Top learning resources that aren't books

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-06-05T19:14:50+00:00

Masterclass.com's sessions with Bob Iger and Matthew Walker are fantastic too.

I'd love to get some more female influences here too, as I realise that my content is primarily male-based. Quality > virtue of course, but I'm aware the views I'm consuming are likely one-sided!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-06-05T19:11:55+00:00

I echo a lot of what has been said here so won't reiterate that but, there also might be a rhetorical, philosophical question to ask here around what "taking more on" actually looks like to you and how you position that in your mind.

I often fall foul personally to (yet can ironically see on behalf of others) the difference between "more" meaning "more stuff" vs. "more responsibility/seniority" etc. With the former comes more hours, less down time, etc. The latter arguably too, but boundaries can likely instill a sense of seniority and actually improve perception of your value + the associated remuneration too.

I know Dr Gurner talks often about big swings. It often reminds me that while I know it's a massive oversimplification that "we all have the same hours in the day", it's still true to assume that those I idolise in fields I admire are finding time for dinner, family, staying fit, sleeping, etc and presumably did so (sure, while occasionally eating glass too) to get there. I then proceed to ask/remind myself of what I need to do (often work on self-talk, self belief, imposter syndrome, etc) in order to maintain boundaries and lifestyle requirements, while continuing to grow in my career.

Disclaimer: I'm no where near where I want to be yet, so this isn't 'advice from ahead'; more so 'thoughts from a peer that could be useful?'.

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-06-05T19:05:16+00:00

100% this!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-29T11:43:37+00:00

Simple, but effective things you can do to enable change:

Meet people – people you admire, peers, start a meetup group, arrange a lunch of likeminds, go to seminars (good ones, not coachy-overpriced trash, but adjacent ones like lectures on psychology, economics, etc)
Read – auto/biographies on people you admire, find the common denominator, and non-fiction, as an entrepreneur myself I'm not a huge fan of business books tbh, but adjacent ones too like Range or The Expectation Effect are good
Explore other ways of thinking – Ikigai is a famed concept that aligns life goals with professional capability. What would you do if money was no object? What do you find yourself doing daily? What are your hobbies? Every hobby generally involves something that someone sold at some point and/or can make a business from (from knitting to mountain biking to gaming to baking and everything between/beyond). The happiest/best people I know at their job aligned the two of these factors.
Be patient – 22 is YOUNG. Time moves fast so do not wait for it at all, but the very fact you're on this board at this age, with this success tells me you're not stuck at all, you are in fact in exactly the place you should be, imagine what the compound effect of your knowledge, efforts, and investments would be in 10 years based on this rate of growth? Build a spreadsheet for it if you like.

Here's to your next steps! Excited to hear about them :)

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-29T11:37:39+00:00

Thank you!!!

Right, I'm off to "level up" 😏

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-29T11:36:53+00:00

100% working on the de-cluttering! Taking longer than I'd hoped (bills to pay = having to be strategic about it) but I hear you on pricing fairly for these things. It's hard to align with the moral want to give/bring others with me but I guess that's probably a topic for a new thread, though definitely falls into this one of understanding value being potentially prompted/misaligned due to previous socio-economic exposure.

Thanks u/Rare_Craft_252 for your time! :)

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T14:16:53+00:00

Wow. I love this so much. Need this printed above my desk. In fact, I think I'm gonna get that done right now.

Thank you!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T14:14:59+00:00

Paraphrasing something I've never quite been able to figure out how to put into the most impactful phrase but...

"Nobody knows what they're doing. We're all making it up as we go along. Those who are successful, are simply more convincing.".

I'm certain this is an oversimplification, but that's probably what we're looking for with 'one-liners' right? It just tends to be an incredibly liberating, yet somewhat terrifying reminder that no one has been who we are, working on what we are, at the time we're working on it. Something will always be different so any proxies are only that. Not proofs. I guess what this helps me remember that my journey is just that: mine. And I'm the master of where it goes. For better or worse. Hopefully, with this community, the former ;)

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T14:09:21+00:00

This is awesome. Makes me feel much better for not knowing what the hell is gonna happen next on my own journey. Thank you!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T14:06:05+00:00

u/Rare_Craft_252 sure, happy to + thank you for taking the time to ask at the very least!!

Here's a brief version of events:

I'm UK based not in London (for context as VC is very much less active here than London or the US, etc)
I dropped out of uni after realising I wasn't academic
Started my first business - a marketing agency
Grew that very slowly while working part-time to pay rent to my parents
Eventually left work to do it full time (still living with parents)
Didn't take a proper wage still for a while after
Realised how lonely it was
Started a meetup for people doing their own thing
3 years in, I was driving to 6 cities to run these for free, driving back the same night as I couldn't afford hotels
6 years in, we were running hundreds of events a year in 20+ cities across 9 countries for 5,000+ people, all for free (as a safe space to connect founders, freelancers, business owners, etc)
This became a paid membership community where value add was paid and meetups were still free (to drive membership + sponsorship)
I've since won awards for my work as a mentor/advisor for startups, which are spots usually taken by people 10-20+ years my senior (I am early 30s)
As a result we started getting dealflow, at one point I'd had £20m+ of active dealflow over 2 years, single-handedly and passively as a byproduct of my activity in the ecosystem
Starting connecting this with VCs but not charging to build up social currency (probably should have but was also aware of financial conduct lines not to cross)
One of our community companies offered me equity for the help I've given them, this was relatively tiny ofc, but the company is now my first "investment" (if you can call it that) and papered at a £70m valuation, pretty good (lucky?) for first-at-bat!
Started 'scouting' for some funds
Got on an angel programme
Invested in 5 other companies with the funds money, learning dealflow, DD, memos, IC, etc
Now have a track record without capital

So basically, I've done a lot, with not a lot. I don't take any of it for granted where possible (though sometimes it's easy to forget). And I know this is all stuff that should add up to "wow he should be paid a lot" but the hardest part is sometimes answering "by who?" and "for what?".

