Scott Galloway Explains How To Make 9 Figures

Summary

In this thought-provoking conversation, the speaker reflects on their journey and offers advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. They emphasize the importance of luck, education, and relocating to 'super cities' for economic growth opportunities. The speaker also stresses the need to focus on a single skill, avoid side hustles, and work hard to excel in one's chosen field. They acknowledge the meritocracy myth's downsides but encourage finding dignity in all work, suggesting that even entry-level positions can lead to significant opportunities with the right mindset and actions.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Success often involves a degree of luck and being in the right place at the right time, such as being born in a supportive environment for entrepreneurship.
• 🏙️ Young people aiming for economic success should consider relocating to one of the 20 'super cities' where economic growth and opportunities are concentrated.
• 🎓 Obtaining a college degree is crucial in a LinkedIn economy, as it significantly increases lifetime earnings and opens doors to industries that require credentialing.
• 🏋️‍♂️ If college isn't a fit, focus on developing skills and gaining experience in a super city to elevate your game and increase professional opportunities.
• 💼 The speaker emphasizes the importance of focusing on one's main hustle rather than having side hustles, which can indicate a lack of success in one's primary endeavor.
• 🔍 Finding a field where one can excel and be in the top 1%, especially in industries with high employment rates, is a key to financial success.
• 🛠️ There's dignity in all work, and even in entry-level jobs like fast food, there are opportunities for advancement and personal growth.
• 🚀 Having a plan while working an entry-level job is essential; aim to save money for further education, training, or to move to a city with more opportunities.
• 💡 The script suggests that being surrounded by successful people in a city can inspire and motivate one to work hard and take chances, leading to professional and personal opportunities.
• 🌐 The rapid growth of companies like Nvidia, which are at the forefront of AI technology, indicates that being geographically close to such opportunities can lead to significant wealth creation.
• 📚 The speaker argues against the idea that anyone can be anything, acknowledging that while hard work is important, there are systemic barriers and limitations that can hinder success.

Q & A

What is the speaker's perspective on the importance of being born in a certain place for success?

The speaker believes that being born in California was a significant factor in his success. He suggests that certain regions, like Europe or China, might not be as forgiving of entrepreneurial failures, which could impact one's ability to achieve wealth and success.

What advice does the speaker give for someone who wants to be economically secure in a capitalist society?

The speaker advises getting credentialed, as having a college degree can significantly increase one's earning potential. He also emphasizes the importance of moving to one of the 20 super cities to be in a place where economic growth and opportunities are concentrated.

Why does the speaker suggest moving to a super city early in one's career?

The speaker suggests moving to a super city because these cities are hubs of economic growth and opportunities. Being in such an environment can elevate one's professional and personal opportunities, and the competition can help improve one's skills and chances of success.

What is the speaker's view on the role of luck in success?

The speaker acknowledges that luck plays a role in success, citing his own birthplace as an example. He suggests that being born in a place that is conducive to entrepreneurship and wealth accumulation can be a significant advantage.

How does the speaker define 'credentialing' and why is it important?

Credentialing, in the speaker's view, refers to obtaining a college degree or other formal education. It is important because it opens up opportunities in industries that might otherwise be inaccessible and can significantly increase one's lifetime earnings.

What are the speaker's thoughts on the impact of AI and technology on future job opportunities?

The speaker highlights the significant wealth creation around AI and technology, particularly in cities like San Francisco. He suggests that being geographically close to these hubs of innovation can provide immense opportunities, but does not necessarily recommend basing one's entire career move solely on the AI trend.

What advice does the speaker give to someone working in a low-wage job like a fast food restaurant?

The speaker advises those in low-wage jobs to work hard, act like owners, and look for opportunities to advance within their current field or to use the job as a stepping stone to further education or a better job.

How does the speaker view the concept of a 'meritocracy' and its impact on young people?

The speaker expresses concern about the idea of a meritocracy, noting that it can create feelings of failure and shame if one does not succeed. He emphasizes the dignity in all work and the potential for advancement even in seemingly lowly positions.

What is the speaker's strategy for someone who wants to 'go all in' on their career?

The speaker advises focusing on one area where one can excel and potentially be in the top 1%. He suggests avoiding side hustles and instead using them to explore new opportunities, but ultimately concentrating efforts on mastering a single field with high employment rates.

