The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

But Kevin still wanted to be helpful. He noticed that Square didn’t have a video demo on their website showing how the device worked. So on his own he put together a high-definition video showing off the device and then shared the video with Jack just as an fyi. Impressed, Jack turned around and invited Kevin to invest in the “full” Series A round

a product feature that converts onetime customers into repeat customers is more valuable than one that brings in onetime customers.

In school, you’re told to focus on shoring up weaknesses. Parents and teachers pay special attention to the Cs and Bs on the report card, not the As. Work on your weak spots, they say. This attitude sticks. But it’s also inefficient. In adulthood, you’ll get a greater ROI (return on investment) from investing in your strengths than in your weakness

In fact, the word company is derived from the Latin cum and pane, which means “breaking bread together.”[1]

Searching for a job only when you’re unemployed or unhappy at work has been replaced by the mandate to always be generating opportunities. Networking has been replaced by intelligent network building.

Often, it’s when you come in contact with challenges other people find hard but you find easy that you know you’re in possession of a valuable soft asset.

The person who is emotionally driven by what they are doing will outwork and outlast the person motivated solely by making money.

In life, there are multiple gold medals available at any given time. Aim for a specific gold medal in a specific contest.

“The reason I don’t have a plan is because if I have a plan I’m limited to today’s options,”