People don’t talk about the best-writing author; they talk about the best-selling author. This book educates us about wealth creation, something missing from our college syllabus.
Jobs are no longer secure
These two factors make the conventional approach to career advancement obsolete:
- The days of staying at one company for the rest of your career are over.
- Technology and the internet have made it possible for work styles to be much more flexible.
The Two Questions
Two effective queries for reaching out to people and adding value are:
- What aspect of your life or business do you find most exciting right now?
- What problems are you currently facing in your life or business?
Marketing: don’t let your company remain obscure
Marketing has a reputation for being sleazy and manipulative. In actuality, effective marketing entails letting potential customers know about you (or your business). Out of sight, out of mind.
Due to their inability to reach the right clients, many businesses fail.
Building Your Brand
When people hear your name, they immediately conjure images of your brand. The issue is that most people are unaware that working for someone else’s brand is not the best option for them. It only takes a few simple steps to construct.
To build a brand, a person should have a website under their name. A presence on social media can be beneficial.
Two kinds of knowledge
Practical knowledge is the ability to use what you’ve learned “in the real world” and your street smarts. This knowledge is only learned by action.
The theoretical, abstract knowledge you learn in school and from books has no connection to your experience or the outside world. Applying this knowledge is more difficult.
Entrepreneurial vs. Employee Mindset
- An entrepreneurial mindset prioritizes contribution and outcome and makes significant decisions even when not in a position of authority.
- The employee mindset, on the other hand, disregards even minor decisions and places a premium on entitlement and output.
- Employees view the current situation as permanent, while entrepreneurs see it as temporary.
Making an impact: on your own
Impact requires leadership, which multiplies impact, as well as forging ahead into the unknown, which most people avoid doing.
Four steps:
- Pay off your debts and start saving.
- Embrace experimentation in your current position.
- Start experimenting by using the funds from step 1 to do so while you are working.
- Start your own venture by proceeding in the manner suggested by a productive experiment from step 3.
Making worthwhile connections
Giving without expecting anything in return is the key to effective networking; it is not about exchanging information back and forth.
Finding great connections can be done in one of two ways.
- Find people who have a bright future and assist them in achieving their objectives.
- Improve the life of someone who is already established or introduce them to someone who can benefit both parties in a win-win situation.
Work yourself out of your job, to take a bigger role
Instead of working on the path that has already been carved out by someone else, those with an entrepreneurial mindset forge their own path.
Example: Louis Marx fought hard with his employer to close the retail operation and concentrate only on the production of toys.
After failing, he quit and founded his own business, which went on to become the biggest toy producer in the 1920s.
The dangerous dream
Similar to dating, failures in entrepreneurship are inevitable and part of the learning process. What matters is resilience.
Even in the worst case scenario, someone who pursues a risky dream will learn something useful if the journey teaches them valuable business skills.
Sales as a leadership skill
Although one can improve at a particular craft, it’s equally important to be able to market oneself.
Marketing, sales, and leadership skills are all components of success.
Knowing a customer’s needs and, if you have a good solution or product, meeting those needs, are the foundation of sales.
Being a leader involves having the ability to influence others, not to command them.
Investing for Success: Learning
Learning as an adult: Adults need a purpose for their learning, they participate in both planning and evaluation, they are more interested in topics with immediate application, they prefer problem-oriented learning over content-oriented learning, and they prefer more self-directed learning over classroom instruction.
