Editor’s Note: Banayan is just one author who I write about in my Daily Reading series. Check out the series or head over to my Reading List to see the books I’m currently reading.
On Alex Banayan
I first saw Alex Banayan in January 2019 on an episode of The Ground Up Show, a podcast run by filmmaker Matt D’Avella.
Alex Banayan spent seven years researching and interviewing “the World’s Most Successful People” to find out how they launched their careers “when no one knew their names, when no one would take their meetings.” Banayan started his journey because none of the books he found in his college library focused on this early stage in these successful people’s careers.
Every successful person has jumped this hurdle, no matter who they are or the field they work in (unless their success was handed to them on a platter, but that doesn’t make a good story).
From “The Third Door”
I’ve been reading Banayan’s book today, I’m about halfway through, and I know I will have to reread it multiple times over the years to extract its gems. Today, I want to share five tips that Banayan received from Elliott Bisnow, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Summit (Check him out. Don’t just read my oversimplified statement of who the man is). Bisnow shared,
1. Always carry a pen in your pocket. The more digital the world gets, the more impressive it is to use a pen.
2. Act like you belong … [N]ever, ever ask someone for a picture. If you want to be treated like a peer, you need to act like one. Fans ask for pictures. Peers shake hands.
3. Mystery makes history… No one actually changing the world posts everything they do online… Plus, the people you’re going to impress by posting things online aren’t the people you should care about impressing.
4. If you break my trust, you’re finished. Never, ever go back on your word… It will take years to build your reputation, but seconds to ruin it.
5. Adventures only happen to the adventurous.
Banayan. The Third Door, 79. (I added the numbered list and emphasis)
Resources
- Banayan, Alex. The Third Door. Currency. (Find it on Amazon. Note: Not an affiliate link)
- The featured image is by Zachary Anderson on Unsplash
