From: alexhormozi
Embarking on an entrepreneurial journey often involves significant challenges and pain, particularly in the initial stages. The speaker shares personal experiences of financial hardship and the journey to building a successful business, offering “brutally honest advice” for those starting with limited resources [00:00:00].
Starting from a Place of Pain
The speaker recounts a period 13 years ago when he struggled to make rent and felt intense pain, at one point wishing he “didn’t wake up tomorrow” [00:00:01]. During this time, his goal was to earn $10,000 a month [00:00:17]. He describes missing his 20s because he was so focused on survival [00:00:41].
At 23, he started his first brick-and-mortar business without knowing basic business principles like hiring employees [00:00:54]. Due to lack of knowledge and money, he personally handled every aspect of the business, including cleaning, billing, sales, teaching sessions, and equipment repair [00:01:11]. This hands-on experience highlights the realities of starting a business with limited skills and resources.
Motivation from Anger, Not Passion
Unlike conventional self-help advice focused on positive thinking and affirmations, the speaker found his motivation in “sheer anger” and the desire to prove wrong those who doubted him [00:02:50]. This powerful internal drive, fueled by the pain of his situation, was critical for his overcoming societal and personal challenges to achieve success [00:08:02]. He adopted a thick skin to endure patronizing comments and difficult situations, such as a child drawing on his wall while trying to close a sale, because he “had to pay rent” [00:04:10].
Core Principles for Breaking Through
The speaker outlines fundamental steps to move beyond a difficult financial situation:
1. Taking Ownership: “It’s My Fault”
The foundational step to overcoming initial setbacks is accepting personal responsibility [00:01:37]. This involves acknowledging that one’s current circumstances are a result of personal decisions and actions, rather than blaming external factors like family, environment, or politics [00:14:14]. The speaker argues that blaming others gives them power over your life, hindering your ability to change [00:14:36]. Embracing “it’s my fault” empowers you to take control and initiate change [00:14:50].
2. Utilizing What You Have
The second step is to “use what you have” rather than waiting for ideal circumstances [00:01:43]. When starting with limited resources, time is often the only available asset [00:04:45]. This necessitates a “sheer brute force” approach, working extended hours beyond a regular job to get ahead [00:04:57]. The idea is to “eat the glass” – endure pain today to mitigate future pain and “pull” future benefits into the present [00:05:27].
3. Investment in Skills and Learning
To progress, especially when earning minimum wage, saving alone is not enough [00:26:01]. The speaker emphasizes living on nothing, saving excess income, and reinvesting it into learning new skills and gaining experience [00:26:25]. This means acquiring skills like marketing and sales, attending seminars, and learning from other successful individuals [00:10:41]. The wealthiest individuals prioritize acquiring skills, using money to “buy more skills” [00:29:16].
Viewing Failures as Experience Points
Initial entrepreneurial efforts often involve experiments that fail [00:27:31]. However, these are not losses but “experience points” that contribute to leveling up and bridging the gap to higher income levels [00:27:50]. The barrier to entry for starting businesses is lower now than in the past, with many free resources available online [00:28:35].
Mindset Shifts for Entrepreneurial Success
The Path of Specialization to Generalization
The speaker’s personal path involved learning one thing, getting good at it, gaining evidence of that skill, and then being asked for help in that area [00:33:49]. This progression included fitness, running a gym business, consulting for other gym businesses, and eventually advising larger enterprises [00:33:58]. The strategy is to specialize and develop expertise, then generalize to being good at managing people [00:29:55].
Eliminating Distractions and Negative Influences
People often delay pain, pushing off uncomfortable actions until “tomorrow” [00:13:11]. To avoid this, it’s crucial to catastrophize the alternative path – vividly imagining the pain and negative consequences of inaction to make staying the same more uncomfortable than changing [00:39:46].
Friends can either increase or decrease the possibility of reaching one’s goals [00:41:52]. Those who decrease the possibility of success should be shed, even if they’ve been around for a long time [00:42:08]. The speaker suggests that there are “no social obligations, only social consequences,” and avoiding unwanted social events can free up time that is needed for growth [00:43:23]. This often means embracing a lonely period as one outgrows old friendships and hasn’t yet found a new peer group [00:45:48]. This period of loneliness provides the necessary time to learn and acquire the skills needed to trade for more money [00:45:50].
Conclusion
Commitment and focus are paramount. The journey out of poverty or initial business struggles requires acknowledging personal responsibility, leveraging available resources (especially time), continuously learning, and strategically shedding negative influences [00:46:10]. The path is often painful, but by embracing that pain and maintaining an unwavering focus on action and growth, success can be achieved [00:46:44].