, here we come <3.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

How to Change Your Life in Just One Year

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 06 May 2025 14:29:00 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 4th post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

In high school, I knew I was destined for great things. There was a fire from within me burning so strong that it has allowed me to conquer anything that went against my path.

It took a few minutes to spark the fire.

But it took almost 5 years to productively channel the fire into meaningful results.

I’ve always thought about the separation between those who make it vs. those who don’t. The doers versus the planners. The action-takers versus the thinkers.

In other words, the 1% versus the 99%.

Winners and losers all dream the same things:

“I want to finish a marathon.”
“I want to become an entrepreneur”
“I want to create my own films”

But what makes someone actually accomplish those things versus those who just talk about it and never go about achieving them?

First, a little backstory:

One Year is All It Takes

I look at myself one year ago:

Miserable. Directionless. Stuck.

I had just burned all the boats of my previous 14 y/o reign as a classical pianist. My entire identity collapsed in a snap of a finger.

My path to a professional musician shone brightly like a full moon on a clear night sky.

It was so obvious. So incredibly obvious.

But instead of accepting the straightforwardness that could’ve come with my life, I barreled sideways into the thickets of the forest, hacking my way through the prickly pines to find another path beckoning my call.

And coming out of this long, dark march through the forest, I had created a path that felt more true, aligned, and alive than I have ever felt.

Here was I in August of last year:

I'm transitioning to a new stage of life right now:
2010-2023: Piano
2024-???: 🙋‍♂️
I don't know where this is taking me, but I'm so f*cking ready. The past year has been a season of unstructured learning. I've read more books, started a podcast, dove into creating music films,
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
6:33 AM • Aug 19, 2024

And since then, I:

Trained 4 months to race my first marathon (3:41:29, negative split)
Ran 1,300+ miles in 2024, set PRs in 5k (20:28) and 10k (41:58)
Started a podcast of 20 episodes, landed dream guests
Went from knowing 0 people in my network to 100+ through cold DMs and calls
Am working with and being in the same rooms as 8-figure multimillionaires
Am spending the first half of 2025 living and studying abroad in Beijing, China
Premiered 3 official films around the world + composing original soundtracks

This is to show what’s possible if you channel your fire into results, NOT dreaming about it and never taking action.

You probably hear the same advice regurgitated over and over again.

Advice like: “Learn by doing,” “just take action,” or “stop planning too much.”

By and large, these are good heuristics. But it’s preached so much to the point that it almost loses its meaning.

Instead, I’m not going to tell you to simply “take action.” I’ll tell you lesser-known secrets to actually mind-bend reality to your will.

Not just theoretically, but on a practical level on how you can actually change your life:

How to Win the Game of Life

You have to recognize you’re playing the game of life.

Like any game you play (e.g: my previous post on starting out on X/Twitter is also a game), this game has several characteristics:

It’s 100% malleable
Many “rules” are illusory and aren’t actually hard-set rules
It’s a choose-your-own adventure

Think of the game of life as a series of levels. The people that are at a level of success you want to get to are simply several stages ahead of you.

In order to become the person to achieve your wildest dreams, you have to iterate into a version of yourself that can materialize these wishes with the snap of your finger.

By leveling up over and over again, you eventually create a version of yourself that is capable of living out your goals with complete ease.

By then, you simply being you will be enough to make these dreams come true.

“Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

Steve Jobs, “Secrets of Life”

The Recipe to Level Up

To elevate from one level to the next, there are several practical quests you need to fulfill. Think of yourself as going treasure hunting.

I find there to be 3 main objectives:

Skills
People
Experiences

Let’s run an example. What if you wanted to become the top 1% in classical piano?

Skills: Deliberate practice for 2-3 hours a day, study the greats
People: Learn from an expert who’s been there, done that, soak up everything
Experiences: Perform and compete in competitions extensively

You can copy and paste this formula into literally anything. Business? Not a problem. Running your first marathon? Definitely.

The only caveat is - you have to know what you want to level up on. That, my friend, will be for a future post.

Most importantly, though, it’s about realizing the fact that you CAN change your life in a year, and that change starts NOW.

