The Goldman Sachs framework theft that built my entire content empire
How getting copied wrong sparked tens of thousands of pieces of content and hundreds of millions in revenue
TL;DR:
An influencer copied my Goldman Sachs presentation word-for-word (including my mistake) and went viral, forcing me to realize I had a responsibility to teach the material correctly
That uncanny theft became the spark for tens of thousands of pieces of content and hundreds of millions in revenue
Your greatest frustration with the marketplace is most often your greatest opportunity to serve it
Building a platform isn't about content creation (one piece at a time), it's about relationship building (one person at a time)
The real strategy actually is operationalizing generosity by finding a way to share your magic with the world without expecting anything in return
Most business owners think getting their ideas stolen is the worst thing that can happen to them.
Strangely, getting stolen might be the best thing that ever happened to my business.
Here's a story I normally don't share publicly, because I never wanted to create ill will. But it contains one of the most important business lessons I've ever learned.
The Mastermind Presentation
Many years ago, I was invited to speak at a mastermind run by a well-known influencer. I showed up with a presentation I had developed based on a concept I learned during my banking days at Goldman Sachs.
I had built an entire framework around this idea that I call the X-Ray Method, something most people had never seen before. One of my Goldman Sachs client (a billionaire) taught it to me. The presentation landed well. The feedback was positive. And I was happy.
That was supposed to be that.
The Copycat Goes Viral
A couple weeks later, I discovered my entire presentation was now up on this influencer's YouTube channel.
At first, I didn't have a problem with that. Until I saw what actually happened.
This wasn't a video of my talk. He had recreated my presentation almost verbatim as if it were his own. Word for word.
And I say almost for a reason. In my original presentation, I had made a small mistake… an assumption error, a typo. But since I knew the material well, I was able to talk through it during the live presentation.
The influencer didn't catch that nuance. He copied the mistake too.
Innocent Jackass.
He delivered my error as the gospel.
Truth be told, he did it well. Conviction and all.
The video went semi-viral. Heck, even now, several years later, its still happens to be one of his best-performing videos of all time.
What Actually Made Me Mad
At first, I was obviously disgusted. Angry. Irritated.
But after my ego settled down, I realized what was really bothering me.
I wasn't primarily mad because he took my work.
I wasn't mad because he got views without giving me credit.
I wasn't even mad because he posted it without permission.
As my 13 year-old son would say, what cut the deepest was that he didn't even know enough to recognize the mistake. He copied it blindly. And that mistake was now misleading people at scale.
Meaning, because of one erroneous assumption, 1/3 of the presentation was plain wrong.
The content that was supposed to help was now potentially hurting people.
The Turning Point: Operationalizing Responsibility
That moment lit a fire.
I realized:
If someone with a big platform could take my ideas, deliver them incorrectly, and spread bad information at scale, then I had a responsibility to get the truth out myself.
That was my turning point.
Until then, I didn't care about content. I had maybe posted a few things on Facebook about burgers and dinners. Nothing serious.
But now I saw it clearly:
I needed to build a brand. I needed distribution. I needed a platform to share the right ideas, the right message, and the right frameworks… hopefully, the right way.
Because no one was coming to do it for me.
The Real Platform Strategy
What emerged from that frustration was a realization about what building a platform actually means.
Most people think building a platform is about creating content. They focus on posting consistently, getting views, optimizing for algorithms.
They're missing the point entirely.
Building a platform isn't about content creation… that's just the vehicle. Building a platform is about relationship creation.
I changed my mindset from:
One post at a time to one person at a time.
It honestly was extremely freeing.
When I started operationalizing generosity at Real, I wasn't trying to go viral. I was trying to serve people so well that they'd want to tell others about us. Every piece of training I gave away, every framework I shared, every call I hosted… it was about building trust with specific individuals.
One person at a time.
The 5AM Club didn't grow because I had great content. It grew because person after person found value and told someone else. Ten thousand daily members, one person at a time.
My big learning was:
While content scales reach, relationships scale trust.
Isn’t that what we want at the end of the day?
This insight changed everything about how I approached business growth.
What It Actually Created
That copycat incident sparked:
Tens of thousands of pieces of content
Hundreds of millions of views
Millions of people impacted
Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue generated
All because one influencer took my content and taught it wrong.
That theft became the push, the fuel, the spark for everything that followed.
The Deeper Business Principle
Here's what I learned:
A leader without a platform is like a samurai without a sword.
There are brilliant people in every industry…kind people who want to help others… but because they don't have a platform, they can't share their message effectively.
How many amazing posts do you see on social media with 7 likes?
Freaking thousands, right?
In fact, the same probably happened to you at some point too.
Meanwhile, people with platforms but without real expertise are sharing incomplete or incorrect information.
This creates a responsibility gap.
During my time at Real, our entire business model became operationalizing generosity. How do we give away our best ideas, tools, and training? How do we help everyone, whether they join us or not?
Because when you turn around and say, "Here's my business model…I'm going to give everything away," one of two things happens:
They love you and want to join you (growth today)
They love you but stay where they are (goodwill tomorrow)
Either outcome is a win.
Your Copycat Moment
I'll bet there's a story like this in your life too.
Something that made you mad.
Something that lit a fire.
Something that reminded you that if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.
Or maybe you just saw some no-talent-ass-clown succeed.
That probably made you mad.
So mad.
The big question is: What are you going to do about it?
Most people let that frustration fester. They complain about copycats, about people teaching things wrong, about the marketplace being broken.
But what if that frustration is actually pointing you toward your greatest opportunity?
What if the thing that's making you mad is exactly what the market needs you to fix?
What if your unique combination of experience, insight, and perspective creates a responsibility to build the platform the marketplace is missing?
I like that reframe way better.
What about you?
If you run a business or lead a team, Leila and I made this for you.
The real cliffhanger is: what is the X-Ray Method?
Thanks for this write-up. It was written just for me. Timely