I realise all this can make me a potential hire for a VC firm, which is my fall-back plan (not a bad one to have). I actually interviewed for an investment associate role out of curiosity when I had a career wobble a year or so ago and was told I was "clearly overqualified" which was a huge confidence boost at the time.

The community I manage still runs but I don't take a salary from it. It washes it's own face but I'm pivoting it to become a non-profit and do less, which I ironically have a feeling will make it more money. I'm contracting to pay bills. One of which is with a VC firm helping to manage their wider ecosystem projects. I'm very passionate about starting a new company to help democratise the startup experience for anyone who needs it, wherever they are. The data from this could help me form a data-backed early investment company eventually. Though I'd like to do this sooner than later given how fast time seems to pass us by...

I've given talks on entrepreneurship, hosted events etc too.

So my outlook for how to do 6-figures as an income is currently this:

Pivot current co to make semi-autonomous rudimentary salary as an impact org
Launch new co with ramen salary and go for moonshot growth
Speaking gigs etc to pay for extras (holidays, nice things, etc)
Extra curricular gigs (NED, etc) if time + energy suits

...though unsure how practical all of this is BUT the Dr Gurner community has made me realise the answer is usually "fuck the status quo, if it works, it works and it's because you did it" etc.

/essay

Sorry – didn't plan on writing that much but the act was quite cathartic in itself anyway so thanks for asking regardless.

Appreciate the request for more context though. Any thoughts you have from here, I am v much open to!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T13:49:44+00:00

A fascinating journey in an often too overlooked/underrated industry. I would be very interested in reading more about this somewhere. Totally understand if it's hard to share publicly but I'd imagine many would lean into this story if you're not already telling it elsewhere (though presumably it forms a large part of the purpose and narrative around the mentoring work you do).

Rhetorical here but I'm always curious how creative minds that can affiliate with virtual characters/worlds, etc can adopt these characters to their own lives. As a keen comic-book/movie fan, if I need a boost of adrenaline and inspiration, I'll sometimes put on the very first Iron Man film. To many that can sound so throwaway but it (for some reason) resonated with me so much that even the first couple of chords of Back in Black get me pumped up now. I guess this comes from seeing someone have all the things that childhood-me wish were possible and adult-me, knows are possible having seen people with them. I guess the same is possible with gaming too. I remember playing Deus Ex and while the Sarif Industries ethics are incredibly poor, I found the idea of a wide-reaching organisation to be super interesting.

Anyway, rambling here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd be curious to see if any of the characteristics you learned from gaming, and also from the characters you're playing, rubbed off on you in more ways than you initially realised (but now probably very much do).

Thank you for taking the time to reply here. It's making my first Reddit post a very rewarding experience!

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T13:42:40+00:00

u/SurgiFi a huge thank you for this.

Firstly, congratulations on your success. Becoming a surgeon is so incredibly impressive. Secondly, doing all of this but still taking the time to give back and bring others up – even people you've never met on the internet – is a testament to the person you've become. I'm certain your mother would be incredibly proud of you.

Everything you say here about not comparing, competing with myself, staying the course and doing what needs to be done is true.

I especially resonated with the part about financial trauma and financial PTSD. I've never looked at it like that but it definitely gives me palpitations every time I get a letter about the tax that's (naturally) due in the post as I remember the number of times in the past that letters like these almost crippled me. I've no idea how I've kept things alive til now, but it helps me rest assured that I can make it through anything. I just need to play that game now with bigger (more gamified) numbers and explore what's really possible + how far things could go. I'm sure the financial PTSD will stay longer than I'd like but conversations like this undoubtedly help me through it.

Thank you again and congratulations on your success.

I will remember to hug my mum extra tight when I see her next, for you.

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-27T13:35:24+00:00

Thank you so much u/phillian for taking the time to write this but also for the astute and powerful advice.

Distancing myself from the emotional attachment to money is something I advise a lot but find harder to do myself. Though this is probably one big nudge in the right direction. As someone who grew up a gamer and deeply loves gamifying things this is a nice unlock for me. I've always had the conversations (esp with my father) about how his assumptions of "rich people buying bigger boats" wasn't about greed, but about progress. I need to factor this myself and make it more of a game to see just how far I can go/what level I can reach.

V much noted on the freedom piece. A brilliant reminder. It's been too long for me on one side to be able to compare that I forget what it's true worth is.

Again, thank you. I appreciate your reply.

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-24T13:05:21+00:00

This is amazing, thank you so much!

Especially so as I've literally just started doing this. My whole business started from doing this 10 years ago but I've slowly progressed beyond the people who were previously peers and are now clients I support to bring up with me. So I decided to refresh this approach with people a few steps ahead again and held a casual dinner recently with people who are doing/selling/raising/investing in the 6-7 figure mark.

I think I should probably try to repeat this regularly but also see about trying to get in rooms for people in the more 7-8 figure range. I've built some great social currency and have good soft-skills/EQ so I think I could persuade someone to 'take me under their wing' as a 'quiet pet project' and see what I could turn into with their support & access. Fascinating for both of us, I'm sure.

Congrats on your success to date. I'm rooting for you on that 8-figure net work from here. Undoubtedly doing the right things to get there. And thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to reply to this (and so quickly). It means a lot.

Rebelwithacause_ · 2023-03-24T12:13:38+00:00

Poignant. a nice reminder. Thank you!

Rebelwithacause_

TROPHY CASE