The Tai Lopez Show #736
"Luck Isn’t Random: Tai & John Lee’s Playbook for Making It"
September 5, 2025
Overview
In this episode, Tai Lopez welcomes friend and accomplished entrepreneur John Lee for a rich, rapid-fire conversation about how “luck” in business and life is anything but random. They break down how opportunity is engineered through intention, action, and being physically present, and explore the future of wealth-building in an AI-driven, influencer-dominated world. The duo contrasts the tangible magic of live events with the rising tide of AI automation and tokenomics, offering concrete advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs on navigating the new landscape. Throughout, both share behind-the-scenes industry anecdotes, emerging business models, and practical strategies for maximizing wealth, health, and influence.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Nature of Luck, Action, and Opportunity
[00:00–03:09]
- John Lee kicks off: “The more you do, the harder you work, the luckier you become. Opportunities come every time you come to a physical location, you meet people, it's the energy… resonance creates magic.”
- Tai agrees, referencing John D. Rockefeller’s wisdom that “luck is a structure… More you structure your life correctly, the more luck falls in your way.”
- Alignment is key: John Lee explains the mind-body-spirit dynamic, noting that inner conflict or subconscious beliefs about money can block wealth.
John Lee [03:09]: “A lot of people say, 'how do I get rich?' ...your mind is, I want to be rich. The body is like, oh, I don't want to do any work. But the spirit is like, rich people are douchebags. So there's complete misalignment there.”
2. The Frequency & Vibration of Wealth
[01:42–02:36]
- John describes “wealth frequency”—not just a theory, but observable when environments (e.g., Beverly Hills vs. elsewhere) have “different vibration, different energy.”
- Discusses “intention plus action equals manifestation,” pushing back against passive “Law of Attraction” thinking.
John Lee [02:23]: “You can't just sit there and do something. Like, I talk about...the world frequency formula. It's intention plus action equals manifestation.”
3. In-Person vs. Virtual Events in the Age of AI
[04:20–16:54]
- John shares he does ~200 events/year; the majority are in person and global.
- Tai dives into practicals: dealing with jet lag (hydration, grounding, Timeshifter app); balancing family and relentless travel.
- Live vs. Virtual:
- John is emphatic that in-person events create compounding, serendipitous opportunities (“the wild card factor”) and cannot be replicated on Zoom.
- Meeting the right person at the right moment (e.g., studio owners, showrunners, investors) tends to happen offline—and is invaluable.
- In-person interactions foster understanding, feedback, and “market research” through real, human conversations.
- AI and hybrid events have their place, but human connection grows more valuable “the more AI is created.”
- On Economics & Models:
- While in-person events rarely make profit on the front end, “wild card” introductions, deals, and upgrades happen there.
- John and Tai discuss hybrid and “leveraged” event models—using webinars/Zoom to filter and drive demand toward higher-value, live offerings.
John Lee [08:05]: “Which would you [choose]? In person. Without a doubt, 100%...When you put the intention [in], that would never happen on Zoom.”
John Lee [09:46]: “When you do things online, like, you don't know the impact you're making. When you're on the ground, it's like...I will not replace in human interaction, I can look you in the eye, I can say something, you might not go, did that land? It didn't land. Okay, let me say it again.”
4. Paradox of Personal Brand: Ubiquity vs. Exclusivity
[16:10–17:11]
- John notes a paradox: digital marketing requires being everywhere, but true celebrity/authority requires some exclusivity.
- The glut of webinars (especially during Covid) hurt positioning, even as they brought in revenue.
- Authority is built through perceived scarcity, live stage presence, and “celebrity status”—not only digital omnipresence.
John Lee [16:23]: “We want to get big, we want to get our brand out there...but yet you got to be everywhere, but you've got to be nowhere.”
5. Content Creation, Enduring Brands, and the Coming AI Wave
[17:47–25:45]
- Tai and John discuss the impact of long-form ads and content (45-minute+ video still works if it’s good).
- AI’s rapid progress: Dynamic, hyper-personalized ads, agentic AI, and the death of traditional agency models.
- Only three businesses will survive the AI tsunami:
- Those with network/moat (Uber, Twitter)
- Those on the AI frontier (building AI itself)
- Personal brands, at least until AI-generated personas become indistinguishable from humans
- Creators/Influencers become new “asset classes” for investment (referencing Mr. Beast), and the ancient power of personality-led followings.
- Tokenomics and investing in creators: VC now seeks “distribution and community,” supporting creators as they would startups.
Tai Lopez [21:14]: “The only thing that's going to withstand the age of AI is really having a personal brand, you know.”
John Lee [23:23]: “Now they're creating brand because now they have distribution and community.”
6. Practical Wealth Creation Playbook for 2025 and Beyond
[26:42–32:57]
- Money as a life “unlock”—for health, love, and happiness.
- John's advice to young entrepreneurs:
- Don’t rush to start your own business. Instead, be an “entrepreneur within someone else’s company” (intrapreneur).
