Why everybody should sell their own product
I had a shocking realisation yesterday.
While swiping through my Instagram Story feed, I noticed something: every 3rd story was an ad. I'm not joking, literally every 3rd story.
And if it weren't for the sake of writing this newsletter, I wouldn't even have noticed. Check this out:
ads on ads on ads!
These ads blend perfectly into my feed because they're tailored to my interests. And while we scroll past them without a second thought, I think this constant exposure reinforces a common belief that most of us unconsciously hold.
Most people think selling "stuff", especially online, is kinda sketchy. We get weirdly uncomfortable with being the person pushing products. But here's the wake-up call nobody talks about:
If you're not selling your product, you're working for someone who is.
Society has programmed us to view "selling things" as somehow sleazy while "having a job" is respectable. Yet your entire career likely revolves around helping someone else sell their product or service.
We're literally doing the thing we claim to hate. Make it make sense.
I wrestled with this same mental block. When I first thought about creating something of my own, I worried people would judge me as just another person trying to cash in.
But over the last few years, I have understood something fundamental:
Creating your own product isn't just about making money. It's about accelerating your personal development, putting everything you are into that one thing, and building a lifestyle that pays for itself.
It's pretty much learning and iterating as you go. Dan Koe describes this as a powerful learning cycle:
start doing something → hit an obstacle → learn a skill to overcome it → apply that knowledge → continue the process.
What most people miss is that this process of creation is actually the fastest path to expertise.
By the end of this newsletter, you'll understand why creating a product is less about "selling stuff" and more about developing yourself and creating your own path. I'll show you some real examples of people who are doing it right, creating products that represent something meaningful while building the life they want.
The Creator's Advantage: Why Products Build You While You Build Them
As a WeWill reader, you already know my thoughts on passive learning
Spoiler: it's mostly useless.
You've heard me rant about how consumption without application is just expensive entertainment that makes you feel productive while actually getting nowhere.
Creating a product cuts through all that BS. When you build something, whether it's digital or physical, simple or complex, you're forced to apply what you know and figure out what you don't. It's learning with consequences, which is the only kind that actually sticks.
Think about it:
Even creating something seemingly simple, like your own branded water bottle, requires you to learn about
product sourcing
graphic design
quality testing
and basic marketing
Each skill becomes immediately relevant because without it, your water bottle idea stays stuck in your head, where it helps exactly zero people (including yourself).
But here's what makes the process of creating products truly fascinating. The metric of how good your product will be directly depends on your personal development. People don't just buy products, they buy for one of two core reasons:
Functionality: The product solves a specific problem or serves a practical purpose. And here's the thing: the more you learn and develop while crafting your product, the more effective its functionality becomes. Your growing expertise directly translates to product quality.
Identity: The product stands for something bigger, a movement, vision, mission, or community. And now, guess how you build this identity? It's your own unique journey, your development, your transformation that creates the authentic identity behind your product.
Let me give you some examples of artists, athletes, and entrepreneurs who, in my opinion, are absolutely nailing this combination of functionality and identity.
I own "Move Fast, Lift Heavy" swag from Chris Harris, not because I needed another t-shirt in my life. I bought it because it represents his unique approach to fitness and life that I deeply connect with. What pulled me in was his lifestyle, his honest grind delivered in the kindest way possible. I've witnessed his transformation and many iterations along the way. The functionality is there, but what I really paid for was the identity it represents.
Similarly , I use Kortex for note-taking even though there are 15+ other note-taking apps out there, many with big names behind them. Why? Because I not only believe in Dan Koe's vision, I know he's putting every ounce of himself into this product. I want to be part of the community of like minds making sense of their thoughts.
It's not just another app. It represents an approach to managing personal knowledge that aligns with my values. In this case, it's the perfect balance between functionality and identity. I'm not just buying software, I'm buying into a philosophy.
I could name 10 more examples, but let's finish on Daniel Barousse because I think he's the perfect example of doing something that feels like play for him, but people are willing to pay serious money for it. He's a die-hard skater and a carpenter, but not your average carpenter. He creates art with recycled skateboards and documents and shares the whole journey with the world. That again is a transformation and his whole lifestyle that created an identity I want to be a part of.
And even though I am currently not in the position to justify buying a couch table for $3000, I know that one day I will own a piece of his art. Check out what he replied when I texted him that I will one day own one of them:
Just look at this beauty!
These creators aren't just selling products.
They're selling pieces of a worldview, a lifestyle, an approach to living. And in doing so, they're building their own unique lives around work that matters to them.
This stands in stark contrast to traditional employment, where your growth is directed by someone else's agenda, on their timeline, and toward their goals. When you create products, your growth aligns with your interests, follows your timeline, and moves toward your vision.
Creating your own product forces you to develop a point of view. It requires you to decide what you stand for and against. It demands that you solve real problems for real people rather than just talking about solving them.
And this process of creation, of putting something into the world that helps others while expressing your unique perspective, that's where the most profound growth happens.
When you're employed by someone else, you might develop skills, but they're skills chosen to fulfil someone else's vision. When you create products, you're building a customized Growth roadmap for your own development.
Even if your first product is a complete failure financially (and most first attempts are), the skills and insights you gain in the process are invaluable. You'll learn more from one failed launch than from 10 courses on "how to launch."
To put a little smile on your face before we wrap it up, here's a photo of my very first venture into product (service) land. My best friend and I ran a boxing machine business together. I'll save the wild stories for another newsletter, but even though this didn't represent our lifestyle or identity at all, I can tell you this much: the skills we picked up along the way were absolutely invaluable. Nothing teaches you faster than having skin in the game.
The mission isn't just to make money, although that's certainly part of it. The mission is to create a life where what you love to do, what you're good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs converge into a sustainable whole.
So the question isn't whether you should create a product. The question is: How much longer will you help build someone else's dream at the expense of your own?
Remember: You don't need anyone's permission to create. You just need to start.
