taking risks

In 2006, Paige Mycoskie walked into one of the most exclusive boutiques in LA, wearing her handmade clothes and hoping to get a meeting with the buyer. And why not? On the street, people seemed to love her boldly striped shirts and sweats, always asking “Where can I get that?” whenever she wore them. Three years later, Paige opened her first store in Venice Beach, and then she relied on word of mouth – and shrewd negotiating tactics with landlords – to launch more new locations. Despite early struggles with managing her team and a costly scam, Paige grew Aviator Nation into a multi-million dollar brand - that still makes all its clothes in California.

This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

Edited by Neva Grant, with research from Rommel Wood.

Our engineer was Josephine Nyounai.

You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patrick Bet-David immigrated to America at twelve years old, when his parents fled Iran as refugees during the Iranian Revolution. After high school, Patrick joined the U.S. military and served in the 101st Airborne before starting a business career in the financial services industry. At age 30, he founded PHP Agency, an insurance marketing organization with 66 agents. He grew the firm to 40,000 agents before making a multi-nine-figure exit. 

A serial entrepreneur, Bet-David founded Valuetainment, which became the #1 YouTube channel on entrepreneurship with nearly a billion views, and expanded into a media, consulting, and production company. He hosts the PBD Podcast, the #1 business podcast on Spotify. He lives in South Florida with his wife and four children.

Buy his new book Choose Your Enemies Wisely: Business Planning for the Audacious Few

In this episode you will learn

• Patrick’s journey to his first major financial milestone, including the story behind his first $1,000,000 and the pivotal decision that significantly contributed to his success.
• How to effectively analyze the past year's experiences and data for a productive outlook, setting up a foundation for a successful 2024.
• Patrick’s strategies for rebuilding success from scratch, offering practical advice and a step-by-step comeback plan for those starting anew.
• The five 'Unworthy Enemies' that drain energy, and how identifying a 'Worthy Enemy' can be a source of motivation and vitality.
• Insights on successful investment strategies, including his top five personal investment choices and the reasons behind their selection, as well as their outcomes.

For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1547

For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960

More SOG episodes we think you’ll love:

Rob Dial – https://link.chtbl.com/1516-pod

Dr Joe Dispenza – https://link.chtbl.com/1494-pod

Inky Johnson – https://link.chtbl.com/1483-pod

Paul Millerd spent several years working in strategy consulting and on the “default path” before deciding to walk away to work on his own in 2017. His book, The Pathless Path, chronicles his own journey and deep dive into the history of work and has been read by more than 40,000 people. His podcast, The Pathless Path Podcast, highlights conversations with others following unconventional paths. He also runs the online training business StrategyU, helping people learn the skills of consulting without having to work in the industry. In our conversation, Paul shares:

• An explanation of the “default path” and the “pathless path”

• Signs you may be stuck on the default path

• How to inch your way toward the pathless path

• Why Paul suggests everyone should take a three-month sabbatical

• Tips for embracing fear and betting on yourself

• How to work through the fear of losing money and prestige

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Brought to you by Sanity—The most customizable content layer to power your growth engine | Maui Nui Venison—The healthiest red meat on the planet delivered directly to your door | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/redefining-success-money-and-belonging-paul-millerd-the-pathless-path/

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Where to find Paul Millerd:

• X: https://twitter.com/p_millerd

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmillerd/

• Website: https://pathlesspath.com/

• Newsletter: https://newsletter.pathlesspath.com

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCofS_FvauuHc-x6mq7yz6nA

• Podcast: https://think-boundless.com/podcast/

• Email: paul@strategyu.com

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Paul’s background

(04:33) An explanation of the “default path”

(06:32) Questions to help clarify which path you are on

(07:35) Paul’s thoughts on “remixing your path”

(09:57) An explanation of the “pathless path” 

