ex-Google Engineer: The 9-to-5 Nearly Killed Me! Business Saved My Life

Ex-Wall Street: The Exact Blueprint To Quit Your Job & Become a Creator!

He made $250,000 a year on Wall Street — and barely qualified for a mortgage. Eric Pan spent a decade in finance investing every dollar he had, living below his means, and still felt like it wasn't enough. Then he got laid off. Four months of zero income later, he built a $500K per year content business and says he'd never go back. In this episode Eric gets brutally honest about the real cost of chasing the American dream, when to quit your job, and how he built a creator business from scratch after a layoff changed everything. 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiftOffPod Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 👉 Eric's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpan93?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpan93?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios] 👉 Eric's YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ericnomics?si=JEOijkCEnS15qdUp [https://youtube.com/@ericnomics?si=JEOijkCEnS15qdUp] 👉 Eric's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericnomics?igsh=NTloYTA4ZXZ1Y25w [https://www.instagram.com/ericnomics?igsh=NTloYTA4ZXZ1Y25w]  — ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Making $250K and Still Not Enough 04:28 Growing Up With a Scarcity Mindset 07:19 Climbing the Corporate Ladder 09:14 The Reality of Working in Finance 12:32 Getting Laid Off and the Fork in the Road 15:37 Building Content Before Anyone Noticed 18:29 Should You Quit Your Job for Content 21:39 Who Is Actually Cut Out for Business 30:39 The Truth About Entrepreneurship Nobody Tells You 32:31 First 90 Days: Zero Dollars 35:34 Affiliates Sponsorships and Brand Deals Explained 40:15 Wild Brand Deal Stories 45:24 The Real Income Breakdown 48:22 Doubling His Corporate Salary Through Content 54:05 Investing Mindset and Breaking Free From Scarcity

YouTube Money Expert: How Any Small YouTuber Can Make $20k/Month!

Tintin spent 2.5 years running Ali Abdaal's YouTube channel — 3 to 6 million subscribers, $10 million in revenue. Now he helps smaller creators build the same thing from scratch. In this episode we get into how to turn what you already know into a real coaching business, why proof matters more than followers, and what actually works when you're just starting out. 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiftOffPod Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 👉 Tintin's $100k YouTuber Roadmap: https://100kroadmap.co 👉 Tintin's YouTube: https://youtube.com/@tintinsmith?si=xrcB1TTdL2Cx1F25 — ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Tintin's Role at Ali Abdaal 05:22 Day-to-Day Life Working for Ali 07:54 Why Ali's Team Members Leave 10:39 The Ali Abdaal Brand Advantage 11:07 Biggest Disagreement with Ali 13:03 Is Content the Best Way to Start? 15:00 Warm Outreach vs Ads vs Content 17:30 Why Teach What You Already Know 20:00 How Young Creators Can Find Their Niche 23:14 How to Figure Out What to Coach 27:13 What Content to Create and Where 30:00 Picking the Right Platform for You 32:18 School as an Emerging Platform 33:20 All the Ways to Make Money on YouTube 36:33 AdSense, Affiliates, and Sponsorships Explained 38:36 One-to-One vs Group Coaching 40:03 Online Courses and Communities 41:59 Done-for-You Services 43:18 Why the Sponsorship Hamster Wheel Is Risky 45:56 Building a Business Beyond One Revenue Stream 48:28 Choosing Your Business Model Wisely 51:06 Do You Need Millions of Followers? 55:00 Why Email Lists Still Matter 57:00 Email vs Social Platforms Long-Term 1:01:43 Biggest Mindset Mistakes Creators Make 1:04:44 The Importance of Learning to Sell 1:05:00 The Power of Focus Over Doing Everything 1:09:20 Why Higher Prices Serve Your Clients Better 1:14:27 Pricing, Value, and Supply and Demand 1:19:01 The Truth About Passive Income 1:23:44 Should You Build Your Course First? 1:25:00 Sell Before You Build 1:26:19 Why Waitlists Are Underrated 1:36:35 Be An Engineer With Ideas 1:48:15 Where to Connect with Tintin 1:48:50 Outro

The Creator Money Expert: How to Start a Profitable Creator Brand in 2026!

