1: Startup success is often associated with young entrepreneurs.

The data says otherwise: “The odds of a founder in their fifties reaching a successful exit are almost double those of a founder in their thirties,” Anne-Laure Le Cunff writes in Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.

“Similar patterns apply to creative breakthroughs in science,” she notes.  “The peak productivity of a scientist occurs around the … continue reading

1: “I can’t afford it.”  That’s what many entrepreneurs tell themselves.

“Far too many entrepreneurs,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time, “spend their time grinding because they erroneously believe that they’re the only person for the job, they can’t afford any help, or they feel guilty not doing certain work.”

What gets in their way?  As their business grows, they hire wrong.  They hire to … continue reading

Yesterday, we looked at how  Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Tom Clancy, and Andy Warhol spent their time.

How can we apply the lessons from this diverse group of incredibly successful people?  Dan Martell asks in his book  Buy Back Your Time.

We begin by creating a 2×2 matrix where we analyze how valuable each task we are doing in terms of (1) money and (2) … continue reading

1: GSD. Getting stuff done.

Perhaps replace stuff with a less polite word.

This trait is fundamental for most entrepreneurs. “Born entrepreneurs have to find a way to live fully, in their business and in life,”  Dan Martell writes in his book  Buy Back Your Time.

“If we’ve been eating the GSD fruit for some time now, we’ve probably found some success,” Dan notes. “Hard work, even at … continue reading

1: “Can you meet me at my house?”

The voice on the phone was Dan Martell‘s brother, Pierre, Dan shares in his book Buy Back Your Time.

“Sure. What’s going on?” Dan said.

“Well . . . it’s better if we talk in person,” Pierre said. 

Pierre was in his twenties.  Six months earlier, he had started a home-building business. 

He was a self-described “jack of all trades,” and had jumped … continue reading

1: “By the time Stuart found me, he was in the fight of his life,” Dan Martell writes in his book  Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.

“I can barely leave the house,” Stuart told Dan. “I can’t take a full breath, and I’m having panic attacks regularly. I’m living a nightmare.”

Stuart was a once enthusiastic, thirty-four-year-old entrepreneur. After majoring in … continue reading

1: “I can’t do this anymore,” Dan Martell‘s finance said. She laid her engagement ring down on the counter.

His “once future wife” wanted out “four months shy of my wedding day, on a seemingly normal day when I’d been working since the crack of dawn,” Dan writes in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.

“Apparently,” she reasoned, “if … continue reading

1: Dan Martell looked in his rearview mirror and saw two armed police officers running toward his car.

He glanced at the gun in his duffel bag.  

“If I just point it at these cops, they’ll end my miserable life for me,” he recalls in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.

Dan rubbed the sweat from his eyes. “I’d just … continue reading

1: It was the summer of 2004. Three college sophomores traveled to Silicon Valley having recently started their fledgling college social network.

“It was live on a handful of college campuses. It was not the market-leading social network or even the first college social network; other companies had launched sooner and with more features, writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup. “With 150,000 registered users, it made very little … continue reading

1: Before becoming Zappos‘s founder, Nick Swinmurn was frustrated. He couldn’t find an online site with a terrific selection of shoes.

So, “he envisioned a new and superior retail experience,” writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup.

One option would be to raise money to build “his complete vision with warehouses, distribution partners, and the promise of significant sales.”

Instead, he ran an experiment.  

He asked “local shoe … continue reading