The Reputation Trap
We convince ourselves that our reputation is a precious antique vase that must be protected behind glass....I disagree.
The Reputation Trap
Let me tell you a story.
The year is 2002. The location is the 3rd floor of City Center Mall in Columbus, Ohio.
If you walked by the Abercrombie & Fitch, you would have experienced two things immediately.
You would have smelled the “Fierce” cologne so strong it would have physically slapped you across the face.
You would have seen me standing at the front door.
I was the “Greeter.”
And because this was peak 2002 fashion, I was wearing a denim jacket. And jeans.
And because the laws of human decency hadn’t been invented yet, I was wearing absolutely nothing underneath the jacket.
Just denim, shirtless…and I was holding an Ohio State Nike football
Why a football inside a clothing store?
No one knew.
But I held it with the intensity of a Super Bowl quarterback.
My job was to stand there, look vaguely dehydrated, and say “What’s up” to anyone who walked through the door.
(quick side bar… I would eventually take a job at the A&F Corporate Home Office doing the exact same thing. Standing shirtless in cargo shorts for three hours a day, tossing a football to Senior VPs so they could feel like they were part of the “lifestyle.” …What a time to be alive.)
Now, despite looking like the coolest guy in the food court, I had a secret:
My net worth was approximately the price of a soft pretzel.
I had $40 to my name. But I had a singular obsession.
A white, 20GB iPod.
It was $500. It was the ultimate status symbol.
It was the portal to musical freedom…1000 songs in your pocket!
And I was broke.
So here is what I did.
I found a shady corner of the internet that promised a free iPod if you could get 15 people to sign up for “trial offers.” (www.getafreeipod.com. I wouldn’t click that if I were you)
We’re talking stamps.com. We’re talking supersmoothies.net. The dark underbelly of the web.
Most people saw a digital pyramid scheme. I saw a loophole.
I had nothing to lose.
So I went to war.
I didn’t just message my friends. I became a digital pestilence.
I messaged my Econ 201 professor. (Sorry Professor Osman)
I messaged my ex-girlfriend (sorry, Sarah).
I messaged the kid who played shortstop on my Little League team in South Jersey. (not sorry, Mike)
I had zero shame.
I had zero “brand equity.”
I just had a target.
Two weeks later? I walked back into that shift at Abercrombie, shirtless under my denim, naturally with white earbuds in, blasting “My Way” by Usher. I felt like the King of Columbus.
Why this, and why now?
I’m watching my own kids grow up now, raising two boys and a girl, and I’m trying to figure out how to teach them that specific kind of hunger.
I look back at that kid in the denim tuxedo and I realize he had something most of us lose the second we start making real money: Leverage.
He had nothing to lose. So he swung for the fences.
But you and I? We have a problem.
We built a business.
We built a “Brand.”
We have a “Public Persona.”
And suddenly, we trade Leverage for Liability.
I see brilliant entrepreneurs hesitate to send one cold email or post one raw video because: “What if I look desperate?” “What if this makes me look unpolished?”
Abercrombie Drew cared more about the WIN than the MIRROR. Professional Drew cares more about the MIRROR than the WIN.
I call this The Reputation Trap.
We convince ourselves that our reputation is a precious antique vase that must be protected behind glass.
It’s not. It’s a cage.
You need what I call a “Day 1” Reset,
If you had nothing, and you needed to make payroll by Friday, what would you do?
If you are running your own business, you don’t have the luxury of an ego.
The most dangerous number in your business isn’t zero.
It’s the number that makes you comfortable enough to stop hunting.
The only way to escape the Reputation Trap is to trick your brain.
You have to wake up every single morning with “Day 1 Energy.”
Abercrombie Drew didn’t have AI.
He had to rely on questionable websites and sheer panic. You have an advantage.
You have a machine that doesn’t have an ego, doesn’t care about “optics,” and doesn’t feel shame.
If you are feeling slow, stuck, or worried about your “brand,” but you need business NOW run this immediately.
I call it The Z.E.R.O. Protocol.
1. Z - Zero Your Assets (Mental Reset) Sit down. Close your eyes. Imagine your CRM has been wiped. Your email list is gone. Your “reputation” has been deleted. You are a ghost. You have nothing but your skills and your phone. (…preferably an iPhone..IYKYK)
2. E - Establish the “iPod” (Survival Target) Don’t say “I want to grow.” That’s vague. Abercrombie Drew didn’t want “consumer electronics.”
He wanted $500 for a white iPod. Pick a number you need to hit by Friday to “make payroll” (even if it’s just mental payroll).
3. R - Ruthless Action (The Strategy) What is the most direct path to that money? If you couldn’t post on social media and hope for likes, who would you call?
Who would you DM? Who would you text? What would you say…(hint, you can ask AI to help you make the “Exactly What to Say” scripts your own)
4. O - Oracle (The AI Leverage) This is where we cheat. We use AI to bypass your “Dignity Filter.”
We are going to ask the AI to be the broke, hungry consultant you are too afraid to be.
Your Z.E.R.O Protocol AI Prompt
Copy and paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
The Context: This prompt is designed to strip away your “Professional” filter. It forces the AI to act as a ruthless turnaround consultant who only cares about speed and cash flow, not your feelings.
The Prompt:
“I need a ‘Day 1’ Business Reset.
Here is my situation: I run a [Type of Business: e.g., Real Estate business in Austin / Boutique Marketing Agency]. I want you to ignore my current reputation, my brand, and my ego. Pretend I have 0 clients, 0 active leads, and $0 in revenue coming in this week.
My Goal: I need to generate [Insert Amount: e.g., $2,000] in cash or signed contracts in the next 72 hours to ‘make payroll.’
The Constraints:
No paid ads (I have no budget).
No ‘building a brand’ or long-term content strategies.
I need direct, high-leverage actions I can take TODAY.
Your Job: Act as a ruthless turnaround consultant. Give me a list of 5 specific, slightly shameless, high-probability outreach tactics I can execute right now.
For each tactic, write the exact script or message I should send. Make the scripts humble, direct, and focused on value, not ‘professional fluff.’
My Skills/Assets: [Insert a few skills: e.g., I’m great at running comps, I’m good at copywriting, I have a list of past leads I haven’t touched in a year].
Tell me what to do. Be direct.”
Why This Works
When you read the output from this prompt, you’re going to feel a pinch.
You’re going to think, “Oof, can I really send that?” You’re going to think, “Is that too direct?”
That feeling? That’s your ego dying.
That is the sound of the Reputation Trap breaking open.
If Abercrombie Drew could spam his Econ 201 professor for a click-wheel, you can send five DMs to get a client.
Strip the title.
Burn the ego.
Run the prompt
You're right! We all have to do a re-set and feel that hunger that drove us when we were younger and just starting out. Loved the Abercrombie story!
Your cousin Alex says hello. We had lunch the other day.