Your Competitors Are Dying Off (And Leaving Everything Behind)

And what they're leaving is an inheritance with your name on it.

And it's alllll up for grabs.

But you're not getting it by sitting around.

Because here's the thing about inheritance, it doesn't just happen. The young don't automatically take over from the old. Someone has to step up and claim it.

Let me tell you a quick story about the destinies of marketing legends Russell Brunson and Dan Kennedy.

Dan Kennedy is the godfather of marketing and copywriting. I have his Ultimate Sales Letter book on my table as I write this.

For 40 years, he built an empire teaching entrepreneurs how to print money with words.

Dan Kennedy started the Glazer Kennedy Insider's Circle (GKIC) in March 1985 as a direct-response marketing training group for entrepreneurs.

He published the No BS Marketing Newsletter starting in 1996. Built Magnetic Marketing in the 90s as well. He influenced the entire industry.

But empires don't last forever because humans don't live forever. Especially without someone willing to carry the torch and especially after Dan Kennedy had a health scare around the pandemic.

Around that time, Dan Kennedy sold GKIC outright to Bill Glazer, his then partner, who then sold it to a private equity firm.

The PE firm changed GKIC's event strategy, cutting speaker time for pitches, which destroyed speaker content and audience satisfaction.

Forbes Books then acquired GKIC in 2018.

In 2021, Dan Kennedy sold his other major company, Magnetic Marketing, to Russell Brunson, writer of Dotcom Secrets and owner of ClickFunnels.

Russell stepped in.

He didn't just buy a "dying" company. He acquired Magnetic Marketing, the No BS Newsletter, the subscriber base, the entire legacy. He inherited 40 years of marketing wisdom. Hard drives full of courses, faxes, newsletters that most of the world had never seen. Pure gold that was gathering digital dust.

Dan didn't die, he's still alive. He didn't hand Russell the keys with a ribbon on top. Russell saw an opportunity, put in the work, negotiated the deal, and took over. Even with Dan involved in the transition, Russell had to step up and earn it.

Most people think there's too much competition out there. That every market is saturated. That all the good opportunities are taken.

So they never get into business. What a mind-killer.

But that's not how it works.

The old retire. They step back to enjoy their wealth and spend more time with their family. They get tired of the grind. Or they just plain old, die.

Matt Furey, another early internet copywriting legend and one of my direct influences, who's also semi-retired, put it perfectly in one of his recent emails:

"One thing that puzzled me, though, was that a few people think I'm retired. I thought I made it clear that I semi-retired for around 10 years, and that started to end in 2018. Personally, I don't believe in retired-ment, as it means you're going to be tired again. Semi-retired, to me, meant that although I still had my hands on the wheel - I was in cruise control more than half the time - and that was when I became more actively involved with my children."

See that? Even the greats step back. They go into cruise control. They focus on other things. The market doesn't get more crowded over time, it gets emptier.

These are two of the biggest copywriting legends stepping away from the industry. For whatever reason.

Every year, thousands of business owners retire, slow down, or simply stop competing at the level they once did. They leave behind customers, systems, wisdom, and opportunities.

That's your inheritance.

But here's the catch, even legitimate inheritances require meeting conditions. You don't just show up and get the money. You have to claim it. Sign the papers. Do the work. Prove you're worthy of it.

Born the son or daughter of a multi-millionaire? He'll probably want you to graduate from an Ivy League university, work in one of his companies for a few years, and show a lot of competency before he forks over the legacy in his twilight years.

Russell didn't wait for permission. He didn't compete in a blood red ocean full of sharks.

He saw a blue ocean opportunity, and claimed it. He integrated it into ClickFunnels. He built new funnels. He combined old-school direct response with modern digital systems. He grew the community. He continued the legacy.

And now? He's building something bigger than Dan Kennedy ever could have alone.

He's only 45.

That's what claiming your inheritance looks like.

Anyway, here's the point:

There isn't as much competition as you think. The old guard is tired. They're retiring. They're in cruise control. They're dying off. The market is opening up.

One of the reasons I chose to get into copywriting is because it's soooo small. The majority of competent copywriters Brunson's age or older. There's very few 20 to early 30 year olds in this market.

I know in 20 or 30 odd years after I've grown this to multiple 7-8 figures, if no one else enters the market, I will have a significant majority of the market share by default.

And then it'll be my turn to retire after that. That's the beauty of business, it's cyclical.

Biology and human anatomy evens out the playing field.

Your job isn't to fight everyone in your industry. Your job is to look around and ask: Who's slowing down? What wisdom is being forgotten? What space is empty?

Then claim it and fill it.

Fathi