Hello Reader,

It’s Al, writing from beside my favorite window, lol.

Since pivoting from pure e-commerce to building UnStudy, I’ve had enough quiet time to reflect.

And—no sugar-coating—the last two years were not all unicorns and butterflies.

Actually is it okay if I share a story real quick?

(Uhm, thanks…I guess? haha)

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how it happened: 2 years ago I was clinically diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

It was literally negative thought spirals going out of control, and was a regular freaking customer at the hospital solely because of conditions I just decided were “probably there”.

Mental health was rock bottom.

The physical situation isn’t very good either.

I was under the spell called “a-few-toxic-friendships” and my parents’ “just get a real job” soundtrack (Asian parents, am I right?).

After that, well, you get the picture:

Results? Down.

Self-esteem? Shot.

Environment? Nah.

I’ve already been writing on LeanAnki.com for a few years back then, but because I failed so much…

I felt afraid to try again. I struggled to become consistent.

Little did I know this will become my greatest asset

Well, a LOT has changed since then, but damn did all my procrastination lead me to a LOT of rabbitholes:

• I learned how to create websites on wordpress, setup hosting, domains, etc..
• I learned Silicon Valley tactics — Learned how to listen to people to create good products that solve problems.
• I learned how to arrange songs w/ Fingerstyle guitar (aura farming, lol)
• I learned Sales and Marketing — I learned how to sell — authentically. Through emails, sales pages, etc.
• I learned Facebook Advertising

My FEAR OF FAILURE + PERFECTIONISM actually let me to learning a bunch of things.

It was like “storing potential”.

Then ‘that day’ happened…

May 2023, I stumbled upon the greatest pivot point of my life so far:

Feeling like I was “trapped in a cage” for so long…

I connected with a friend crushing it in e-commerce. (the one on the right)

He already knew the ins and outs. The business stuff, the entire process.

Long story short, he invited me to do e-commerce, too, and guess what?

All I needed to do was EVERY FREAKING THING I just learned in the past 2 years + a little bit more on the operations side. (Except fingerstyle guitar, lol.)

Wow.

Suddenly, EVERYTHING I learned became REALLY USEFUL!

When I thought all of my efforts went into shit…BOOM. Turns out I was actually “becoming prepared” for this opportunity after all. (Not in a literal sense, of course!)

Within 2 years, that “gateway” opened me up to becoming a better version of myself

And I don’t mean just becoming a different person at the gym, haha!

I also mean internally.

Being in e-commerce meant that I had to teach a bunch of people how to do the work I need to delegate to them…

Which meant being on camera:

Being on stage…

And most importantly, developing my character.

You can’t lead a team while being full of crap. Hard challenges build real character, and character sets the ceiling for everything else.

Now, I do have a fast and sure (not easy) way to do all of that and REALLY accelerate your growth, but that’s a topic for another day :)

(let me know if that’s something you want me writing about!)

Getting lucky

Going back: fast forward today, I’m living the life I couldn’t even dream 2 years ago!

They say Luck is = preparation meets opportunity.

Well, for me, that’s (all of my learning) + (e-commerce — the opportunity).

And I did get lucky: I achieved 90% of my 5 year vision in just 1 year.

A lot of travelling…

Eating great food in different parts of Asia:

And most importantly:

Playing long-term games with long-term people.

…and the learning goes on

Up until now, the fact that I’m learning a lot of new profitable skills building our app, UnStudy, still excites me.

I don’t know which stage you currently are in your life…

But if you ever feel lost on what to do:

Start learning ANYTHING. Learning creates luck.

I stand by this principle.

Well, as long as you’re learning from the right people. (For most people I really recommend Ali Abdaal, I’ve been following since 2019, I think)

Question for you…

If you resonate with my story, maybe I have something to share that could help you. :)

I’m thinking about my next writing project (email series), and I’d love to know what’s on your mind right now.

Just hit reply to this email!

I read every reply. ;)

To smarter studying,
Al Khan

P.S. By the way, if you're interested in becoming one of the first testers of "the only app that cares whether you really learn or not" (lol) you can join the beta version waitlist here.

P.P.S. It's the first time I talked about my journey (and releasing these pics lol) and looking back, wow! What a journey.

I credit my success to the people who supported me, (especially Mr. Linh!) and hey, the reason I keep going back here is because you're also one of those people.