Get after it.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

I’m a 19 y/o UCLA sophomore, a former international classical pianist currently working under Alex Lieberman (Co-founder of Morning Brew and StoryArb). Previously, I was an operating partner for Peter Yang’s 100k+ subscriber newsletter, “Creator Economy,” and cold DM’ed my way into helping out at Andrew Yeung’s (Founder & CEO of Fibe) exclusive tech event, Lumos House LA. Also create soundtrack, films, podcast, and run marathons. Reach out here!

A Quick & Easy Guide on Getting Started on X (Twitter)

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:30:00 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to my 3rd post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

A lot of people have been asking me how they can get started on X/Twitter.

The truth is though: I’m no “Twitter influencer” by any means.

I have > 500 followers
Most of my tweets never go viral
I still don’t know exactly what content I want to post

But what I can give advice on is how I’ve used Twitter in the past year to get in rooms you otherwise couldn’t have gotten into.

Leveraged well, creating content on Twitter can easily become one of the best decisions of your entire life.

X/Twitter is such an amazing platform. Cut away the noise and you find yourself in a corner with some of the most interesting people in the world. While some argue its magic has died over the years, it still offers so many opportunities you otherwise couldn't have imagined.
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
2:35 PM • Mar 24, 2025

So how do you do it? Here’s my playbook:

Who is X/Twitter For?

For many reading this, you probably want to use Twitter to kickstart your career.

But you don’t just want to kickstart your career - you’re fed up with traditional gatekeepers. You want something different, something spicier.

However, it’s not as simple as a magic pill.

Just like how you learn the rules when you play the college admissions game, you have to learn how to play the Twitter game.

While a traditional path encourages people to play by the rules, Twitter rewards the opposite:

High agency
Permissionless work
Out-of-the-box thinking

Playing the Twitter game is like being onboarded on a spaceship. Once you’re in it, it’s a “fast-track” to doing interesting work and meeting other high-agency individuals.

It’s not for everybody, but for those who Twitter is for, it’s a haven.

The Secret of X/Twitter

Here’s the secret about Twitter:

While having ~400 followers doesn’t seem like a lot (especially when you compare it to personal accounts on Instagram having 1k+), the “quality-per-follower” ratio is way higher than any other social media platform.

Growing trust on Twitter is primarily based on 3 criteria:

Do we have any mutuals?
Is this person posting interesting content?
Is this person working on interesting things?

It (usually) doesn’t matter if they have 100 followers or 50,000. Again, it’s the 3 criteria that matter more.

The hardest part about succeeding on Twitter is getting initial eyeballs to your profile and content.

When you’re starting out, you probably know zero people - and that’s completely normal. I started with 0 connections and 0 clue on what I want to talk about.

But how do you get from 0 to 1?

Going From 0 to 1

If I were to create my Twitter account all over again, I’d boil it down to several steps.

First, optimize your profile + bio.

Include what you’re working on, what content you produce, or some form of credential (e.g: “19 y/o building @[project], 100k+ users”).

Make sure your bio has your face on it. You’re here to build genuine human connection - you have to put yourself out there.

Second, curate content you find interesting.

When you’re trying to discover what you want to create content about, there’s no better way to take what you’re already consuming and publicly document it.

This can be as simple as compiling notes you’ve taken from watching an educational video on YouTube.

There are already many people doing this. Check out Jay Alto or Aadit Sheth for inspo.

Why is it valuable? There’s a deluge of information out there. Curators will always be needed to filter out the noise and present high-quality, bite-sized knowledge.

I'm going all-in on curation.
There's an overwhelming amount of business content.
And the majority of it is just regurgitation of existing ideas.
Search cost has never been higher, which is why curation has never been more valuable.
And I'm going to bet my reputation on
— Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista)
3:17 PM • Jan 22, 2024

Third, send genuine cold DMs to people you find interesting.

To succeed on Twitter, you need a squadron of early supporters. And the only way to do that is to reach out and form initial friendships.

Just like a startup needs to do unscalable things when they’re acquiring early customers, you have to do a similar thing, too.

Here’s a hack: reach out to people who are also on a similar stage of the journey as you are. Not only will they be more likely to respond, they’ll also be more likely to engage with your content as they’re starting out as well.

Bonus points if you start a podcast, but more on that in a future post.

Not sure how to craft a well-written cold DM? Don’t worry, I gotcha.

I created a whole Notion dashboard taking you from 0 to 1 on crafting and sending your first cold DM.

