AI Summary
5 min readHow to Meet Anyone You Want
Greg Eisenberg gets cold DMs from strangers all day. Most of them say some version of "can I pick your brain?" or "let's grab a coffee." He ignores almost all of them. But when someone reaches out the right way, he responds instantly—and sometimes ends up backstage at a Weezer concert with 50,000 people watching.
The difference isn't his 300,000 followers. He's been doing this since before he had any audience at all. The difference is a set of specific, repeatable moves that anyone can use to connect with people far ahead of them.
The Canvas Strategy
Jonathan Courtney, who co-hosts this episode, describes a framework he learned from Ryan Holiday called the Canvas Strategy. The idea is simple: if you can clear the path for people ahead of you, you can also help choose the direction. You don't ask for their time. You find what's annoying or difficult for them and offer to handle it.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **The Core Problem: How to Reach Anyone** - Greg and Jonathan introduce the episode's central question: how to connect with high-profile people without a large following.
- 2 (05:17) **The Canvas Strategy: Delivering Value Upward** - Jonathan explains how to provide value to someone far ahead of you by clearing their path.
- 3 (11:32) **The Content + DM Method** - Greg's primary strategy: create content, see who likes it, then DM them immediately.
- 4 (14:41) **The "With or Without You" Energy** - Jonathan explains the importance of making the ask feel like a natural part of your existing journey.
- 5 (17:31) **The Power of Giving Your Number** - Successful people often give out their number easily once a connection is made.
- 6 (18:46) **Why "Can We Grab a Coffee?" Fails** - Lazy outreach is insulting to busy people.
- 7 (19:50) **Access to Their Entire World** - Once you show value, high-status people give you access to their network.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
I’m joined by Jonathan Courtney, Co-Founder and CEO of AJ&Smart, to delve into my proven strategy for meeting anyone. We explore the frameworks and techniques I employ when sending cold DMs, offering you actionable advice on how to effectively use these methods to connect with anyone you wish.
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Episode Timestamp
00:00 Intro
02:00 Greg’s Framework for Meeting Anyone
07:17 How Jonathan Met NYT Bestselling Author, Jake Knapp
08:13 Boring Marketing
09:08 The Canvas Strategy
12:01 How Greg Met Weezer Frontman, Rivers Cuomo
15:16 The With or Without You Strategy
19:35 Part 2 of the Weezer Story
24:25 The Value-First Mindset
29:29 Step 1 of Greg’s DM Strategy
34:29 Step 2 of Greg’s DM Strategy
36:56 Step 3 of Greg’s DM Strategy
40:42 Remember to Follow Up
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