(12:06) Examples of the pathless path

(13:54) Why meaning is hard to find and sustain on a traditional career path 

(16:05) A case for the three-month sabbatical 

(18:16) A mindfulness and self-reflection exercise

(20:18) Why Paul recommends three months

(22:28) Advice to founders on offering sabbaticals

(23:40) Other tactics for self-discovery

(27:08) The variability of income in self-employed roles 

(29:12) Methods for staying afloat after leaving your job

(30:42) Tips for reframing your thoughts around money

(33:19) Why betting on yourself usually works out

(34:46) The importance of setting aside time for creative pursuits

(36:22) How to dip your toes in and find your path 

(37:53) Lenny’s personal journey

(39:27) Advice on dealing with the naysayers 

(40:22) How to acknowledge and tame your fears

(44:52) The “ship, quit, and learn” framework

(46:39) Why the pathless path is one of constant reinvention

(51:27) Paul’s response to criticism 

(58:02) First steps for getting started on your journey

(55:42) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Pathless-Path-Imagining-Story-Work/dp/B09QF6Q421

• David Autor on X: https://twitter.com/davidautor

• Tim Ferriss’s blog: https://tim.blog/

• Why you should define your fears instead of your goals | Tim Ferriss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J6jAC6XxAI

• How Lenny Rachitsky Got 531,000 Substack Subscribers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMZem1NYfpM

• The Lindy effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect

• StrategyU: https://strategyu.co/

• David Deming’s website: https://www.daviddeming.com/nyt-columns

• The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Work-Your-Life-Journey/dp/0553386077

• Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life: https://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Power-Mimetic-Desire-Everyday/dp/1250262488

• Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain: https://www.hbo.com/movies/roadrunner-a-film-about-anthony-bourdain

• Nuna travel stroller: https://nunababy.com/usa/trvl-easy-fold-compact-stroller

• Build Your Own Chatbot with OpenAI GPT-3 and Streamlit: https://medium.com/@avra42/build-your-own-chatbot-with-openai-gpt-3-and-streamlit-6f1330876846

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

This week on How I Built This Lab, we're throwing it back to our very first Lab episode.

In this episode, Guy sits down with Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry, or better known as YouTubers Colin and Samir—a pair of creators who create content for other creators. (We know, pretty meta.) The creator economy barely existed a decade ago, but has quickly become a multi-billion dollar industry with a massive global reach. Colin and Samir discuss their 10-year business journey, and share insights on how to break into this rapidly-growing industry.

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One snowy night in Boston, Leah Solivan ran out of dog food for her 100-pound yellow lab. She wondered: shouldn’t I be able to resupply Kobe without going to the store? That was the origin of TaskRabbit, an online errand service that matches users with “taskers” to do deliveries and other chores. When Leah left her IBM job to start coding the service, the peer-to-peer economy was still in its infancy. But she saw that three important developments—mobile, location services, and social media—were about to converge. She recruited errand-runners from Craigslist, and took an expensive gamble on a 15-minute meeting with Tim Ferriss to get advice and investors. After some management hiccups and a difficult rebranding, TaskRabbit sold to IKEA in 2017. 

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During its formative years in the late 1990's, Paypal attracted an extraordinary group of young entrepreneurs, who then went on to build some of the best known companies in tech. They became known as The PayPal Mafia—and Max Levchin was one of the leaders. A computer genius from Soviet Ukraine, Max joined Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and others as they grew PayPal into a massively successful online payment service. Along the way, they encountered almost every start-up challenge imaginable, including the emotional ouster of Elon Musk as CEO. After PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002, Max couldn't sit still, so he launched a startup lab that eventually led to another successful fintech company: Affirm. Guy will talk to Max about Affirm next week, in the second episode of this two-part series. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Adi Tartako and her husband started the home design and renovation website Houzz in 2009, they had no expectation that it would grow into a global business. In fact, Adi was a hesitant entrepreneur, preferring to foster Houzz as a lifestyle business and pushing back when experts told her it could grow into something much bigger. But as Houzz morphed into a go-to site for users to get ideas for home improvement and connect with industry professionals, Adi decided to go all-in. She walked away from a promising career in finance to become the CEO of Houzz, helping lead it to a platform that now has 65 million users worldwide. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.