Why Was Railroad Created?

Let's say you graduated from high school.

Top 10% of your class.

You went to a good college.

First in your family to graduate with a college degree, which meant a lot to you.

After college, you made it to your first job interview. You know you're qualified for what they are looking for.

But you don't get the job.

Being resilient and saying you'll never give up, you go to a few more job interviews where — lo and behold — your persistence pays off.

You finally get a good paying job!

But what you're getting paid isn't important here. What's important was getting your foot in the door. You know better opportunities to advance will come later.

Now while working at the job for a few years, you're up for a promotion…

…but you get passed over by someone you know is not as qualified as you.

Worse off, your current supervisor has been giving you problems, undermining your accomplishments. But you just take it on the chin because you look long-term at the opportunities ahead.

You don't want to rock the boat.

Still, you wonder how that person even became your supervisor, or how you were passed up for a promotion by someone who never worked as hard as you.

Then one day, you go to a company dinner…

Talks go from just work-related stuff to things outside of work. Personal stuff. You start getting to know each other better.

It's here you learn that your supervisor is the nephew of the company's CEO, and the person who passed you for that promotion is a friend of one of the company executives.

Have you heard this story before?

Of course.

Even if you never went through something like this personally, you've seen it on TV, on movies, and on social media reels.

You know that it's unfair.

You know it's only right for someone to be considered for their actual results instead of “who they are connected to.”

And that's the point!

When climbing up the ranks in an environment you don't own or control, it's not about how hard you work (aka “merit”)…

…it's about getting “access” to movers and shakers.

Access to those who can make things happen for you.

Those who can put in a “good word.”

In other words, “access” is more important than “merit”.

Merit is great, but it only gets you noticed.

It gets you the job interview.

But do they trust you to do the job they ask for, even if you're qualified?

Do you know the social cues, or have any connections you share with them so they can trust you?

The best way to know these things is through access.

Access to their world.

Access to their friends.

Access to their way of life.

Once you have access, you gain trust.

And once you gain trust, it's easier to get that job!

It's a harsh reality, but it's the reality. Don't believe me? Let's do a quick example:

If you have a little toddler and you're looking for someone to watch them while you're working, who would you trust more…

The person who has a certification for child care (like a CDA)?

Or someone your friend recommends, who says they take good care of their own kids?

Most of you will go with the second option, the one your friend vouched for.

But what about the first option, the person who was certified? They have more formal training.

But does it matter?

Not to you. They aren't “connected” to someone you know.

Someone you trust.

And that's why the first person didn't get the opportunity to watch your child and get paid.

That's the harsh reality: Someone who has access to you is more important than someone who just presents their credentials!

The credentials only become important when trust (access) is involved.

The same goes for kids of politically-connected parents. Those kids usually get better opportunities than kids of “regular” parents, even if the regular parents' kids are more qualified than the politically-connected parents' kids.

The difference is who the politically-connected parents know (or who the kids themselves know). They have more access to groups and resources than the regular parents or their kids.

And people who already have these connections shouldn't feel bad about this either, especially if they were born into that world. It's just the name of the game.

We know it's not fair, but that's the reality of it all.

Of course, this won't happen in all cases.

There are times where people do earn opportunities they worked hard for. Especially for important, life-changing professions like a medical doctor or a pilot. Even professional athletes can get in by pure merit, although that's been changing recently.

But in other areas, especially in areas where MONEY or investments are involved, the ones most connected to the owners or executives will get more opportunities than “outsiders” who were more trained and qualified.

That's a big reason why there's a major disparity between races and genders when it comes to startup funding, mortgage lending, small business lending, and many more things you can think of.

It's also a big reason why there are political and business leaders who seem “incompetent” to everyone else.

Just look at their background: 9 times out of 10, you'll find out they know someone who is very connected in political or business circles, societies, and groups that can make things happen.

So now that the stage is set, what should you do with this information? Are you locked out of access to these exclusive groups?

At first, it seems the game is rigged and not in your favor.

But it is rigged!

You're likely playing a game that's been rigged against you all this time and never even realized it!

When people get farther ahead just because of “who they know”, it makes you wonder if working hard to get a degree (while getting massive student loan debt in the process) was even worth it.

But you can “rig” the game back in your favor. Here are several “known” paths:

1. You can use your credentials (like a college degree) to try to get your foot in the door. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't— especially if your credentials aren't from a “respected” institution like an Ivy League school.
2. You can live closer to where the movers and shakers are, then work a server job just to meet someone — hopefully. But the cost of living at these places may be too high, so it's not affordable for everyone.
3. You can marry someone who is connected to “access”, or get someone connected to “sponsor” you. But the odds of that happening are slim to none. Besides, families of connected people like their kids to be married to other families of connected people. Then there's the issue of “code switching” between your new life and your old one you grew up with. It can be mentally exhausting.
4. You can be so valuable in your skill set that connected people will find you! If you service them well, they'll introduce you to their communities where you can service them as well. But you have to be in the top 1% in your skills to gain this access. This also leaves room for illegal activity that may come with servicing connected people.
5. You can start your own thing and build your own connected groups. However, it takes years to build but could be worth it — if you're persistent and don't give up!

So what does Railroad have to do with all this?

To truly get ahead, the number one thing to do is to gain access to communities.

But not just “any” community.

The right communities.

Communities where secret information is shared among its members.

Communities where everyone knows what the latest information is (before it goes public).

Communities where people can build and strategize, where you learn traps those before you fell into.

So in a nutshell, tapping into the right communities may be the difference between working hard all your life with little to show for it, and working hard enough for the right people who recommend you to opportunities you never knew existed.

The main problem is that most people aren't connected to valuable communities that can turn their situation around — and that's a big reason why Railroad was created.

Our Railroad platform allows you to build and access those valuable communities in a secure way, so folks can finally get ahead in life — for real this time.

There are other reasons why Railroad was created as well:

1. We are currently in a “loneliness” epidemic. We need human connection to feel loved and appreciated. Safe communities solve that problem.
2. There's a lot of trolling online where rage-baiting is the norm. The more rage bait, the higher the engagement on their platform. The higher their engagement, the more ad dollars pour in (as the old saying goes: “Controversy sells”). But humans deserve to connect with other humans online without having to put their guard up, worrying about someone making them angry. This world has enough of that. And finally,
3. Valuable information needs to be disseminated in a secure, legal way without intervention. Both Railroad's public and private communities (known as “stations”) provide this. And our DMs are fully encrypted, so no one can have access to the messages sent in DMs. Not even Railroad!

Now, if you are one of the lucky ones who already have a valuable group, why should you provide access to everyone else?

That's a great question. Only you can answer that.

But on Railroad, we do have the option for you to charge others to gain access to your communities — should you choose.

That way, it's a win-win for you and the people you're helping along:

You provide valuable access to your circle, and the people you help (who are serious enough to spend money to gain access) will take your community seriously.

In all, I firmly believe although obtaining wealth is important for many reasons, community is more important!

Because even when you get that wealth you always wanted…

…you need a community to guide you through the ups and downs of life.

So enjoy Railroad, and DM support if you have any questions.