Anthony Carlton

CRE Digital

Over $3M capital raised for real estate investors with LinkedIn branding and content

Founder & CEO

Ghostwriter & Brand Consultant

Farther

Vice President, Wealth Advisor

LearnLux

Lead Financial Planner

Cerity Partners

Associate Financial Planner

AgriBank (St. Paul, MN)

Managed credit risk and reporting for AgriBank’s $8 billion fixed income portfolio.

Investment Analyst

U.S. Bank

Supported commercial banking PMs with loan underwriting analysis.

Commercial Banking Analyst

North Star Resource Group

Completed a 3-month internship supporting senior financial advisors with their growing practices.

Financial Planning Intern

Helping real estate CEOs turn their personal brand into a cash-flowing asset. 10 years in finance → ghostwriter with 35M+ views

I post actionable content to help you launch, grow, and monetize with digital writing and branding

Former wealth advisor & fintech vp
Full-time digital writerpreneur

Join 3K+ in my newsletter: antcarlton.substack.com

Apply for ghostwriting: www.credigital.io

Book a 1:1 consulting call: https://calendly.com/antcarlton/consulting

Founder & Brand Advisor

Build Your Brand @ FinGhost.io

How do you expect to become a better version of yourself without change? 
 
Your life is constant change. 
Your career is constant change. 
Your evolution is constant change. 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁? 
 
Schools, standardized tests, and rule-following brainwashed you to believe: 
 
• Failure is bad 
• Change is bad 
• Mistakes are bad 
• Resume gaps are bad 
 
But that doesn't help you in the real world where things are constantly changing. 
 
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 
 
It's an uncomfortable feeling. 
Something to run towards, not away from. 
 
Next time someone says: "You've changed" 
 
Say "Good, that's the goal" 
 
Your old friends might not like it. 
Your old co-workers might not like it. 
Your old classmates might not like it. 
 
But as long as you are constantly evolving and improving as a person, who cares? 
 
Change makes people uncomfortable. 
 
It also transforms your life and attracts: 
 
• More money 
• More fulfillment 
• More time freedom 
 
Change is essential. 
 
Don't fight it, embrace it. 
Run towards it. 
 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝟭𝟮 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨? 
 
-- 
P.S. If you want to create positive change in your career... 
 
Join 2,900 reading my essays on digital entrepreneurship: https://lnkd.in/ehhTxecZ

There is no BLACK without WHITE 
 
There is no SUCCESS without FAILURE 
 
There is no beginning without an end to something  else 
 
There is no keeping clients without losing a few along the way 
 
There is no growth without imposter syndrome (aka "I am not enough" syndrome) 
 
There is no passive income without hours of trading your time for future money 
 
There is no massive wealth and millions of dollars without focusing on 1% daily growth 
 
There is no WINNING without learning how to LOSE first 
 
There is no YOU without the help from all of THEM 
 
The world is made up of opposites. 
 
Yin and Yang must exist. 
 
But we want everything to be GOOD without any BAD 
 
Impossible unless you find a hack for defying the laws of physics 
 
-- 
 
What does this have to do with anything? 
 
Everything.

Treat 100% of the failures in your career as data (showing you how to improve). 
 
Data teaches you: 
 
• What's working 
• What's not working 
• Where you need to adjust 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 30 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙𝙄𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨... 
 
Data told me to improve as a writer. 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 20 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨... 
 
Data told me to improve as a seller. 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧... 
 
Data told me to improve my lifestyle design. 
 
If I've learned anything from: 
 
• Making career pivots 
• Trying dozens of side hustles 
• Going full-time into entrepreneurship 
 
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿. 
 
And how you respond to failure will define the progress (or stagnation) you see over the next 10 years of your career. 
 
 
𝙄𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨? 
 
Let's talk about it in the comments. 
 
-- 
Btw I openly share my career wins and losses in The Solo CEO blog: https://lnkd.in/eQPfyVCG

In 2014 I graduated with a 2.9 GPA and landed a $40,000 a year banking job. 
 