PODCAST DESCRIPTION Eric Wei had the dream resume—Blackstone, McKinsey, Instagram and hated every second of it. He burned through years of PTO for therapy, stopped showing up to Coinbase after one month, and finally built Karat, a financial platform for creators like Ludwig and Nick DiGiovanni.  This episode is for anyone with an impressive LinkedIn but a quiet voice asking: "Is this really it?" 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiftOffPod Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 👉 Eric's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erictway?igsh=MWNtdHBoc3RiYnd3NQ== [https://www.instagram.com/erictway?igsh=MWNtdHBoc3RiYnd3NQ==] 👉 Eric's Podcast: https://youtube.com/@jomopod?si=q9DtzrAVataPiWsr [https://youtube.com/@jomopod?si=q9DtzrAVataPiWsr] 👉 Eric's Website: https://www.trykarat.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio [https://www.trykarat.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio]  — ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 03:19 The Moment He Knew He'd Regret Corporate 04:53 Getting Blacklisted by Blackstone 07:11 Should You Quit or Climb the Ladder? 09:12 Time vs. Risk-Taking Appetite 13:35 When Prestige Equals Happiness (It Doesn't) 15:22 What Karat Does for Creators 17:32 Personal Brand vs Business Brand  18:50 Why Every Business Needs Content in 2026 19:45 Three Types of Creators (Which Are You?) 23:19 Building Brand Beyond Your Face 26:06 Why Creators Are Afraid to Say "I Want Money" 28:14 Tracking Dollars, Not Just Followers 29:13 Would You Rather: Money or Fame? 32:25 The Sitting in a Square Thought Experiment 35:49 Fastest Way to Monetize Small Followings 38:19 Put Your Business Hat On 45:08 Meeting Alex Hormozi in a Vegas Lobby 48:45 Why Alex Hormozi Skyrocketed 49:07 The Purple Giraffe Effect 52:29 Lightning Never Strikes Twice: Keep Evolving 57:30 What Karat Needs to Unlock Next 59:26 Focusing Content Strategy for 2026 1:04:18 What Networking Actually Means 1:06:30 Doing Both: Business + Relationships 1:07:23 Falling in Love with Your Podcast Guest 1:10:00 The Professional Networker Trap 1:13:00 The $30K Internship That Changed Everything 1:15:19 How to Filter Advice Worth Taking 1:18:10 What Entrepreneurship Actually Feels Like 1:20:00 Where to Find Eric Wei 1:21:15 Outro

ex-Google Engineer: The 9-to-5 Nearly Killed Me! Business Saved My Life

Sarah Pan made more than her Google salary as a creator—and still stayed trapped for three more years. In this conversation, she reveals the chronic back pain that started at 22, the scarcity mindset that kept her chained to corporate despite hitting her financial goals, and what finally forced her to break free.  This episode is for anyone stuck in a "good situation" they secretly hate, wondering if they'll ever have the courage to leave. 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiftOffPod Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir 👉 Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oksarahpan?igsh=MXZ4eWVnbGJkY3B4eg== 👉 Sarah's Podcast: https://youtube.com/@sojuwithsarah?si=pdYh3eOjxz_waX54 👉 Sarah's YouTube: https://youtube.com/@sarahpan?si=wl-_rfKPcKf6U8sI — ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:53 Growing Up Low Income with Immigrant Parents 06:51 The Money Stories That Shaped Everything 08:04 Why I Chose Computer Science Over Fashion 11:10 Landing My Dream Job at Google 13:57 The Person I Was Becoming at Google 17:51 When You Were Working at Google 18:20 Did You Plan to Stay in Tech? 21:24 The Day I Got My Offer 24:30 My Day-to-Day at Google Explained 27:05 Spending 40 Hours Editing One Video 30:39 Alex Hormozi Giveaway 31:33 I Started My Channel During the Pandemic 35:06 I Hit My Target But Didn't Quit 42:45 My Five Year Arc at Google 47:10 My Mental Health Hit Rock Bottom 50:35 Doctors Said It Could Be Mental 52:25 Why I Waited So Long to Quit 56:42 The Mental Unlock That Changed Everything 57:25 I Waited for My Bonus to Come 59:44 How My Family Reacted to Quitting 1:01:59 What Happened After I Quit 1:05:47 Could You Always Go Back to Tech? 1:09:18 I Cried When I Quit Google 1:10:51 The Dark Side of Gratitude and Luck 1:13:24 Don't Let Your Circumstances Define You 1:15:15 Advice for People on the Fence 1:17:12 Focus Unlocks Exponential Growth 1:19:00 Where to Connect with Sarah 1:19:30 Outro

