Jade Bonacolta

How to become unrecognizable in 11 weeks.

The 75 Hard Challenge:

7 speeches in 7 days that will change your life.

(Each takes ~20 mins or less. Listen to 1 every morning this week. Trust me):

3 things that I'm impressed by:

1) Integrity
↳ People who do what's right, even when no one is watching
↳ Leaders who take accountability rather than seeking credit
↳ Partners who honor commitments even when circumstances change

2) Kindness
↳ Teams that prioritize psychological safety over performative urgency
↳ Managers who invest in developing people, not just extracting value
↳ Cultures where feedback is delivered with genuine care for growth

3) Generosity
↳ Team members who share knowledge without expectation of return
↳ Those with means helping out those who need it
↳ Companies that give back to communities, not just shareholders

——

Surround yourself with more people like that.

How?

Start by becoming one of those people yourself.

In a world obsessed with vanity metrics,
those who have real character win in the long term.

♻️ Repost if you agree.

The best advice I got in my 30s:

Every week, take 1 “moonshot.”

(1 big “shot in the dark“ that might not lead to anything.)

↳ Email one of your heroes
↳ Apply for that dream job
↳ Say hello to that cute stranger

You've got nothing to lose. And what if it works out...?

——

Here’s my 3 step method:

☝️ Step 1. 
Set a recurring calendar invite for yourself. 
I block out 30 mins every Friday.
Same day. Same time.

(Success isn't getting a “yes.“ Success is showing up consistently.)

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✌️ Step 2. 
Lower the stakes. 
A moonshot doesn’t have to mean getting on the phone with David Attenborough.

It could mean:
↳ a warm intro to the hiring manager you’d love to work for (or recording a video application to stand out from other candidates)
↳ Sending a thoughtful note to an old friend you’d love to reconnect with
↳ Inviting one of your heroes to be a guest on your podcast

Pro tip: If you’re reaching out to a hero, think about what you can offer THEM. What problem can you solve for them? Don’t ask for anything right away. Invest in the relationship first.

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🤟 Step 3.
Think: “Nothing to lose”
Hit send before you can talk yourself out of it. 
Then set a reminder for 2 weeks to follow up with them.

Here's the truth:
You're already at zero with the people you've never reached out to.
You can't go lower than zero! So every moonshot is pure upside.

The person who sends 52 thoughtful emails per year will have a fundamentally different life than the person who sends zero.

If you have a 10% response rate (which is conservative), that's 5 meaningful connections per year. If just 1 of those connections changes your career trajectory, the entire year was worth it.

♻️ Repost this if you think people should take more moonshots.
➕ Follow me (Jade Bonacolta) for daily posts like this. I'm the founder of The Quiet Rich. Join 800,000 people read who my life hacks across social and email.

The top 7 podcasts to accelerate your learning:

The ending gets me every time.

♻️ Repost if you love this scene.

——

👋 Follow me (Jade Bonacolta) for heartwarming reminders like this every day.

I think most of us have “Disney Princess syndrome.”

Hear me out…

You know that tendency to wait for:
➟ Someone to finally recognize how hard you're working?
➟ Someone to swoop in and give you that promotion?
➟ Someone to give you the motivation you need?

It turns out... that person is you.

Instead of waiting for someone to rescue you,
become the hero of your story.

——

3 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞:

1) Be your own best advocate.
→ Ask for the promotion (even if you feel 80% ready)
→ Ask for the mentor meeting
→ Ask for the project you actually want

2) Make your ambitions impossible to ignore.
→ Share your career goals with your boss
→ Update your LinkedIn with your target role
→ Tell people what you're working toward

3) Know that perfectionism is procrastination in disguise.
→ Apply for jobs you're “not quite ready for“
→ Speak up in meetings before you have the “perfect“ point
→ Start the side project before you have it all figured out

The people getting ahead aren't necessarily more talented...
They're just better at advocating for themselves.

——

We have 6 months left to make 2025 the year that changed everything for us.

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👋 I'm Jade Bonacolta. Every morning, I share 1 *proven* life hack to help unlock your full potential. Follow me to join 800,000 people who read them across social and email.

If you woke up with even half of these, you’re rich.

♻️ Repost if you agree.

I have big news.

After 3.5 years at Google, I'm closing this chapter to write my next one—literally.

I've accepted a major book deal with one of the world's most respected publishers! 🎉 (More on this soon.)

——

7 things I learned from working at one of the 
most competitive companies in the world:

1. “𝐍𝐨“ 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 “𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐞𝐭.“

I applied to Google 4 times. 
Interviewed for 2 different roles.

The first rejection stung, and that’s where most people give up. But your dream job isn't rejecting you—it's teaching you exactly what you need to level up.

——

2. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭).

The people you work with today could be calling you in 2 years with your next big opportunity. Takeaway: Send quarterly check-in emails to former leaders you admire.

——

3. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞.”

