Iâm 42. The first 10 years of my career were a roller coaster of emotions...
Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ Íâ [Read the online version here](. Iâm 42. The first 10 years of my career were a roller coaster of emotions: ⢠Rejected by MSFT ⢠Rejected by Google (2x) ⢠Fired by FB after 9 months ⢠Fired by mint .com after 10 months ⢠Built 20+ startups that didnât work out But Iâve also: â¢Â Built AppSumo to $100M/year in revenue â¢Â Grew my YouTube channel to 1M+ subscribers â¢Â And have interviewed 1% of the world's billionaires In short⦠Iâve made A LOT of mistakes. But Iâve also learned a lot. Today, I want to share a few pieces of brutally honest career advice that Iâd give to my younger self (so you can avoid some of my pitfalls). [image] 1/ Itâs okay to feel lost When I was younger, all my friends were becoming accountants, consultants, and bankers⦠but I knew that wasnât for me. At the time, I felt lost and confused. But looking back, I was exactly where I needed to be. When youâre in your 20s, youâre not supposed to know exactly what you want to do with your career. Instead of trying to predict your career path, focus on taking daily action. [image] 2/ Take more swings I tried A LOT of businesses when I was young and broke, but I had a lot of time (Everspeed, CollegeUp, HFG Consulting, Entrepreneur27, etc.). Early in your career, you can afford to take more risks because you have fewer obligations. Create your own luck by taking a lot of relentless action. â¢Â Do free work to get your foot in the door â¢Â Fly across the country to meet with an investor ⢠Start the crazy business idea with your roommate Take more swings. You only need ONE to win. ([Share this on X/Twitter]() 3/ Be the hub When I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004, I hosted dinners, beer meetups, and conferencesâ¦even when I didnât know anyone. [image] Me (in background) + Tim Ferriss at a meetup The interesting people I helped at the time, like Ramit Sethi, Tim Ferriss, and Ryan Holiday ended up helping me 15 years down the line. One way to get started right NOW: Ask the smartest people you know, âWho is ONE person I should meet?â A coffee or Zoom meeting may be the smartest investment youâll ever make! 4/ Document your learning online Iâve been writing on my personal blog since 2000 (!!) Itâs led me to connect with amazing people and meet my business partner Chad Boyda. Creating content is a career cheat code. Worst case? You learn how to write and promote your work. Best case? You attract life-changing opportunities. You also get to look back on yourself and appreciate how far youâve come. ð [image] 5/ Learn copywriting When I first started AppSumo, my buddy Neville tried to convince me to let him use âCopywritingâ in our emails to help generate more sales. I was skeptical, and for good reason! The first line of the email he wrote was "If you get a boner when I whisper the word 'Garamond' into your ear.....you might be interested." ð But guess what? The day that Nevilleâs email was sent out was the first day AppSumo made a $10,000 profit in a single day. Copywriting is not about hitting a word count or writing a five-paragraph essay. Itâs about capturing attention and persuading action. You will never be disappointed by improving your communication skills. Two great resources: - [The Boron Letters]( (Itâs free!)