- Businesses are built on awareness x attention = income, plus solving problems.
- Employees are in a unique position to see problems firsthand—use AI to quickly build MVP solutions, iterate, and license or exit repeatedly.
- Use AI to automate and scale services (e.g., SMMA, content snippets, automation agencies), often globally.
John Lee [28:35]: “I would say don't start your own company. Become an entrepreneur of somebody else's company...What I realized...now when we started this, people, they're in a job, they want to quit their job, start their own business. But...especially with Gen Z...they want to make a lot of money, but they don't really want to do a lot of work... It's not because they're lazy, it's because they found smarter ways to do it.”
7. The Coming Disruption: Social, Tokenomics, and Earning Models
[33:31–35:37]
- Social platforms, media, even legacy tech (like Apple) are facing futility if they don't radically innovate.
- “Move to Earn” and “Watch to Earn” models are emerging, where users are paid to walk or to consume ads/content (e.g., Stepn, WeAre—a startup John invested in).
- Clubhouse’s boom and bust is dissected, emphasizing the importance of skilled creators.
John Lee [35:04]: “...when you watch ads, you like skip the ad. Right. But this app, when you watch the ads, you get paid for the...watch the ad. So people watch the entire ad even though they don't want to buy... Now it's awareness. So...creates a lot of sales.”
8. On Skepticism, Being First, & Staying Ahead of the Curve
[35:37–36:59]
- Tai recalls early Bitcoin advocacy, noting that “skeptics are always too slow,” and being first in new industries is often misunderstood until it works.
- John credits learning from Tai on social media virality and “first-mover” advantage.
John Lee [36:34]: “Anyone watching this, anything that Tai talks about, like, you got to pay attention. I'm telling you. Like, I learned a lot of social media stuff from you, man.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- John Lee [00:00]: “Opportunities come every time you come to a physical location, you meet people, it's the energy…and resonance creates magic.”
- Tai Lopez [02:36]: “Luck is generally the result of pre planning.”
- John Lee [03:09]: “Alignment...Mind, body, spirit.”
- John Lee [08:05]: “Which would you [choose]? In person. Without a doubt, 100%...That would never happen on Zoom.”
- John Lee [16:23]: “You got to be everywhere, but you've got to be nowhere.”
- Tai Lopez [21:14]: “The only thing that's going to withstand the age of AI is...having a personal brand.”
- John Lee [28:35]: “Don't start your own company. Become an entrepreneur of somebody else's company.”
- Tai Lopez [35:37]: “Remember, skeptics lose out because they're always too slow. By the time their skepticism diminishes, it's too late.”
- John Lee [36:34]: “To most people, you sound crazy until you're successful, then you're the genius.”
Timestamps of Important Segments
- 00:00–03:09 — "Luck is a Structure": Opportunity, action, and alignment.
- 04:20–07:34 — Global events, travel, and maintaining well-being.
- 08:05–12:14 — The irreplaceable value of in-person events and serendipity.
- 13:19–16:23 — Hybrid event models, intention, and filtering for committed audiences.
- 16:10–17:11 — Paradox of the personal brand: ubiquity vs. exclusivity.
- 17:47–21:56 — Long-form content, AI disruption, and creating future-proof businesses.
- 22:59–25:45 — Tokenomics, investing in creators, and personal branding as a moat.
- 28:35–32:57 — Advice to young entrepreneurs: become an intrapreneur, leverage AI, solve problems.
- 33:31–35:37 — Move to Earn, Watch to Earn, and the next phase of social/web3.
- 35:37–36:59 — First movers, skepticism, and the cycle of innovation.
Where to Find John Lee
- Instagram & Website: johnlee.com (“It took me 27 years to get that!” [37:27])
- Spelling: “John Lee with an H,” as Tai jokes.
Tai Lopez [26:42]: “Money unlocks life in the modern world.”
John Lee [26:42]: “By the way, that's the name of my new book...Just got signed by Hay House and Penguin. It's completely unlocked.”
John Lee [31:22]: “Instead of staying with one company, you want to take your intellect and your know how and put it into a thousand different companies and just take a piece of every single pie. Because...you're just the advisor...strategy for AI.”
Takeaways
- Luck is engineered: through a mix of action, planning, and immersion in high-opportunity environments.
- Personal alignment is non-negotiable: Mind, body, and spirit must agree on your goals for real wealth to flow.
- Physical events are not replaceable: Human serendipity, relationship building, and feedback loops are irreplicable online—at least for now.
- AI is the future, but personal brand is the moat: Automation will transform every field, but trust and narrative still flow through people.
- Entrepreneurship has evolved: Start as an intrapreneur, rapidly solve problems with AI, license solutions, and scale with minimal overhead.
- Tokenomics, “Move to Earn,” and “Watch to Earn” are the new frontiers—look for ways to leverage community, distribution, and blockchain incentives.
- First movers win: Cynics are often left behind; opportunity is for those who act early and often.