The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhleming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one. -Mark Twain, The One Thing, p.103 Continue reading The secret of getting ahead
A good rule of thumb is to double down everywhere in your life. If your goal is ten, ask the question: “How can I reach 20?” Set a goal so far above what you want that you’ll be building a plan that practically guarantees your original goal. -The One Thing, p.93 Continue reading How to make sure you achieve what you plan:
In the early days of the curve, you over-forecast (expectations are higher than results) and in the later days of the curve, you under-forecast. Doug Leone, Sequoia Capital part II Acquired Podcast Continue reading Growth isn’t linear
That describes the way many if not most of the biggest startups got started. Neither Apple nor Yahoo nor Google nor Facebook were even supposed to be companies at first. They grew out of things their founders built because there seemed a gap in the world. Paul Graham, How to Get Startup Ideas Continue reading Live in the future, then build what’s missing
First of all, you should think what would be the 5-star experience like. We basically took one part of our product and we extrapolated: what would a 5-star experience be? Then we went crazy. A 5-star experience is: You knock on the door, they open the door, they let you in. Great. That’s not a big deal. You’re not going to tell every friend about it. You might say, ‘I used Airbnb. It worked.’ So we thought, ‘What would a 6-star experience be?’ A 6-star experience: You knock on the door, the host opens and shows you around. On the … Continue reading Make it a 7-star experience
When you prioritize process, you become flexible in where you are headed—you focus on the inputs and stop worrying about the outputs. Just keep laying one brick at a time—forward progress is all that matters. -Sahil Bloom, Adopt a Process Orientation,Twitter Continue reading Prioritize process, not outcomes
We usually advise startups to pick a growth rate they think they can hit, and then just try to hit it every week. The key word here is “just.” If they decide to grow at 7% a week and they hit that number, they’re successful for that week. There’s nothing more they need to do. But if they don’t hit it, they’ve failed in the only thing that mattered, and should be correspondingly alarmed. Programmers will recognize what we’re doing here. We’re turning starting a startup into an optimization problem. And anyone who has tried optimizing code knows how wonderfully … Continue reading Focus on growth, growth alone
There’s three types of people when something gets hard or stop growing: The Stresser-achiever They grind through everything. They are stressed the whole time. Eventually they burn out. (👋consultants 👋bankers) 2. The Dabbler This used to be me. Work hard. Have fun. Love making rapid progress. Progress stops. Motivation drops. Fuck this. I’m going to go do THAT instead. 3. The Master The master knows how progress actually happens. When a master hits a plateau: She does not panic like the stressor-achiever. She does not quit like the dabbler She simply says “ah…a plateau….to be expected.” She greets plateaus like an old friend. Part & … Continue reading You’re stuck? Be a Master, not a dabbler
Like you’re planting seeds. Don’t go dig up that seed the next day and be like “Shit, this didn’t grow into a plant” Like no. Plant that seed. Water it. Enjoy it. Let’s look at this like a 10 years game. And the 4th Quarter is ten years from now. And the seed you’re planting, it’s shit, it’s shit, it’s shit and then suddenly it’s like “OMG, it worked”. Your learning does go up every year. like “oh man! Last year I was such a Dummy. I didn;t know shit about shit.” -Shaan Puri, MFM Shorts Continue reading Don’t look at the scoreboard until you’re 30
Roadmap to Billions 