First, serve.

So you have your master plan.. You know what kind of startup to build. You know how you’ll slay the dragon. You know how you’ll sail around the world. All you need is a team.

Wait.. how do I get people to follow me?

First, serve.

Give them some value. Help solve a problem that has been bothering them. Do the work that they wouldn’t do. Talk to the people that they can’t. Serve them and then watch them come onto your team.

Why? People only care about themselves and their tribe’s problems. It’s a reality of how we’re wired. We don’t have the mental bandwidth to think about too much else.

But what about the mythical saints who are willing to help you regardless of your ask? I’d estimate that this is about 0.01% of the population. And that doesn’t include your immediate family. Sadly, the rest of us humans, only care about ourselves.

Use this reality to your advantage. Provide more value to your potential teammates than they’ve asked for. After that, they will start to pay attention to what you have to say. They’ve given you permission to talk to them. Now you can begin to convince them with your ask.

Conquering the world isn’t nearly as hard as you think. But it does require a change in mindset.

You have to remember to serve, first.