Do the Opposite of Everything You’ve Been Doing: How Seinfeld’s George Costanza Unlocks Lead Gen Clarity for EdTech Founders

Introduction 

I wasn’t afraid of the mic.

I was afraid of sounding unclear.

I used to spend hours scripting my message, editing it down until it sounded “safe—Professional, Polished, Perfect.

And the result?

A message that sounded polished—but didn’t convert.

People didn’t disagree—they just didn’t engage.

Because I wasn’t saying anything real. I was just trying not to mess up.

“I kept thinking: ‘What if this sounds off?’ So I’d rework it, strip it down, soften it—and what came out was forgettable.”

The shift didn’t come from more prep—It came from doing the opposite of what felt comfortable.

Let’s rewind to one of the sharpest sitcom insights ever.

🎬 In the legendary Seinfeld episode “The Opposite,” George Costanza hits rock bottom.

His life’s a mess—nothing’s going his way. So he makes a bold move:

He decides to go against every gut instinct he's ever had.

Instead of playing it safe, he speaks up. He stops pretending. He shows up as his full, honest self.

And just like that—he lands the job, gets the girl, and everything clicks.

It’s not just brilliant comedy.

It’s a mirror for every founder stuck in “try-hard” mode.

If you’re an education founder posting consistently, speaking confidently, and still not getting traction—this is your wake-up call.

Your Message Can’t Just Be Correct—It Has to Be Felt

Too many education founders write like they’re trying to pass a panel interview.

Bulletproof. Sanitized. Perfectly phrased.

But that doesn’t build trust.

It builds distance.

The leaders I trust the most?

They speak in stories, not soundbites.

They show their thinking, not just their wins.

They know their audience doesn’t want a hero—they want a human.

So I stopped trying to impress.

And I started saying what I actually meant.

The Education Founder Trap: Polished but Powerless

Let’s be honest.

Education Founders are told to “show up,” but what we actually hear is “don’t screw it up.”

So we sand off the edges.

We default to safe phrases like “student-centered” and “equity-driven” without saying what that actually means in our work.

I did this for months.

And my content sounded like everyone else’s.

The result? A message that was clean—but forgettable.

“I wasn’t scared of the mic. I was scared of what would happen if I wasn’t perfectly clear. So I defaulted to safe.”

Safe content sounds right. But it doesn’t resonate.

If your message could belong to any founder, it belongs to no one.

Your Audience Isn’t a Stage—It’s a Classroom

Whether I was pitching in a boardroom or speaking at ERDI, I treated it like a stage: deliver a polished performance, and land the talking points.

But LinkedIn? That’s not a stage.

It’s a classroom.

Every post is a lesson plan.

Every comment is feedback.

And your audience is learning how to trust you—based on how clearly you teach.

One of my best-performing keynotes started as a two-sentence post.

One idea. One hook.

Posted on a Wednesday, edited by Thursday, refined into a talk by Friday.

“I used to treat LinkedIn like a one-way performance. But the reality is—it’s more like a conference hallway conversation. That’s where clarity really shows up.”

Once I started thinking like a teacher, not a performer, my messaging changed.

It got simpler. Stronger. More repeatable.

Founders! Stop performing. Start teaching. That’s how trust scales.

Do the Opposite (Even If It Feels Uncomfortable)

The opposite of what?

The opposite of what your instincts are telling you:

Want to sound polished? Say it messy and honest first.

Want to go broad? Go narrow. One idea per post.

Want to wait until it’s perfect? Hit publish when it’s 80%.

 “I had to unlearn my instinct to protect every word. Turns out, saying the raw thing—even if it wasn’t perfect—was exactly what built trust.”

The best test of your message:

❌ “Does this sound smart?”

✅“Could someone repeat this back to me and get it right?”

The Real Risk Is Staying Safe

Here’s what most education founders don’t realize:

Safe isn’t neutral. Safe is invisible.

If your content sounds “safe,” it probably sounds like someone else.

So do the opposite:

📍Say what you’d say behind closed doors—in front of your audience.

📍Name the thing everyone avoids in your niche.

📍Show the messy part of the process, not just the polished result.

That’s how you stop sounding like a brand—and start sounding like a leader.

I spent months hiding behind language that sounded founder-friendly but lacked specificity.

Once I leaned into clarity—even when it felt risky—everything changed:

✅My posts got traction.

✅My message got repeatable.

✅My voice got sharper.

✅My audience finally heard me.

Safe won’t get you remembered. Clear will.

🎧 Want the Whole Framework?

If you’ve been posting, pitching, and showing up—but still feel like your message isn’t landing—this episode is your signal to shift.

Do the opposite. Say the thing you’ve been softening.

Clarity isn’t found in silence. It’s built in the open.

This solo episode is for any education founder ready to stop playing it safe—and start saying what actually needs to be said.

→ Listen to the full episode now on→ Apple → Spotify

It’ll reframe how you think about trust, traction, and visibility.

And if your message feels stuck? This will help get it moving.