A billionaire just destroyed my ego

"Don't be a CEO."

The words hung in the air of his Tampa penthouse like smoke from a controlled demolition.

I glanced at the solid gold telescope by the window, wondering how many other entrepreneurs had their worldview shattered in this exact spot...

Everything I'd built my identity around for the past 3 years. Everything I thought I knew about business...

Gone in 4 words.

"But I'm good at operations," I protested.

…"I can learn any skill."

…"I can figure it out."

He just smiled and shook his head.

"That's exactly the problem."

See, like most entrepreneurs, I'd bought into this fairy tale "path":

Start a company from scratch...

Be the CEO...

Scale to 8-figures...

Exit...

THEN maybe graduate to investor/owner.

It's the story we all tell ourselves...

But after spending a weekend interviewing 3 individuals worth over $500M each...

I realized something that might save you DECADES of grinding in the wrong direction:

That "path" was just a made-up story by my ego so I could feel like a "real entrepreneur."

Here's the truth:

Yes, CEOs get all the glory.

But the real wealth is built by OWNERS.

And there's a massive difference…

See, most entrepreneurs get stuck in the weeds asking:

"What system do I need to build?"
"What skill do I need to learn?"
"What process needs to be documented?"

But owners?

They're playing a completely different game.

Instead of trying to DO everything… They focus on SEEING everything.

They have the vision and experience to know what needs to be built...

But rather than always trying to build it themselves...

They're constantly asking themselves…

"WHO can solve this problem better than me?"

And that's the key difference:

Being an owner doesn’t mean sipping Piña Coladas on a beach while others do the work.

It simply means operating with maximum LEVERAGE.

However (and this is a BIG disclaimer), If being an operator lights you up...

If obsessing over unit economics, Net Promoter Scores’, and building a world class salesforce gets you excited to jump out of bed...

If you LOVE being in the weeds of your business...

Then by all means – be that operator.

Be the best damn CEO you can be.

But if that stuff DRAINS you?

If you find yourself constantly burnt out trying to wear 47 different hats?

Then trying to force yourself to be an operator is the SLOWEST possible path to where you want to go.

Let me give you a real example...

I just interviewed a guy who's on track to become a billionaire.

Want to know what he actually DOES all day?

He connects people.

That's it.

His genius isn't in operations.

It's in connecting the right chairman to mentor the right operator...

Building the perfect board of advisors...

Bringing in the right banks, capital partners, and lawyers...

He's a pure CONNECTOR.

Why? Because that’s what energizes him. 

But when he first shared all of this with me...

My ego started firing off the same excuses, yours is probably firing off right now:  

"But I need to prove myself first..."
"But I don't have enough experience..."
"But I need to learn how to do everything myself..."

That's when he looked me dead in the eyes and said:

"Don't spend 30 years learning, just to wake up & realize you got nowhere."

Read that again.

You could spend your whole life trying to be good at EVERYTHING...

Wearing every hat...

Learning every skill...

OR...

You could do ONE thing extremely well...

And get 100X further than the guy who thinks he has to do it all.

So here's my challenge to you:

Stop trying to be what you think an "entrepreneur" should be.

Stop trying to force yourself into the operator role if it doesn't light you up.

Instead, ask yourself:

What actually energizes me?
What's my true area of genius?
Who can I collaborate with to fill my gaps?

Because the path to massive success isn't about doing everything yourself...

It's about having the courage to play to your strengths...

And build a team around your weaknesses.

That's how you build something truly massive.

That's how you make a real impact.

And that's how you avoid wasting decades trying to be something you're not.

Talk soon,

DJ Panfili | Founder https://getdealflow.ai/