You only have 1 chance to negotiate your salary: before you join. If what you’re asking for doesn’t make you a little uncomfortable, it’s not high enough.

——

4. ‘𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤’ 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

The world doesn't reward hidden potential. It rewards visible results. Make sure your manager and leadership team see every single one of your wins. (Send short, weekly email summaries of your impact.)

——

5. 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

I started posting on LinkedIn ~1 year after joining Google. I wrote at night and on weekends. It actually made me better at my day job. And it kept my creative spark alive.

Protect your passion projects like they're your future—because they might be.

——

6. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐬 “𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.”

It’s easy to get too comfortable in the same role. Set a personal goal every year to master something new: AI, public speaking, personal branding, etc.

The most successful people are lifelong learners.

——

7. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐨𝐛“ 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞.

20-year-old me thought Google was the end goal.
30-year-old me realized that my dream job was hiring myself. Your career goals *should* evolve over time. It’s a sign of self-awareness.

My decision to leave wasn't about running from something—it was about running toward my next evolution. Trust that feeling when it comes.

——

To everyone feeling stuck: That rejection email isn’t the end. It’s just the start.

To the incredible people I met at Google: Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To my new publishing team: I’m so honored to bring this book to life with you!

I can’t share the details of my book quite yet, but it’s my dream topic. This is the most important thing I’ve ever had the joy of working on.

Follow along here to stay updated. 
Can’t wait to see you in bookstores. 📚

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

Here are 20 harsh truths I wish I had known:

A 2-minute morning habit (in bed) changed my life.

The Hugh Jackman Method:

———

Hugh Jackman recently revealed the exact technique he uses to “design“ his perfect day.

If it's good enough for Wolverine, it's good enough for me. 😂

I tried it for 30 days. The results shocked me.

The best part? It only takes 2 minutes.

———

Step 1️⃣

When you wake up, picture yourself getting back in bed TONIGHT.
Imagine that everything went perfectly.

↳ What did you accomplish today?
↳ How did you feel?
↳ What went even better than expected?

Get specific.

———

Step 2️⃣

Now write a text describing exactly what happened.

(Yep, in the past tense.)

↳ Something like: “I went to an 8am pilates class, ate clean meals, delivered a strong presentation at work (and got positive feedback from my manager), and went out to dinner with a friend that I feel way closer to now.”

Send that text to someone who will hold you accountable (a friend, a partner, a coach, etc.)

———

Step 3️⃣

At the end of the day, re-read your text.
Report back to that person. What went exactly as you hoped? What didn't?

It won’t always be 100% spot on.
But your day will go SO much better than if you didn’t visualize it at all!

———

Why it works:

When you picture your day going perfectly (in extremely vivid detail), your brain will guide you to that outcome.

You’ll make micro-decisions to not skip the workout class, to have more confidence walking into a room, to take that risk of speaking up in a meeting.

Remember: Whether you believe your day will go well (or believe it will go poorly), you’re right.

———

📌 Journaling idea:
What does your perfect “day“ look like in 10 years? Seriously. When you're 10 years older, what are all of the things you'll want to have experienced? What are the goals you hope you've hit by then? Places you'll want to have traveled to? People in your life?

I actually made an easy workbook for this exercise called “The Rich List“ and it went viral. (It's free. There's no catch.) Enjoy your free PDF here: https://lnkd.in/eD35icxi

300,000. 🥹

Someone asked me how many years ago I started growing on social media.

The honest truth?

…One.

In January 2023, I had about 1k LinkedIn followers (and a ton of imposter syndrome).

‣ I didn’t think of myself as a thought leader.
‣ I only saw male creators in the personal growth niche.
‣ I assumed I didn’t have anything original or “new” to contribute.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined what could happen in 1 year.

➤ Was featured in Forbes (twice)
➤ Grew from 1k to 300k on LinkedIn in 12 months
➤ Got approached by numerous book publishers
➤ Excelled in my wonderful, full-time role at Google
➤ Received daily invitations to be a guest on a podcast
➤ Landed my first TEDx Talk (happening November 2024! 🥹)
➤ Launched The Quiet Rich™, which already has 60,000+ subscribers
➤ Built my Instagram audience from 0 (literally zero) to 73k in 6 months
➤ Met dozens of inspiring creators who I’m grateful to call good friends
➤ Ranked #1 Productivity creator and #2 female LinkedIn creator in the world (Favikon, June 2023)
➤ Coached literally hundreds of CEOs, founders, authors, Fortune 100 execs, and aspiring thought leaders

A LOT can happen in one year.

Start something now that you’ll thank yourself for in 12 months.

———

If you’re ready to grow your online brand, book a coaching session with me. I’ll teach you exactly how I did it.

You could struggle for 6 months trying to figure out how to go viral on LinkedIn, or you can learn it all in a 1-hour session with me. Learn more and read tons of client reviews at meet.jadebonacolta.com

4 signs of a life partner who will champion your dreams:

1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧

The right partner knows that career wins are not zero-sum

↳ Your achievement doesn't diminish their potential—it amplifies it. 
↳ They celebrate your victories as much as they celebrate theirs. 🙌

I love this team-first mentality (rather than a me-first mentality).