- [Neville Medhoraâs Copywriting Course]( 6/ Master the art of the cold email Iâve been sending cold emails since I was a freshman at UC Berkeley. The best cold emails: â¢Â Get to the point â¢Â Instantly grab attention â¢Â Answer âWhatâs in it for me?â If you donât get a response? Follow up without being rude. If you shoot 100 shots, youâre bound to land one hit. [image]( 7/ Mentors are overrated Wanna know the best way to find a mentor? Become someone worth mentoring. â¢Â Start things â¢Â Encounter a problem â¢Â Ask for SPECIFIC feedback, not advice â¢Â Report back on how you did â¢Â Repeat ð Youâll realize you never needed a âmentorâ in the first place. 8/ Build independent income streams When I was young, I thought I was special because I started many businesses in college, had a blog, and worked at Facebook. The reality was I was dependent on my boss. Getting fired taught me that EVERYONE is replaceable. One of my first side hustles (freecallsto.com) only made around $50/month BUT taught me the fundamentals of coding and marketing. Start more side hustles. Youâll learn more, earn independent income, and maybe even replace your income to go full-time. 9/ Give way less fucks about other people No amount of money, followers, or acknowledgment will quench your thirst for fulfillment if you donât learn to be proud of yourself. The truth is the people youâre trying to impress arenât even thinking about you in the first place. Instead of trying to prove others wrong, prove yourself right. 10/ Have more patience that it will work out In my 20s, I was impatient to get rich and famous. I beat myself up a ton. Thatâs a miserable way to live. You donât have to be so hard on yourself. If youâre doing the reps, the results WILL pay off. Wealth comes from compounded time. Be impatient with actions and patient with results. ([Share this on X/Twitter]() [image] 11/ Practice positive self-talk After getting fired from Facebook, it took years to make peace with the voice in my head. I ignored all the cliche mindset advice because I wasnât where I wanted to be in life. But as Iâve gotten older and more mature - Iâve realized how powerful your self-confidence matters for your life and business. A practice thatâs helped: Any time you say something negative about yourself, also say something positive. (Thanks [Tynan]( for the tip.) You can be your biggest critic as long as youâre also your biggest cheerleader. Whatâs something nice that you can say to yourself right NOW? 12/ Donât jump ship too early One of my biggest regrets is shutting down CommunityNext (my conference business) when I should have hired someone to keep running it. Someone else took that idea, ran with it, and sold it for multiple millions of dollars. Instead of quitting when it gets boring â find someone to run it while you work on the next thing. 13/ Donât let work consume your life I worked A LOT in my 20s. I donât regret it - because it got me to where I am today. But donât forget to have fun too! Your youth is about a diversity of experiences. Play sports. Travel abroad. Hang out with friends. Ironically, doing those things will give you more inspiration for your work. 14/ Peer up the career ladder I wish I job shadowed and interviewed more people. In school, weâre conditioned to fall in love with job titles, without knowing the day-to-day work. It sounds cool to be a surgeon until you realize you have to deal with blood all day. Hereâs a template you can use: âHey, Iâm a Senior at X college interested in [specific field]. Can I see what you do for a day?â Donât let an impressive-sounding title distract you from what matters most: doing work you enjoy. ([Share this on X/Twitter]() 15/ Your network DOES matter Growing up in the bay was a huge cheat code. I was surrounded by talented and driven people. As cliche as it may be, the people in your life DO matter a ton. If you canât geographically surround yourself with exceptional people, surround yourself digitally. Whoâs on your WhatsApp? Text groups? Twitter DMs? And are those people helping you get closer or further from your goals? 16/ Read more biographies A wise friend once told me, âThere are million-dollar lessons hidden in $30 books.â Biographies give you a unique peek into the lives of great people. Instead of learning from your own mistakes, why not learn from those who have come before you? Some of my favorites: â¢Â [Steve Jobs]( â¢Â [Bill Gates]( â¢Â [Dalai Lama]( 17/ Keep a journal Iâve kept a private blog since my time at Facebook. Itâs helped me become aware of my thought process and emotions. Document how you're thinking about your life as youâre living it. You donât even need to share it online. Plus, itâs cool to see how your thinking evolves. 18/ Youâre gonna be okay Youâre young. Itâs okay if you donât have everything figured out. Zoom out. Weâre just a bunch of monkeys floating around on a tiny rock in space. Hang around optimistic people. Do things that inspire you. Enjoy the party while weâre around. It will all work out. Rooting for you, Noah ð® PS. [Million Dollar Weekend]( is the business book I wish I had when I was younger. It contains everything Iâve learned from building eight million-dollar businesses. Letâs build your [dream business]( this weekend! ð PPS. Liked this email? [Share with friends on X/Twitter](! Sumo Group Inc. 1305 East 6th Street Suite #3 Austin, TX 78702 USA
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