The Catalyst
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The Experience Economy

The Experience Economy

Building potent brands, cult-like followings and transformational experiences.

Andy Opulence
May 23, 2023

Welcome to The Catalyst.

Every Tuesday, we’ll explore:

Building potent brands that grow cult-like followings
Creating transformational experiences (URL + IRL)
Unlocking human potential

Thanks for taking the time.

Enjoy the ride.

🧪⚡️🧪

Epiphanies

Big ideas. Small bites.

✦ When others zig, zag.
In seas of sameness, weirdness wins.

✦ Your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what others say it is.
Brand = Reputation.

✦ Personal brands are the future of work.
Online presence is replacing the resumé.
Online creators are replacing careers.

✦ Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re fucking right!
You are capable of anything, including self-sabotage.

✦ AI is forcing us to be superhuman
(more capable, more creative, more human).

✦ Smallness/weakness kills genius.
Be bold or your ideas will die within you.

✦ “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” -Einstein

✦ Addiction is a symptom of a broken relationship with dopamine.
Quitting addictions < Fixing your relationship with dopamine

✦ Habits are self-fulfilling prophecies.
Outcomes are defined by daily actions. Choose wisely.

✦ “The biggest untapped opportunity is to release tools that help your audience live the lifestyle you preach.” - Shaan Puri

The Experience Economy

What is value?

And what is valuable?

The book The Experience Economy introduced the idea that value follows a logical progression:

🌽 Commodities ($)
Base materials that have a “market price” such as cotton, coffee beans and gold. Lowest value.

🎽 Goods ($$)
Products that are derived from commodities, such as t-shirts, ground coffee and jewelry. Low value.

👨‍🔧 Services ($$$)
Custom goods that are created on-demand for a specific customer such as tailored suits, cappuccinos and wedding rings. Medium value.

🎭 Experiences ($$$$)
Unique, real-life experiences that are built upon commodities, goods and services, such as Suit Club NYC, Starbucks and weddings. High value.

🦋 Transformations ($$$$$)
Series of experiences that result in permanent change, such as a personal makeover, building a business at a coffee shop and marrying the right person. Highest value.

Transformation is the pinnacle of value, and is built upon experiences (which are built upon commodities, goods and services).

Don’t be a commodity.

Create experiences.

Facilitate transformation.

Example:

[Click/tap to view thread]

Vibe Check

Dank vibes for your weekly workflow.

On The Grind

Type: Mixtape
Curator: Andy Freeland
Genre: Hip Hop
Vibe: 😤
Time: 1.5h
Warning: strong language 🧨

soundcloud.com/andyfreeland/grind

Power Tools

Logseq - All of my thinking and writing starts here. A second brain, daily journal, outliner, scratchpad, idea incubator, chaos tamer. ChatGPT integration. Future-proof. Awesome and free. All the thumbs up.

Bonus: Grab my custom Logseq theme and the Bullet Threading plugin.

Butter - A virtual meeting/workshop platform that’s built for engagement and interactivity. Fun, quirky and 1000x better than Zoom.

Beehiiv - The best newsletter platform on the planet. It’s what I’m using for The Catalyst. I’ve tried dozens of newsletter platforms, and Beehiiv takes the cake - by far.

Reading List

Ponderer - A newsletter featuring deep thoughts and AI resources. Brilliantly high signal to noise ratio. Highly recommended.

Ten Bullets - A newsletter on obsession. 10 rabbit holes delivered weekly. 🕳🐇

Zag - A book on building powerful brands by being different.

The Musical Theory of Existence: Hearing The Music of the Spheres - A book that will help you understand the universe and your place in it via musical metaphor. Deeply thought provoking.