I had big dreams of: 
 
• Making a lot of money 
• Being a successful finance guy 
• Achieving financial freedom before 70 
 
But after what felt like 100 failed interviews, I started to have major doubts. 
 
Maybe I'm not smart. 
Maybe I can't make a lot of money. 
Maybe I'll be stuck at a desk forever. 
 
𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿... 
 
I was a naive 22 year old who thought the world owed me a $100k salary. 
 
For what? Getting a bachelor's degree? 
 
If I allowed that mindset to become my default way of thinking... 
 
I would have never: 
 
• Pivoted my career 
• Landed my dream job 
• Started writing online 
• Become an entrepreneur 
 
The best decision I made in my career was to turn "𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩" → "𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄?" 
 
Your mindset is powerful. 
 
Continuously working on yourself is the only path to massive growth in your career. 
 
To become a person who makes 2X what you currently make in a year... 
 
You have to believe you can first. 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙𝙄𝙣? 
 
-- 
Hey, I'm Anthony. 
 
Follow me for more and get my most actionable content in my free newsletter: 
 
👉 antcarlton.substack.com

Real Estate's #1 Ghostwriter | 40M Views, $3M Capital Raised for Investor Clients on LinkedIn | Founder @ CRE Digital | ex-FinTech VP

graphical user interface, text, application

I learned the difference between true wealth and fake wealth as a financial advisor... 
 
Here's what IG says millionaires do: 
 
- They all drive sports cars 
- They live in 10,000 SF mansions 
- They have private jets and islands 
- They're all geniuses like Jobs and Musk 
 
But after 100s of conversations with people worth between $1M and $100M... 
 
I learned this was mostly a myth. 
 
Instead, the majority of millionaires: 
 
- Drive used cars 
- Live in modest homes 
- Quietly grow their wealth 
- Learn smart money habits early 
 
People who look rich = Collect Debt 
People who are rich = Collect Assets 
 
99% of the time wealth is not sexy. 
Consistent habits will do just fine. 
 
And for the people building wealth, it's more about the freedom than the stuff. 
 
(For the happy ones anyway) 
 
Have you learned the difference between looking rich and being wealthy? 
 
-- 
If you want to learn about the intersection of money, business, and the creator economy... 
 
Join 3,000 getting smarter in my newsletter every Saturday morning: antcarlton.substack.com

Here's how to become unfireable: 
 
(even if you get canned over Zoom) 
 
There's a lot of sh*t you have ZERO control over in your career. 
 
- Recessions 
- Failed products 
- VC funding drying up 
- Poor company leadership 
 
We've seen it in 2023 and 2024... 
 
The company that calls you "family" one minute is laying you off on Zoom the next. 
 
Not much you can do it about it. 
 
But here's what you can do to ensure your success, no matter what happens. 
 
Instead of working on your job... 
Start working on your skills. 
 
• Sales skills 
• Writing skills 
• Leadership skills 
• Communication skills 
• Technical skills 
• Soft skills 
 
Skills are 100% transferrable. 
 
Become the person who could get fired, lose everything, have it all back in a year... 
 
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. 
 
"𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦.” - 𝘑𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘩𝘯 
 
 
What skills are you working on rn? 
 
I've been diving deep into Hormozi's sales videos on YT. Gold!

Don't quit your 9-5 to go "all in" as a solopreneur until you have 4 things: 
 
- Proven offer 
- Clients paying you 
- Results and case studies 
- Consistent lead gen systems 
 
Give yourself 6-12 months to build skills and undeniable social proof before you leap. 
 
In 2019 I quit my job, spent a fat chunk of my life savings, and failed at going solo. 
 
I had 0/4 essentials above. 
 
Didn't know how to write. 
Didn't know how to sell. 
Didn't know how to build. 
 
In 2022 I made a successful transition from 9-5 to building a full-time creator income. 
 
But I worked for 12 months alongside my 9-5: 
 
• Testing ideas 
• Growing on LinkedIn 
• Finding proof of concept 
 
I'm confident everyone who reads this can build a full-time income as a creator. 
 
But only if you set yourself up for success. 
 
That's why I write weekly guides giving actionable strategies for making the leap. 
 
