Beverly Hills, Truckee, and Why You Belong

Dear Andre, (1.2 min read)

I used to think change had to hurt. That upgrading your life meant sacrificing your peace. That discomfort was the cost of progress.

But this week? I’m not so sure.

Because this week, I didn’t just stretch. I enjoyed it.

I sat at a one-day conference with Erwin McManus and Brendon Burchard. I met the people I’d been learning from for years. I shook their hands, asked questions, and realized something shocking:

They’re just people.

And so am I.

Then I spent time with my mentor Adam. The conversation? Less about how to make money, more about how easy it is to solve money problems when you're surrounded by the right people. The harder stuff—identity, self-belief, vision—that’s where the real work lives.

But something clicked.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve stood in some pretty wild rooms.

A cabin in Truckee. A table at Dante inside The Maybourne. The Beverly Wilshire Hotel. A driveway lined with Lambos, Rolls Royces, and matte-black G-Wagons. I’ve been around million-dollar views, both literal and personal.

And I didn’t feel out of place.

I felt home.

Not because I’ve “arrived.” But because I’m learning to belong in the room before I’ve earned it. To enjoy change without resenting it. To choose a new normal—even if no one hands it to me.

There are people less skilled, less resourced, and honestly less motivated than you or me… who are still winning.

Why?

Because they’re in the room.

Because they believe they belong.

Because they stopped asking if they were ready and started acting like they already were.

So here’s the truth I’m telling myself:

The most interesting story is the one where I show up.

Not perfectly. Just presently.

The rooms are changing.

So are the standards.

And maybe, just maybe, I don’t have to hate the process.

Maybe I can enjoy it.

Your move this week:

Get in the room.

Buy the ticket. Text the mentor. Join the group.

Act like you belong before you believe it.

And then write the story that proves you do.

—Daniel