Welcome to the 171st Edition...

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​Where Are Your People At?

Last weekend we hosted our annual “grown-up” party. About 40 friends came, plus one couple new to Cleveland, fresh from Australia.

They didn’t know anyone, so my wife and I started introducing them. Over and over, the introductions sounded the same:
“We met Jim and Laura at our PTA group 20 years ago.”
“We met Kerry and Kevin at our PTA group 20 years ago.”

Finally, one of the newcomers laughed:
“Must have been some kind of PTA group.”

That it was.

From joining that one small parent group in 2006 sprouted nearly everything that has shaped our lives...lifelong friendships, trips together, business help, even our kids becoming close. It’s hard to imagine what life would look like without that circle.

The same thing happens at CEX. Our VIP group of 75 started as mostly beginner creators. Today, they lean on each other, work on projects together, and in some cases, are building million-dollar businesses side by side.

In Burn the Playbook, I write about the five people you want in your crew:

• The Truth Teller – the one who calls your bluff (for me, that’s my wife).
• The Superfan – the person who reminds you your work matters.
• The Expert – someone who’s further along and can guide you.
• The Peer – someone in the arena with you, facing the same challenges.
• The Connector – the person who opens doors you couldn’t open yourself.

Of these, the peer might be the most important. When I was a young father, that PTA group was my lifeline. I didn’t know much about raising a family, but being surrounded by other dads in the same stage made all the difference. We came out stronger together.

The point is simple: if you want to succeed, in life or in business, you need to find your peer group.

For creators, that might be investing in a mastermind. Time and again, members of our CEX VIP group have told me their ~$3,000 invested over four years has been a bargain compared to the value of the support, learning, and friendships they’ve gained.

Yes, you can go it alone. But it’s the harder road. The fastest way to grow at anything is to find your people.

NOTE: Our CEX VIP group is closed, but please check out my friend Jay Clouse's The Lab. I talked to many attendees at CEX who were raving about his group.

Find Your Tilt. Own Your Future.

What is a Tilt?

A Tilt is the unique angle that makes you irreplaceable.

It is not just a topic, not just a niche, and not just a point of view. A Tilt is the thing you see differently from everyone else. It is the lens through which you create, the story you tell, and the reason your audience chooses you over the hundreds (thousands?) of other options in their feed.

Without a Tilt, you blend in. With a Tilt, you stand apart.

This idea has been central to my work for years, but today I want to sharpen and refresh it. Because in today’s creator economy, a Tilt is more than just an angle. It is the foundation of your business model.

I remember when I found my Tilt: content marketing. Instead of traditional marketing, I saw that the marketing winners would be the ones that could tell better stories (consistently) and build audiences (instead of interruption). That every company was a media company (whether they believed it or not). Thank you baby Jesus that I was right!

You cannot own an audience, but you can build direct relationships and control the channels, data, and products that let you design your own future. And the thing that gives those channels and products traction is your Tilt.

The Premise: Your Defensible Assertion

My friend Jay Acunzo has done some of the best work I’ve seen on helping creators articulate their premise. He defines a premise as:

• An assertion you make (you take a stance)
• About a topic you explore (that others also explore, but differently)
• Which aligns your choices (your Tilt becomes your compass)
• And informs your reputation (you become known for that stance)

In other words, your premise is the beating heart of your Tilt. It’s what makes your Tilt strong enough to hold up an entire business model.

Jay likes to use the “XY Pitch” formula:

This is a [project type] about X. Unlike other [project types] about X, only we Y.

It’s simple, sticky, and forces you to articulate the defensible angle — the Tilt — that makes you irreplaceable.

Why Premise + Tilt Matters

Too many creators get stuck in the middle. They pick a broad topic (marketing, personal finance, wellness) and start publishing. But they fail to articulate why they are different, what they see that no one else does, or how their work creates lasting meaning.

The result? Lots of effort, very little traction.

A Tilt without a premise falls flat. A premise without a Tilt is just theory. Put them together and you’ve got real power:

• A Tilt that gets attention.
• A premise that builds reputation.
• Together, they form the foundation for meaning, freedom, and wealth.

Examples of Tilts and Premises

Here are three of my projects and how I relate them to Tilt + Premise. I’m continuously working on these and they aren’t quite perfect (yet), so please send feedback.

1. Burn the Playbook (Book)

• Tilt: Success advice that rejects the job path and conventional career ladders.
• Premise: The only true path to meaning, freedom, and wealth is building something you control.
• Why it works: Most success books assume the default or a repeated path. This one flips the assumption, making it both distinct and defensible.

2. Content Inc. (Podcast)

• Tilt: Entrepreneurship stories told through the lens of audience-first creation.
• Premise: If you build an audience first, you can design any business model you want.
• Why it works: Other business podcasts focus on startups, funding, or scaling. Content Inc. focuses on the overlooked but repeatable strategy of building direct relationships first.

3. This Old Marketing (Podcast)

• Tilt: Modern marketing through the lens of history and storytelling.
• Premise: The patterns of the past explain why ownership and audience always win.
• Why it works: Most marketing podcasts chase the news cycle. This one slows down, zooms out, and shows deeper context. Plus we add in two knuckleheads.

How to Find Your Tilt and Premise

If you’re reading this, you might be wondering: How do I find mine?

Here’s a simple process, adapted from Jay’s work and my own experience:

1. Start with frustration or curiosity.​
   What bothers you about the default path in your industry? What do you see that nobody else seems to?
2. Articulate the opposite.​
   If everyone is chasing reach, maybe your Tilt is resonance. If everyone is focused on hacks, maybe your Tilt is fundamentals.
3. Test your XY Pitch.​
   Fill in the blanks:
   ​This is a [project] about X. Unlike other [projects] about X, only we Y.
4. Pressure test it.​
   Would someone disagree with you? If not, it’s too soft. Would you stake your reputation on it? If not, it’s too safe.
5. Build IP around it.​
   Create a framework, a phrase, a recurring story. (For me: Do Not Build Your Content House on Rented Land.) This makes your Tilt and premise stick.

The Tilt Funnel

Here’s how it all comes together in practice:

• Tilt - Your unique angle.
• Content - The expression of that Tilt across channels.
• Trust - The result of consistent, resonant creation.
• Product - The offering that emerges from that trust.
• Revenue - The monetization that follows.
• Meaning, Freedom, Wealth - The outcomes, in that order.

The Tilt is where it all begins. Without it, everything else is fragile. With it, everything else flows.

Why This Matters Now

The creator economy is maturing. Audiences are saturated. Platforms are volatile. Dependence is dangerous.

The creators who will win the next decade are the ones who stop playing someone else’s game and start building their own. That starts with a Tilt and a premise strong enough to support a business model.

Think of it this way:

• A Tilt gets you noticed.
• A premise keeps you remembered.
• Together, they give you the leverage to build something on your own terms.

The Call to Action

So, what is your Tilt?

What is the unique angle that makes you irreplaceable? What is the defensible premise that flows from it?

If you cannot answer that clearly, you are at risk. You are renting, not owning. You are blending in, not standing out.

But if you can answer it, you have the raw material for meaning in your work, freedom over your choices, and wealth that lasts.

If you would like me to talk about something specific for next issue or ask me a question, just reply to this email.

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Keep learning and growing,

Joe

17040 Amber Dr, Cleveland , OH 44111-2908
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