Unconventional Careers
I should’ve changed my name.
I went from HBO to Wall Street. To making websites. To writing. To podcasting. To comedy. I became a chess master. Gave talks, blah blah blah.
I kept my name the whole time.
And I have to tell people “All-tuh-chur.”
Tank Sinatra made it easy. He was “George Resch.” The fence salesman.
Now he’s Tank Sinatra, the Instagram meme maker, podcaster, author. His new book is “Happy is the New Rich.”
He has millions of followers. And makes money partnering with big brands like Bumble.
He also has a website that delivers ONLY good news to people called tanksgoodnews.com.
We looked at his account during the podcast. Here’s one from @TanksGoodNews:
I wanted to know how he went from fence salesman to one of the “lucky” ones.
“Lucky” to have an unconventional career.
But that’s the thing. It’s not luck.
You don’t “get” one. You make one.
Tank quit drugs and alcohol. Stopped selling fences, started making memes, engineered the funny, figured out how to add the element of human connection, built the software, posted every day.
Every day.
Found the scene, developed relationships with other meme accounts…
The list goes on.
And it’s because he made one decision…
“I don’t want to be a baby or an animal anymore,” he said.
Babies and animals act how they feel.
“Instead of feeling how they act,” he said. “I want to be an adult with a fully developed prefrontal cortex that I can be proud of… that I can standby. But it took a lot of time. And I’m still working on it. I think that’s something I’ll be working on until I’m gone.”
He told me his advice for people who want to take the first step, what to look for and more.
Here’s a full list of what we talk about in this episode:
- First… a special announcement about how you can get a free copy of my new book, “The Side Hustle Bible” – [0:00]
- Episode preview [1:11]
- Behind the scenes, pre-interview talk – [3:37]
- I introduce Tank Sinatra, the master of making viral memes on Instagram – [4:03]
- How Tank learned how to aim his energy away from alcohol and toward an online career – [5:08]
- How Tank tested his dream while keeping a buffer – [6:15]
- I ask Tank if he had a rock bottom moment before to quitting alcohol- [8:05]
- How overdoses happen – [8:55]
- Why Tank feels lucky to be alive – [12:17]
- Book recommendation: “Hollywood” by Charles Bukowski – [13:30]
- Why Tank got sober early in life – [14:47]
- Alcoholism and genetics – [15:32]
- Tank says why alcohol is a gateway drug and how uses meditation as a replacement today – [18:02]
- The importance of being honest with yourself – [19:28]
- I ask Tank how he quit drinking – [20:12]
- How Tank trains his brain to be positive – [22:39]
- “Once I got sober, I was able to benefit from all the beautiful knowledge that is out there.” – [23:09]
- Book recommendation: “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday – [23:17]
- Therapy, anxiety and learning how to deal with an obsessive mind – [24:07]
- The benefit of getting professional help – [24:30]
- Sales… the bare minimum essential quality all salespeople need to know – [25:43]
- What made Tank passionate about sales – [28:32]
- Tank’s viewpoint on work – [29:07]
- How Tank used discipline to switch careers – [30:11]
- Why he chose to get on Instagram – [30:37]
- How I test different material on different platforms to see which will get the most engagement – [31:45]
- The ONLY way to build a brand online – [32:59]
- I ask Tank what makes a great meme – [34:10]
- The story of how Tank started making memes and building his online following – [36:57]
- A common mistake among writers, comedians, entrepreneurs, etc: don’t hang your hat on one idea – [39:39]
- How Tank got started on his own meme account – [40:56]
- How Tank writes his humor – [42:00]
- I recap Tank’s process step-by-step – [44:30]
- Why memes are popular today – [45:14]
- The importance of being able to relate to yourself and having self-curiosity – [46:17]
- The app Tank built to make memes: Momus [47:14]
- I go through Tank’s Instagram page to read some memes I love from his account – [48:53]
- Tank breaks down the impact of having new followers vs. having old followers – [52:02]
- Finish this sentence: “If I could do one thing for the rest of my life…” – [53:45]
- How Tank makes money making memes – [54:19]
- We look up Tank’s sponsored post for Bumble – [55:29]
- Tank’s upcoming book, “Go to Bed Angry” – [57:11]
- I ask Tank if he feels the need to grow his following. He says “no.” Because he’s focused on turning followed into fans instead – [57:56]
- How to determine the value of a fan – [58:40]
- Why Tank held off on advertising until he found quality partnerships – [1:01:47]
- The campaigns Tank is excited about – [1:02:42]
- I ask Tank about his experience doing stand up – [1:04:35]
- Tank doesn’t care what time he wakes up… here’s why – [1:07:45]
- Book recommendation: “The Four Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferris [1:08:12]
- “If you’re going to make money, you have to be creative about how you’re going to make your money.” [1:09:10]
- I ask Tank if he feels obsessed with stand up – [1:10:15]
- Why stand up has 10x my public speaking skills. And how it’s helped Tank with sales – [1:12:00]
- How stand up helps with persuasion and influence – [1:13:05]
- Rule: make sure you’re having fun first -[1:14:02]
- Tank’s biggest fear about stand up – [1:15:43]
- Tangent: how a seven-year-old made 22 million dollars on YouTube in one year – [1:16:49]
- The importance of being consistent if you want to make a career online – [1:17:58]
- Can you plan for success on the internet? [1:19:54]
- How often Tank posts in a day and inside tricks to grow your audience – [1:21:12]
- I break down the mental process of Tank’s memes – [1:22:55]
- My first meme ever… – [1:23:55]
- How too build trust and report with people online – [1:24:55]
- Tank’s book “Happy Is the New Rich” – [1:26:20]
- Why I recommend following @TanksGoodNews and @tanksinatra (one of for positive news stories the other is for funny memes) – [1:26:48]
- I thank Tank and congratulate him on his success – [1:27:23]
Links & Resources:
- Follow @TankSinatra on Instagram
- Follow @TanksGoodNews on Instagram
- “Happy is the New Rich (And 207 Other Lightbulb Moments)” by George Resch (aka Tank Sinatra)
- Listen to “The Think Tank” podcast
- Visit tanksgoodnews.com