I grew up in a blue-collar family in the mountains of New Hampshire. We had no connections, no legacy network, no safety net. In the place I came from, the ceiling was low—and everyone knew it.

What I did have was a hunger for the unknown, and a fearlessness to chase it.

After high school, I left for Colorado State, then pivoted back to UNH when the economy collapsed in 2007. From there, I studied in London, then Ghana. I moved to D.C. for a program where I got to interview heads of state and global finance leaders. Then I packed up and moved to Australia—bartending by night, launching passion projects by day. When I wasn’t working, I was reading. Learning. Asking questions. Meeting people on planes, bus lines, community boards—anywhere I could.

I came to believe that “being lucky” isn’t real. But increasing your luck surface? That is. And that became my playbook: initiate, ask, build, repeat.

At 22, I was broke in Singapore, walking trade shows, going booth to booth asking tech execs what their biggest problem was—and trying to solve it. Most of my ideas failed, but I kept going. Eventually, I had to move back home. I needed money. So I convinced a Harley-Davidson dealership to hire me. Within months, I was their top seller. Not because I had experience, but because I didn’t wait—I initiated.

That mindset took me to Boston, where I broke into tech sales and never looked back. I went from having no job to becoming a President’s Club performer year after year, and eventually, Director of the Year at a 2,300-person company. I built my network from scratch. I built myself from scratch.

I’m not the smartest guy in the room. I didn’t go to a fancy school. But I have one edge I’ve never let go of: I move. I initiate. I figure it out mid-air.

And now, through High Agency, I coach that mindset into students who want to do more than just follow the system. I help them build elite networks, develop clarity and courage, and chart bold, unconventional paths—because in today’s world, that’s the difference between qualified and unmissable.

If you can hand me a pair of coordinates and drop me in a mountain range, I’ll find my way. That’s what I teach—and that’s what I want for the next generation of leaders.

- Josh Newall