The Biggest Growth Lever Is Proximity, Not Courses

By Zach Schleien

I've spent thousands on courses and barely used them. The thing that actually changed my trajectory? Being in the room with the right people.

I've bought courses on marketing, sales, fundraising, content creation, and PR. I've spent thousands of dollars on digital education.

And almost none of it moved the needle.

The thing that actually changed my trajectory? Being in the room with the right people.

The Course Trap

Courses feel productive. You're learning! You're taking notes! You're watching modules at 2x speed!

But here's the problem: courses teach you what to do. They don't show you how it actually gets done. There's a massive gap between theory and execution, and that gap is filled by proximity.

When I was building Filteroff, I didn't learn fundraising from a course. I learned it by being around founders who had raised. I watched how they structured their decks, how they handled objections, how they followed up.

When I started landing major press, I didn't learn from a PR course. I learned by studying what worked in real time, testing pitches, and iterating based on real journalist responses.

What Proximity Actually Looks Like

Proximity isn't just "networking." It's intentional exposure to people who are where you want to be. It looks like:

• Joining a mastermind where people hold you accountable and share real strategies
• Going to events where you're the least successful person in the room
• Building genuine relationships with people 2-3 steps ahead of you
• Creating communities where ambitious people gather (I did this with 18percent)

The key is consistency. One event won't change your life. Being in the right rooms regularly will.

The Proximity Effect

When you're around people who charge $20K/month, charging $5K doesn't feel scary - it feels normal. When you're around founders who've raised $10M, raising $1M feels achievable. When you're around people who've been on Good Morning America, pitching the local news feels easy.

Proximity recalibrates your ceiling. Courses reinforce your current level.

How to Get Proximity

If you can't afford a $30K mastermind:

1. Create value first. Help someone ahead of you with a specific problem. Don't ask for mentorship - offer something useful.
2. Show up consistently. Attend the same events, join the same communities, engage with the same people over months.
3. Document your journey. Share what you're building publicly. The right people will find you.
4. Be direct. "I'd love to buy you coffee and ask about X" works better than vague networking asks.

The Bottom Line

Stop buying courses. Start buying proximity. The fastest path to growth isn't more information - it's better environment.

If you want proximity to someone who's built and sold companies, landed 200+ media features, and helped founders scale - book a free strategy call. That's what proximity looks like.