598: Sam Parr (Founder of The Hustle) - Living By a Mantra, Thinking Big, Growing (and Selling) a Media Company, Persuading Others, Becoming a World-Class Writer, Working The Cold Email Muscle, and Pursuing Excellence
Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, shares his dynamic approach to business and writing. He lives by the mantra 'Bold. Fast. Fun.' and emphasizes starting small to achieve big dreams, reflecting on HustleCon's stunning growth. Parr highlights the importance of persuasion, authentic writing, and fostering connections through cold emailing. His unique strategies include thinking in headlines and putting oneself under pressure to unlock potential. With humorous fitness anecdotes, he encourages boldness and joy in both personal and professional pursuits.
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Quick takeaways
Embracing a bold mindset enables individuals to swiftly take calculated risks and achieve extraordinary success through decisive action.
Surrounding oneself with inspiring individuals fosters growth and resilience, significantly enhancing personal and professional development over time.
Mastering effective communication and persuasion skills is crucial for influencing others and achieving success in any personal or professional endeavor.
Deep dives
The Power of a Bold Mindset
Embracing a bold mindset is essential for achieving remarkable success, as it allows individuals to move swiftly and take calculated risks. The speaker highlights the significance of taking action without overthinking, arguing that making progress—even with less-than-perfect plans—is better than remaining stagnant. Reflecting on his own experiences, the speaker credits this approach to his success, asserting that he often critiques himself for not thinking big enough and emphasizes that individuals must recognize their potential to create significant outcomes. The idea is to foster a mentality where pursuing extraordinary goals becomes a norm rather than an exception.
Surrounding Yourself with the Right People
The speaker stresses the importance of surrounding oneself with individuals who inspire growth, challenge perspectives, and foster resilience. Through anecdotal evidence from his career, he highlights a conversation with Jim Collins which emphasized that the quality of one's relationships greatly influences success. This principle shaped the structure of his Learning Leader Circle, where he personally reviews applicants to cultivate a community of ambitious and thoughtful individuals. Such intentionality in choosing peers leads to shared learning and accountability, significantly advancing personal and professional development.
Learning from Experience and Networking
Personal experiences, such as traveling extensively and interacting with influential leaders, play a vital role in broadening one's perspective and ambition. The speaker recounts a transformative motorcycle trip where he discovered a sense of freedom and a more profound understanding of happiness, unburdened by material possessions. Furthermore, through ventures like HustleCon, he had the opportunity to engage with successful entrepreneurs, discovering that many high achievers possess the same level of intelligence but differentiate themselves through determination and follow-through. These interactions normalized the idea of significant success, empowering him to visualize and pursue his business ambitions.
The Art of Persuasion and Communication
Effective communication and persuasion are deemed crucial skills for achieving success in both personal and professional arenas. The speaker emphasizes that mastering these skills can elevate one’s ability to influence and connect with others, which is relevant regardless of the specific industry. He advises on the power of crafting headlines and memorable phrases that resonate with audiences, asserting that a strong headline can significantly enhance engagement and conversion rates. This approach underscores the necessity for clarity of thought and articulation, helping leaders convey their vision effectively to inspire action.
Resilience and Passion as Cornerstones of Success
Sustaining long-term success requires enduring passion and a commitment to overcoming challenges. The speaker insists that true enjoyment in one’s endeavors is a prerequisite for attaining excellence, alongside the need for resilience when faced with difficulties. Drawing parallels between athletics and entrepreneurship, he highlights the significance of pushing through discomfort and adversity to foster growth and achievement. This perspective encourages individuals, especially younger listeners, to pursue their passions authentically while embracing the hard work that comes with striving for greatness.
Sam’s mantra (which he has tattooed on his thigh): “Bold. Fast. Fun.” It’s really hard to beat someone who moves fast, takes risks, and has fun doing it.
Think big, but you have to get started. We see Hustle Con and the 2,500 people and think that’s just how it always was. It started as a small book club, then a small event that made a little money... And YEARS later it’s HustleCon which helped launch The Hustle, which then eventually sold for 10’s of millions. We have to get started and keep going.
The most important skill set (according to Sam) is the ability to convince people of something. Persuading others. You have to believe in it yourself, be a clear thinker, and know how to communicate that to others to make them believe in it too. This skill will help you accomplish a lot.
Writing – Write like you talk. Writing clarifies your thinking…
Think in headlines – Thinking in headlines will make you a clearer thinker. It will help you see how an idea should be framed, identify different ways to tell your story, and show you the soul of your topic.
Back against the wall - “I firmly believe in putting my back against the wall.” Deadlines, pressure, and harsh goals will pull out the best from you.
Copy by Hand – Sam copied the best sales letters of all time by hand. Let the writing you admire pass through your fingers. This method is called copywork.
What Sam learned backstage at his events with rich people/CEOs - "They weren't smarter than me." We're all just figuring it out as we go.: "
Cold emails -- Work that muscle. AirBnB cold email story:
"I cold emailed this guy named Brian. And he had a company called Air Bed and Breakfast. I said, 'Hey, this sounds like a cool thing. I want to interview. I think I can help make it better by doing a few things.' And they said, 'Are you in the Bay Area?' 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm there.' And he said, 'Alright, great. Come to the office on Monday.' So I booked the flight and I flew out and got an interview there. That's how I got introduced to startups. And then I eventually moved to San Francisco."
Sports - Love them because they are objective. The time doesn't lie. Same with business. The numbers don't lie.
You know you're going to feel pain (before running a 400m), but you do it anyway and push through it. That's what makes them great.
How to raise tough kids? "I'm scared. I think about this all the time. Will need to remove the things that make my life easy like all the service providers have now."
Hiring - Freaks, weirdos. The others. Want people passionate about something. Anything. Bottom 4th of the resume.
Be skilled at something, not a generalist.
Writing/communication - No typos. Clear writing = clear thinking. We want clear thinkers. Especially for leadership roles.
Fame - "I don't want that anymore, but I still want to be taken seriously by the big boys. I'm still insecure about building something other than a media company."
Advice: "Be a fucking animal." Don't let anything stop you.
Excellence - "Like your shit. Enjoy it. Must have endurance. Be like a cockroach and stay alive. Survive. Don't quit. Don't be vanilla. Do dope shit."
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