Zero gatekeeping, zero fluff. Check it out here or below for a demo vid:

Announcing... The Cold DM Blueprint 📮
I went from knowing ZERO people exactly 1 year ago; now I'm working alongside my Internet heroes building multimillionaire-dollar business empires.
How? All by sending out well-crafted cold DMs.
Now, I'm sharing everything I know - for
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
2:31 PM • Apr 23, 2025

Want help getting started on Twitter? DM me, but only if you’re serious about starting out.

If you just created an account, also reach out - I’ll give you a shout-out.

Happy tweeting!

Jeston Lu

Ditch the Traditional Job Market: Do This Instead

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:06:57 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 2nd post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

2 weeks ago, I published a Twitter thread pitching myself to work for Alex Lieberman, the co-founder and executive chairman of Morning Brew.

Feeling ambitious, going to shoot my shot:
Hey @businessbarista, I’d love to work for you and your company @storyarb.
Here’s my pitch to help you with content strategy:👇
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
2:28 PM • Apr 8, 2025

As of writing this, this thread has generated:

42,000+ impressions
110+ likes and 50+ bookmarks
100+ followers from people in tech and biz

And crazily enough, I landed a call with Alex and got an offer to help him out on his business, StoryArb, a B2B content agency for heads of marketing at companies valued at 10+ million in revenue or venture funding.

I did this without a resume (I genuinely don’t know how to craft a good resume) or sending in a traditional job application.

Heck, this role working 1:1 with Alex didn’t even exist in the first place. And no, I don’t have a 4.0 GPA (nowhere close) or any prior professional work experience.

How did it happen? And for those who want to pursue a similar path, how do you do it?

Whether you’re ready or not, I’m going to show you the red pill and introduce a concept that may blow your mind.

No fluff on this newsletter, only hot takes and honest-to-god thoughts.

Here it goes:

Outlier Actions

If you want to stand out in a ‘crowded’ job market, you have to differentiate yourself among the masses.

Everyone with the same credentials is applying for the same jobs and roles on the same websites with the same resumes.

It’s like the Buzz Lightyear meme:

I’ve seen this over and over again:

People sending 100+ job applications but hearing nothing back
Going through interviews getting asked dorky things like: “So how do you cook your steak?” (No really, my friend got asked that at an interview for Morgan Stanley 💀)
People with fancy STEM degrees from top 20 universities but getting rejections left and right

It’s not that you’re not qualified enough - it’s all about how you position yourself that sets you apart from the rest.

“We’re taught that you need to work hard to get the outcomes you desire. But hard work itself is not enough. You need to be creative. You need to be resourceful. You need to do valuable, unique, and rare things to stand out from the crowd. I call these Outlier Actions.”

Andrew Yeung (“Outlier Actions”)

If you want to stand apart, you need to cultivate high agency.

Cultivate High Agency

What’s high agency? Most of society waits for permission before they can do x, y, z.

High agency people call this BS. They don’t wait for the green light to tell them what to do. They control the traffic, not let the traffic control them.

When it comes to starting their career, they see what 99% are doing, do the opposite, and take the third door. Here are some unconventional examples:

Don’t apply to jobs, cold DM for jobs
Don’t attend networking events, start a podcast
Don’t create resumes, create content or build in public

"When you're told that something is impossible, is that the end of the conversation, or does that start a second dialogue in your mind? How to get around whoever it is that's just told you that you can't do something. So, how am I going to get past this bouncer who told me that I can’t come into this nightclub? How am I going to start a business when my credit is terrible and I have no experience?"

Eric Weinstein (Episode #131 at The Tim Ferriss Show)

Don’t believe it works?

It’s not just me; recently, this Waterloo student made a video pitch to become Shopify’s first marketing intern (in all of Shopify’s history).

Within a few days, her video got:

950k+ views, 600+ retweets, and 5.9k+ likes
Replies by Shopify’s COO and President (“You are hired”)
The attention of the world’s best founders, executives, creators

Hi @Shopify, room for one more?
— Julia Fedorin ⁂ (@juliafedorin)
9:39 PM • Apr 16, 2025

If the state of the job market - and college admissions - is already this abysmal, what else do you need to convince you to pivot to a new path?

Play a New Game

If something isn’t working, why keep on hammering the same place? Find a different place to hammer, or better yet, consider whether the game you’re playing in the first place is even worth playing at all.