——

2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

When you share your wildest ambitions,
they don't immediately point out the risks.

They ask expansive questions: 
↳ “How would you approach the first step?“ 
↳ “What will that look like when it works?“

This creates psychological safety for you to share your true dreams with them.

——

3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

Real champions don't just offer words—
they create conditions for your success.

↳ They might take on more responsibilities at home (that you normally do) during your most intense project phases. 
↳ They protect your focus time.
↳ They connect you with people who can help advance your goals.

——

4. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟

The best partners have a mental list of your wins.

Why?

Whenever your self-doubt creeps in,
↳ They remind you of how you've overcome things like this in the past.
↳ They give concrete examples (harder to dismiss than general praise).

The ultimate relationship hack isn't just
finding someone who loves you exactly as you are.

It's finding someone who ALSO loves
who you deeply want to become (and helps you get there).

♻️ Repost if someone has supported your dreams recently.

New here? I'm Jade, founder of The Quiet Rich. I share daily methods like this every morning at 8:30am ET. Tap the bell icon in my profile so you're notified when I post.

5 life lessons from Navy SEAL training:

(thanks to Admiral McRaven's legendary book, “Make Your Bed“)

———

👆 1. “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

Context: Every SEAL in training had their bed inspected each morning. It had to be perfect.

↳ Lesson: Accomplish a tiny win when you wake up. It will build momentum for many more tiny wins by the end of the day.

———

✌️ 2. “If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.”

Context: When a SEAL boat crew attempted to cross a surf zone, everyone needed to paddle with equal effort.

↳ Lesson: You can’t change the world alone. Choose friends and mentors who will help you reach your goals.

———

🤟 3. “If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.”

Context: The best crew in McRaven’s class were all shorter than 5’5”. They out-ran and out-swam everyone.

↳ Lesson: Nothing matters except one’s will to succeed. Not height, social status, education, or background.

———

🖖 4. “If you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.”

Context: If your uniform wasn’t immaculately pressed, you had to run fully clothed in the ocean and then roll in sand (i.e. “sugar cookie”)

↳ Lesson: Despite your best efforts, you will sometimes fail. Try again tomorrow.

———

🖐️ 5. “If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.”

Context: A “circus” was 2 extra hours of calisthenics (i.e. punishment if you didn’t meet standards that day).

↳ Lesson: Use these setbacks to make you stronger. Every obstacle in life is actually building your inner strength and resiliency.

———

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➕ New here? I'm Jade Bonacolta, founder of The Quiet Rich. Join 800,000 people who start every morning with my posts about personal growth.

7 free websites so useful, knowing about them feels like cheating the system:

Thought of the day:

It's time for spring cleaning.

——

Btw, I post inspiring ideas like this every morning. Follow me (Jade Bonacolta) and tap the bell icon in my profile so you don't miss the next one.

In 10 years, we’ll wonder where all the time went.

3 things I do to make my time feel richer:

——

1) “Be where your feet are.“

Whenever I catch myself worrying about things in the future for too long, I say that phrase out loud.

Stop for a second.
Try to feel your feet on the floor.
The keys under your fingers while typing.
These tactile reminders pull us back.

——

2) Notice micro-moments of joy.

↳ An amazing podcast.
↳ The first sip of a great coffee.
↳ A walk outside in warm weather.
↳ A deep, long laugh with your partner.

Train your brain to acknowledge these tiny moments.

Life isn't lived in the 2% of big milestones (e.g., job promotions, wedding days). It's lived in the 98% of tiny moments between those milestones.

——

3) Pretend it's “the last time.“

Life is short. We rarely know when we visit a place for the last time, or have our last conversation with someone.

If we did know that, we’d probably act differently in those moments. 
Maybe we’d be more present there. 
Maybe we’d tell them how much they mean to us.

——

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things.” —Kurt Vonnegut

Do you agree? Repost this to share the reminder with others.

👋 I'm Jade Bonacolta, founder of The Quiet Rich. Every morning, I share 1 daily life hack to get “rich“ in the quiet things that matter most (like time, health, and strong relationships). Join 800,000 people who read them across social and email.

The best ideas don't come to you at a desk.

They come to you:
↳ on a long walk
↳ in a coffee shop
↳ after a night of great sleep
↳ at the gym
↳ at a fun dinner
↳ in a hallway conversation.

If we strap ourselves to our desks
staring at email and video meetings for 8 hours,
there's no room for breakthrough ideas.

Just 1 of those ideas per day could change everything. 💡

———

Repost if you agree 🙌

I write productivity tips every morning at 8:30am EDT. Follow me (Jade Bonacolta) to be the first to see them.

Perfect illustration by Liz Fosslien