New PN: Runnin' Down a Dream
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How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Loveby Bill Gurley |
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”STEVE JOBS |
FROM THE BOOK“Consider this: You will likely spend one-third of your life working.
That’s at least eighty thousand hours. Wouldn’t you rather spend those hours doing something you love? Or are you comfortable just passing the time, swallowing a regret or two along the way?
Let’s be candid. If living a fulfilling life were easy, more people would do it. There is some luck involved. Monumental pivot points in a career arc—the kind that can launch people into their dream jobs—often feel like good fortune, especially looking back. Natural talent obviously plays a part, too. Many things have to go right.
But focusing on only those parts of a success story—the elements we do not have much control over—obscures the larger picture. What we don’t talk about nearly enough are the parts we can control.
What if I told you there was a formula, a playbook you could follow that would greatly increase your odds of success?
That’s the purpose of this book.”
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Brian's Notes
I got this book the day it came out. I read it the afternoon after I got it. I need to figure out which one of my friends told me to pre-order it so I can thank them—because it’s AWESOME.
Bill Gurley is a general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. He has invested in and served on the board of such companies as NextDoor, OpenTable, Stitch Fix, Uber and Zillow.
Bill tells us that he wrote this book “for the young person who has the will to succeed but needs help finding their way. I also hope parents or counselors who want to maximize kids’ chances of a happy, fulfilling career find it useful. And if you are a midcareer worker who knows you need to switch gears the way I did, then this is for you as well.”
The book is perfectly summarized in the first line on the inside cover:
“Life is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. Shouldn’t you spend it doing something you love? This book will teach you how.”
Bill walks us through the Six Principles of Runnin’ Down a Dream while sharing the inspiring Profiles of six different heroes who embody the wisdom of the book—from Danny Meyer and Estée Lauder to Bob Dylan and Bobby Knight.
It’s PACKED with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s get to work!
P.S. At the end of the book, Bill offers a bunch of book recommendations. Here are the Notes I’ve created on the “Great Self-Help Books” he recommends: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Atomic Habits by James Clear, and The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. (He shares recs on books on writing including one of my all-time favorites: On Writing by Stephen King.)
P.P.S. He wrote this book after a talk he gave at the University of Texas went viral. You can watch it here. Another one of my favorite thinkers wrote a book after *his* talk at the University of Texas went viral. Check out my Notes on Admiral McRaven’s Make Your Bed.
Big Ideas
01: THE CONVEYOR BELT
02: OBSESSIVE INTEREST
03: HONE YOUR CRAFT
04: IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
05: USE IT OR LOSE IT
“Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?”ROGER WATERS (PINK FLOYD) FROM “WISH YOU WERE HERE” |
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