Need a good place to start? 
 
Read this: https://lnkd.in/e-RX6KFj

If you're willing to look stupid for 6 months, you will gain a 10x advantage in life. 
 
Every valuable skill I've learned in life: 
 
• Made me feel like an imposter 
• Made me feel like a beginner 
• Made me feel like a failure 
 
That's the way it is. 
 
Learning to 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹. 
Learning to 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲. 
Learning to 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁. 
Learning to 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. 
Learning to 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 
Learning to 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 
 
These skills will make you rich over time. 
But 99% are afraid to start. 
 
Fear of failure prevents them from trying. 
 
What if I fail? 
What if I screw up? 
What if I look stupid? 
 
Advice from a mentor in my 20s changed my life, and I come back to it weekly. 
 
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙠. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚. 
𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝. 
 
𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 
𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧." 
 
Knowing that you will suck at the start and accepting this is a MASSIVE relief. 
 
Nobody is great in the beginning. 
 
If you want to make a pivot or do something new, run towards the fear. 
 
It's a sign you're on the right path. 
 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜? 
 
My advice: find a mentor.

Stop lying to yourself about productivity. 
 
(it doesn't work like this): 
 
• Wake up at 4:30 am 
• Workout, sauna, ice bath 
• Meditate and gratitude journal 
• Write a chapter of my new book 
 
Now it's only 6:30 am. Wow you can fit a lot into 2 hours when you're hyper productive. 
 
Now onto my workday. 
 
• Calls with my team 
• Calls with my clients 
• Calls with LinkedIn randos 
• Calls about last week's calls 
 
I live my life in 30-minute increments. 
 
Hyper productive life. 
 
Now it's only noon. 
 
Time for lunch aka Athletic Greens. 
 
Getting in my second workout and another 2-hour walk & talk (more calls more calls). 
 
𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 
 
Here's the good news: 
 
I only have 65 things left on my to-do list. 
 
Keep grinding.  
Rise and grind.  
Grind when you sleep. 
Never stop grinding. 
 
-- 
 
Holy sh*t that's exhausting. 
 
I'd rather say No to 80% of it and get ONE important thing done each day. 
 
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧? 
 
Less is more for me.

Here's the formula for success and getting everything you want in life: 
 
Be a Giver first. 
 
If you give 1,000x for every time you ask... 
 
Hard to lose in life. 
 
• Give in your free content 
• Give in your coffee chats 
• Give in your relationships 
• Give in your DMs & emails 
• Give in your client meetings 
 
Do this for 90 days without asking for anything in return. 
 
Make mini deposits. 
 
The law of reciprocation will reward you. 
 
If you help others: 
 
• Make more money 
• Achieve their goals 
• Unlock opportunities 
 
You will be the first person they think of for referrals, connections, and new business. 
 
So, how do you win more? 
 
By helping others win more. 
 
Do you believe in the "Giver" mindset? 
Share your experience below. 
 
-- 
Thanks for reading.  
 
Give me a follow for more posts like this. 
 
If this resonated, share with a repost ♻️

"This $500 logo package will drive sales" 
 
In my early 20s, I sat in my cubicle and promised to try entrepreneurship one day. 
 
• Being my own boss. 
• Making my own schedule. 
• Building something I was proud of. 
 
But I delayed taking action for years because I convinced myself to wait. 
 
Wait until you have a great idea. 
Wait until you have a business plan. 
Wait until you have a perfect website. 
 
I realized a decade later it was pointless. 
 
Don't wait.  
 
Those "need-to-have" things were excuses that kept me from taking action. 
 
Now, after 17 months of growing a ghostwriting business, I see that. 
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 
 
(if I could go back in time) 
 
"𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙜𝙤. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥." 
 
For you, the first step might be: 
 
• Winning your first client 
• Making your first $1 on LinkedIn 
• Connecting with 5 prospects a day 
 
I promise it's not a $500 logo package. 
 
Don't wait to create something. 
Start small. Iterate. Keep movin'. 
 
Action = Momentum 
 
 
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮? 
 
Tell me ↓ let's share ideas.

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