Meeting Alex Hormozi, “Poor People Love Lambos,” Kids vs. Wealth, and More - Episode 8

Today, Aman sits down with Amy Wang fresh from Alex Hormozi's exclusive Top 50 affiliate workshop to unpack what actually happened behind closed doors. They break down how Amy got 700+ conversions in four days, Hormozi's "only poor people are impressed by Lambos" take, and the real trade-off between lifestyle and performance businesses. The conversation explores why having kids makes you more productive, why AI will disrupt info products but can't replace accountability, and why most people never take action. This episode is for entrepreneurs who want the unfiltered truth about building wealth and a life that matters. 🎧 Listen to all episodes of Lift Off on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiftOffPod Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1 💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter 📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/ 🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir — ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Why Alex Hormozi Changed My Life 02:15 Hormozi's Brutal Honesty Philosophy 04:27 Amy Meets Alex Hormozi in Vegas 07:41 How I Made Top 50 Affiliates 12:16 Top Affiliate Sent 1 Million Emails 13:43 Inside the Workshop Demographics 16:16 Health, Fitness, and Entrepreneurship 19:12 Why Drinking Kills Your Productivity 22:07 Hormozi Drinks (But Not Really) 23:14 Sacrificing Sleep vs Building Wealth 24:03 Lifestyle Business vs Performance Business 28:18 FIRE Movement and Early Retirement 30:09 My 3-5 Year Exit Strategy 33:12 Why Having Kids Isn't Cool Anymore 34:15 Women's Value Beyond Motherhood 36:03 I'm Not Freezing My Eggs 37:48 Rich People Have Families 39:26 Dating Burns 20% of Your Focus 42:34 Parents Don't Regret Having Kids 44:00 Having a Partner Is a Productivity Hack 46:49 Hormozi Is Financially Free Now 48:40 Best Takeaways From Alex Hormozi 54:09 AI Won't Replace Accountability 56:28 Hormozi Disappeared During Breaks 58:10 He Seemed Condescending on Stage 1:01:15 Personalized AI VSLs Are Coming 1:03:34 Don't Quote Yourself or Look Arrogant 1:06:33 Poor People Are Impressed by Lambos 1:07:43 Amy's Van Cleef Necklace Story 1:09:15 Would You Buy Luxury If Rich? 1:11:03 Understated Wealth Is the New Flex 1:13:00 Why Don't People Take Action? 1:15:00 Peer Pressure Holds You Back 1:16:11 Self-Belief Is Everything 1:19:04 How To Build Self-Belief 1:21:35 Fifth Grade Teacher Believed in Me 1:22:43 Ask Yourself: What's Your Plan? 1:23:43 You Need Proof to Build Authority 1:25:01 Everyone Has Value to Share 1:26:10 What's Obvious to You Is Gold 1:29:00 Does This Help You Hit Your Goals? 1:29:26 Outro