Here’s a video Peter Yang made that I recommend checking out:

Control your own destiny - live your life in a way where success is 100% guaranteed, not a slim 1% chance by doing the same thing as everyone else.

Don’t partake in a losing battle where the odds are stacked against you. Play a game where you know you can turn it into your hero’s journey.

Stop waiting for someone to hand you the golden ticket; you have to create it yourself.

Stop hammering. Take the red pill.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

The Beginning of Everything

󠄉󠄉󠄉󠄉 — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 14:55:48 GMT

👋 What’s Up!

Hey there, this is Jeston Lu. Welcome to the 1st post of my new newsletter. I share my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship. Join the community here. If you have any topics you want to see on this newsletter, feel free to fill out this form here. Glad you’re here!

Join the Squad

Welcome to my (newly revamped) Beehiiv newsletter!

You’re probably wondering why I’m on here, again. If you were one of my super OG followers, you remember I did a 10-week sprint last summer 2024, documenting my life and sharing weekly learnings along the way.

It was fun, until I became too scattered with my priorities.

But now, I’m officially bringing it back - all because of one tweet that changed my life:

Feeling ambitious, going to shoot my shot:
Hey @businessbarista, I’d love to work for you and your company @storyarb.
Here’s my pitch to help you with content strategy:👇
— Jeston Lu (@jestonlu)
2:28 PM • Apr 8, 2025

Needless to say, everything changed from there. (And yes, I landed the role with Alex :) I actually wrote the full story on my Substack - you can check it out here.

After chatting and hopping on calls with some of my new friends, many expressed interest in learning more about my journey as a former international classical pianist breaking into the world of entrepreneurship.

So here we are.

I’m (re)starting this Beehiiv newsletter because I want to share weekly lessons on everything I learn in my business journey. I’ll be taking you from 0 to 1, as an ambitious 19 y/o college student building his legacy from scratch.

And if you’re reading this, you’re part of the OG fam. Cheers! 🍻

This newsletter will resemble a lot like my Twitter. Relatively short posts, but value-packed with actionable insights to level up your life or career.

If you want long-form essays, travel posts, or detailed personal stories, my Substack is the way to go.

Brief Origin Story

If you’re new here, here’s a brief introduction about me:

I spent the first 18 years of my life practicing 3-4 hours a day to become the best classical pianist I could possibly be. Credit my mentors along the way to helping me achieve that goal - forever grateful <3.

I did very well during high school, traveled around the country doing competitions + intensive music camps during summer.

Highlight of it all? Definitely the time I performed Beethoven’s 5th “Emperor” Concerto with the California Youth Symphony during my last year of high school. That was incredibly surreal.

While I could’ve continued that into music school and beyond, I decided to take a step back, went for a typical university path (UCLA), and reconsidered what I actually wanted to do with my life.

Here’s the funny thing, though: when you leave the very thing you’ve spent so much of your life wrapping your identity around, you become fragmented.

So, I fell into a dark hole during my first year of college.

Didn’t know what I wanted to do, had zero support system, and hated the path I was walking down - uninspiring, traumatizing, and misaligned with who I craved to become.

While I don’t look back with a fond eye, it was settled:

I never want to stoop this low ever again.

Here’s the thing about hitting your lowest point: there’s only one to go, and that’s up. So I spent last year, 2024, rebuilding myself one brick at a time.

Ran my first marathon at Santa Rosa, PRs in 5k and 10k
Started a podcast hosting 20 episodes + guests with 250k+ followers
Doubled down on music films, premiered 2 official movies + 2 albums
Became an operations partner for Peter Yang’s newsletter with 100k+ subs
Cold DM’ed into Andrew Yeung’s exclusive tech event, Lumos House in Bel Air

And from there, I stumbled across a niche corner of Twitter - the tech and business world.

For the first time, it felt like I found my “people:”

Those who radiated high agency, curiosity, and collaboration
Those who weren’t willing to settle for something mediocre
Those who were working on interesting projects, jobs, or opportunities

And now, you can say the rest was history. Currently dabbling with permissionless apprenticeship working under my favorite entrepreneurs and falling deeper into the rabbit hole of business, startups, VC - all that jazz.

What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out, and you heard it first from me:

This is just the beginning of everything.

That’s it from me.

I’ll see you in the next!

Cheers,

Jeston Lu