The Only Skill That Matters
How I went from journalist to seven-figure co-founder in four years
Four years ago, I was grinding out articles for an average salary.
Today, I'm co-founder of a seven-figure business.
I didn't have some secret network.
I didn't inherit money.
I didn't get lucky with timing.
I learned.
That's it. That's the entire story.
But before you roll your eyes at another "just learn bro" take, let me show you what this actually looks like in practice.
Because the gap between where I was and where I am now isn't filled with courses, degrees, or mentors.
It's filled with one thing - the ability to learn any skill I need, exactly when I need it, using tools that cost less than your coffee habit.
The Learning Shift Nobody Talks About
Most people treat learning like it's 2010.
They think they need to enroll in something, consume content passively, maybe take some notes.
Then they wonder why nothing changes.
Here's what changed for me.
I stopped treating learning as this separate phase that happens before doing.
I started learning while building.
When I needed to understand copywriting, I didn't buy a course.
I went to YouTube, found the best practitioners giving away hundreds of hours of their process for free, downloaded those transcripts, fed them into ChatGPT, and had it guide me step-by-step through writing my first sales page.
When I wanted to build a custom dashboard for our students, I didn't hire a developer.
I figured out I needed a vibe coding tool, researched which one fit my use case (Replit), and started building.
When I hit roadblocks, I learned about Claude Code, got it running, and had it create plans and execute them.
I'd give feedback, paste errors, iterate.
Within hours, I had something that would've taken a traditional dev team weeks.
The pattern is simple.
Clear goal, reverse engineer the steps, figure out what tools exist to automate or accelerate those steps, execute.
The Actual Process
Let me get specific because vague advice is useless.
Yesterday, I wanted to run my own AI vector stores.
I'd heard about Supabase but never touched it (Replit has built in databases.)
Instead of putting it on my "someday" list, I had Claude walk me through setting up a private Supabase instance on Railway.
It installed everything, configured the vector stores, got it running.
Total cost to me - free.
Total time - maybe an hour of back and forth.
I now have infrastructure that only a few years ago startups raised seed rounds to build.
When I wanted to automate my YouTube script writing, I broke down the process.
What makes a good script?
What are the steps?
Hook, retention elements, story arc, call to action.
Then I built a workflow using AI agents and prompts that handles each step.
Now I have a system that writes scripts faster than I could manually, and they're better because the system doesn't forget steps or get lazy.
The learning happened during the building.
I didn't spend three months studying automation theory.
I had a problem, researched solutions while solving it, and came out the other side with both a solution and new skills.
What This Actually Requires
You need to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
You need to be okay not knowing how to do something and figuring it out anyway.
Most people hit a roadblock and stop.
They don't know how to code, so they can't build the thing.
They don't understand funnels, so they can't market the thing.
They've never done copywriting, so they can't sell the thing.
I hit those same roadblocks.
The difference is I view them as learning opportunities, not stop signs.
When I wanted to build full-stack web apps, I didn't enroll in a bootcamp.
I started building, used AI tools to write the code I didn't know how to write, debugged errors by pasting them into Claude and asking for solutions, and kept moving forward.
Now I can spin up projects in an hour that used to be entire funded startups.
The skills compound.
Learning copywriting made me better at marketing.
Learning about funnels made me better at product design.
Learning automation made me faster at everything.
Learning to code (even with AI assistance) made me dangerous because I can build whatever I need.
The Tools Are Already Here
A $20 ChatGPT subscription gives you a personal tutor for any topic.
You can learn marketing, sales, coding, design, strategy, operations.
You can have it create step-by-step plans.
You can have it review your work.
You can have it explain concepts ten different ways until one clicks.
YouTube is free and has world-class practitioners teaching their exact processes.
Take those videos, grab the transcripts, dump them into ChatGPT, and have it synthesize a custom curriculum for you.
Tools like Replit, Claude, Cursor - they let you build professional-grade products without traditional coding knowledge.
They don't replace skill, they accelerate learning.
The barrier isn't access.
The barrier is you not using what's available.
The Execution Loop
Identify a clear outcome you want
Break down what skills or knowledge you need
Find the best free or cheap resources (YouTube, articles, documentation)
Use AI to synthesize and guide you through implementation
Build the thing while learning the thing
Debug, iterate, improve
Move to the next outcome
No six-month runway.
No waiting until you feel ready.
No analysis paralysis.
You learn by doing, and you do while learning.
The gap between the two disappears.
What This Means For You
Your value in the market is directly tied to how many useful skills you have and how quickly you can acquire new ones.
If you can only do one thing, you're replaceable.
If you can learn anything, you're essential.
I went from journalist to business owner not because I was naturally good at business.
I learned copywriting.
I learned marketing.
I learned funnels.
I learned automation.
I learned enough code to be dangerous.
I learned to manage people.
I learned to sell.
Each skill multiplied my value.
Each skill opened new opportunities.
Each skill made the next skill easier to learn.
The person who can write, code, market, sell, and automate is worth 100x more than the person who can only write.
Not because any single skill is that valuable, but because the combination is rare and powerful.
The Real Advantage
Speed.
When I can learn a new skill in days instead of months, I can move faster than competition.
When I can build tools that used to require teams, I can test ideas that others can't afford to try.
When I can automate processes that others do manually, I can scale what they can't.
The learning ability is the meta-skill.
Everything else flows from it.
You want to know how I built a seven-figure offer in four years?
I learned faster than my competition.
I built faster because I learned while building.
I adapted faster because I wasn't locked into a single skillset.
Every roadblock was a learning opportunity.
Every problem was a chance to add a new skill.
Every challenge was making me more valuable.
Where You Start
Stop waiting.
Stop planning.
Stop researching the best way to learn.
Pick one outcome you want.
Today. Right now.
Maybe you want to build a landing page.
Maybe you want to write sales copy.
Maybe you want to automate part of your workflow.
Maybe you want to build a simple app.
Whatever it is, start building it.
Use ChatGPT as your guide.
Watch YouTube videos from people who've done it.
Copy their process.
Ask AI to help you implement.
Debug as you go.
Learn while doing.
You'll be bad at first. That's fine.
You'll hit roadblocks. That's the point.
Each roadblock is teaching you something.
In a week, you'll have a finished thing and new skills.
In a month, you'll have four finished things and compound knowledge.
In a year, you'll be unrecognizable.
The tools are here.
The resources are free or cheap.
The only question is whether you'll use them.
Most people won't.
They'll keep waiting for the perfect course, the right mentor, the ideal conditions.
They'll stay stuck.
You don't have to be most people.
Learn. Build. Repeat.
That's the only skill that matters.