The secret to success everyone has but no one wants to give…

Hey Contrarians,

Last week, I met a guy who ran a business for 61 years.

That’s six decades.

He now lives in Monaco, is a billionaire, has kids, a beautiful wife, and an insane life.

It made me think:

​What if time is the main ingredient?

In life, we always look for the next hack, the right business model, the path less traveled we can optimize and outsource to ChatGPT.

We’ve completely forgotten why we’re entrepreneurs – to build something so big, we live long after we die.

To do that takes one thing more than anything else... Time.

Today in 10 minutes or less, you'll learn:

✔️ Frameworks from a billionaire

✔️ Time kills all things

✔️ One thing most fortunes have in common

✔️ Travel is a teacher

✔️ The kick in the a$$ you need

Frameworks from a billionaire

As I sat on a plane heading out of France, a well dressed – dare I say kind of good looking – elderly chap sat down next to me.

Nice watch? Check. Custom baggage? Check. Drinks tea with a pinkie raised? Check.

I have a rule of largely NEVER talking on a flight, but I was intrigued. I knew he had a story. So we struck up a conversation.

The next 2 hours flew by and ended with his concierge meeting us at the door, expedited security, an offer of his second driver and to come meet his family in Monaco this summer.

You know, normal-people stuff.

His name is Geoffrey Kent, he’s a billionaire, and he arguably started the luxury travel market we know today. I left with a few frameworks that will change how I do business forever. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Time kills all things

But time, it can also build all things.

Geoffrey ran Abercrombie and Kent for 61 years. There is a lesson in that.

His story in 61 seconds:

His billion dollar company all started with him being born in 1942 in Zambia. He was raised in Kenya to hunt, ride horses, and question authority. He got expelled from school at 16 for having a motorcycle. Instead of switching schools, he went on a two-month road trip where he became the first person to travel 3,000 miles on motorcycle from Kenya to Cape Town. Not a safe route to say the least.

His thread of adventure carried through enrollment in the British military, to becoming the world polo champion alongside the Prince of Wales. One day, he realized he wanted to integrate his love for adventure and travel in business. So in 1962, he started Abercrombie & Kent with the idea to do photographic safaris and the slogan, “Hunt with a camera, not with a gun.” He created the first luxury camping tent experience in Africa, and today A&K has 55 offices in more than 30 countries, offering 100s of tours across all seven continents.

He’s managed to make millions while adventuring across the arctic, circumnavigating the globe in a private plane, and hiking peaks from Kilimanjaro to Torres del Paine. How?

He said, “There is one magic word. Time.”

What if the recipe is simply:

The one thing most fortunes have in common…

When someone has made a lot of money and you dig into their background, I can almost guarantee you one thing:

You’ll find some acquisitions there.

• Geoffrey actually sold A&K to a Chinese Private Equity firm in 2016.
• Then bought it back for pennies on the dollar when that company stumbled.
• Acquired the polar expedition ship MV Explorer in 1992.
• Recently bought Crystal Cruises, a luxury cruise line.

When you know how to play the game, you learn to look for deals everywhere. You learn these three beautiful words:

Buy + Your + Profits.

Turns out, unless you have a home run of an idea powered by a titanium level of resolve, the acquisition path is just smarter.

Travel is a teacher

I feel like that might be on 90% of Instagram bios, right next to “Live, Laugh, Wanderlust” and all the used and abused John Muir quotes.

And yet, there’s something poignant in its truth. Travel teaches. And we crave it.

We get so wrapped up in our biz's and careers, we kick our bucket list down the path.

There is saying we use in business-buying: “Do you have a job or a business?”

What’s the difference? A business runs without you. A job is tied to your time.

As we come into the summer, I think about all the business owners who will miss that vacation with their family, who will spend the two weeks in their cell phone. (I’m looking at myself on this one, Codie.)

Then I remember founders like Peter Lohmann, who takes off a month a year without a cell phone while running a million dollar business, or Ann who runs a $100Million business while traveling 100 days a year.

We used to work, travel, and vacation like this…

Now we do it a bit like this…

Geoffrey says, “Travel teaches us as much about ourselves as it does about the world.”

What if he’s right?

The kick in the a$$ you need

I have a question for you.

Have you noticed increasingly that we run our businesses from our keyboards, forgetting about the world around us? That our neck cranes down to manage, not up to marvel?

When did we become a group of vitamin-D-deprived, Allbird-wearing, alternative-milk-drinking, extreme PowerPointers, who dream of get-rich-quick NFT schemes?

Many of us got soft. We don’t climb mountains. We only take risks with other people’s money. We sit behind keyboards bragging about how ChatGPT did all the work.

How can you make the most money by employing the fewest people and doing the least work? How can you get mailbox money? Or a fast exit you can tweet about?

What a terrible thing to strive for.

The secret: Entrepreneurs don’t exist just for a bunch of zero’s and some big exit, but because we are crazy people willing things into very existence. We are supposed to be the next generation of explorers, risk-takers, adrenaline junkies. Addicts to the masochistic mission of achievement and ownership.

The feeling of being so damn unemployable your only option is owner.

The inability to sleep because of visions so big they pull you from bed in the dead of the night.

Dreams so futuristic, people laugh at them.

Those are the entrepreneurs I admire.

We’re investing in entrepreneurs like them... Who don’t want passive income, they want f*ing empires.

My husband and I have a saying:

“Protect those who can’t, cast aside those who won’t, enable those who want.”

Here’s to all of you who want so badly that your wants become realities.

I want your hands dirty, calloused, and rough.

- Codie

​

🛳️ Are cruises your trip of choice? Just do your best to stay on board​

🔌 First electric car vs first all-electric car to be most-sold car in the world

📈 Visualizing: NVIDIA in the trillion $ market-cap club… vs revenue​

🕯️ One simple hack to get millennials to spend money at your business

🤳 95% of teens use social media & the surgeon general has thoughts on it

Ready to become part of the Contrarian Crew?

There are 2 ways to join:

✔️ Small Business Acquisitions Course: A step-by-step framework on how to build freedom and passive income through SMB acquisitions.

It's like a mini-MBA, but one you'll actually use (and at 1/100th of the cost!)

✔️ Work closely with us in the Unconventional Acquisitions Mastermind to buy your first, or next, business if you have a minimum of $50k to invest!

​

Did someone forward you this email?

Tell them we appreciate them.

Then, get your own free subscription.​

​

Interested in advertising with Contrarian Thinking?

Interested in advertising with Contrarian Thinking?

​Get in touch.​

​

What Did You Think of This Week's Newsletter?

​💲💲💲💲💲F*cking Killer​
​💲💲💲Meh​
​💲Do Better​

​

Spread the Wealth Making serious bank with boring businesses is anything but boring. And the good news is, you can now spread the wealth by sharing our newsletter with your squad, fam, or Tinder match. Plus, you'll get sweet rewards for each friend who signs up. https://sparklp.co/c35522c2 Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email Your referral count: 0 Start Sharing Now

We share our best content on social...

Disclaimer – This is the “Be an adult” section. This article is presented for informational purposes only. The opinions stated here are not intended to recommend any investment or provide tax advice. Neither are they an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle by Contrarian Thinking, LLC or its affiliates. All material presented in this newsletter is not to be regarded as investment advice, but for general informational purposes only. Investing does involve risk. We cannot guarantee profits or freedom from loss. You assume the entire cost and risk. You are solely responsible for making your own investment decisions. We recommend consulting with an advisor. By reading/sharing this newsletter or consuming our content on our other channels, you are indicating your consent and agreement to our disclaimer.

Make us sad and Unsubscribe • Or Update Preferences​

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205