How does the speaker address the issue of geographical flexibility in career planning?

The speaker encourages young people to take advantage of their geographical flexibility by moving to cities where economic opportunities are abundant. He suggests that being in a city can provide daily opportunities for professional and personal growth.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Journey to Success and the Importance of Location

The speaker reflects on their personal journey, emphasizing the importance of mindset and environment in achieving success. They recount their early financial recklessness and the realization of the need for a structured approach to wealth accumulation. Acknowledging the role of luck and the significance of being born in a supportive entrepreneurial environment like California, they advise the audience to move to one of the 'super cities' for better economic opportunities. The speaker also stresses the importance of getting credentialed in the LinkedIn economy and highlights the advantages of living in a city that fosters professional growth and provides a constant source of inspiration and competition.

05:01

🚀 Capitalizing on AI and Tech Opportunities

This paragraph delves into the burgeoning opportunities in AI and technology sectors, particularly focusing on the wealth creation potential around San Francisco due to companies like Nvidia. The speaker suggests that geography plays a crucial role in leveraging these opportunities, with many young graduates moving to tech hubs to be part of the wealth surge. They also discuss the broader theme of focusing on a niche where one can excel and achieve top percentile performance, which is essential for financial success. The speaker advocates for avoiding side hustles until the main hustle is successful and encourages finding an industry with high employment rates where one can excel, thus ensuring both job security and high earning potential.

Keywords

💡Journey

The term 'journey' in the script refers to the personal path of growth and development that the speaker has experienced. It's a metaphor for the various stages of life and career that one goes through. The speaker reflects on their own journey to provide context and advice for others who are at different stages of their own paths, as seen when they mention 'different stages in my own journey.'

💡Call Centers

Call centers are places where customer service and sales calls are handled, often with a focus on telemarketing or support. In the script, the speaker uses their experience working in call centers to illustrate a time in their life when they were financially stable but not yet successful, highlighting a phase in their journey before achieving significant wealth.

💡Disposable Income

Disposable income refers to the amount of money that an individual has available to spend or save after paying for necessities like taxes and basic living expenses. The speaker mentions having £500 in disposable income, which they used recklessly to buy a large TV, indicating a lack of financial wisdom during an earlier stage of their life.

💡Economic Animal

The term 'economic animal' is used to describe someone who is highly driven by economic success and wealth accumulation. It is a concept that the speaker associates with a capitalist society where wealth is equated with relevance and love. The speaker suggests that young people who aspire to be economically secure should consider this mindset.

💡Credentialing

Credentialing in this context refers to obtaining formal education or qualifications that are recognized in the job market. The speaker emphasizes the importance of getting a college degree, as it opens up opportunities and can significantly increase one's earning potential over a lifetime, as illustrated by the statement 'we live in a LinkedIn economy.'

💡Super Cities

Super cities are major urban areas that are hubs for economic activity, innovation, and cultural influence. The speaker advises young people to move to one of these cities to be at the center of economic growth and opportunities. The script mentions cities like New York and San Francisco as examples of super cities where being even 'mediocre' can be beneficial due to the high concentration of success.

💡Geographic Agility

Geographic agility refers to the ability to move and adapt to different geographical locations easily. The speaker encourages young people to take advantage of this agility to move to cities that offer better economic opportunities, as it can significantly impact their career and financial prospects.

💡AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI is a branch of computer science that aims to create machines capable of intelligent behavior. The script discusses AI as a significant wave of opportunity in the future, with the speaker mentioning the example of Nvidia, a company that produces GPUs essential for AI, and how it has created wealth for many of its employees.

💡Focus

Focus, in the context of the script, is about concentrating one's efforts on a specific area where they can excel and potentially be in the top 1%. The speaker advises against having side hustles and instead suggests going 'all in' on something once found, as this专注 can lead to significant success and wealth.

💡Side Hustles

A side hustle is a part-time job or venture that one engages in alongside their primary employment to earn extra income. The speaker uses the term to caution against分散attention, suggesting that if someone has a side hustle, it might mean their main business or career path is not yet successful, and they should instead focus on developing their main hustle.

💡Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a system where individuals are rewarded based on their abilities and achievements rather than factors such as social class or wealth. The speaker discusses the downside of the notion that we live in a meritocracy, as it can lead to feelings of failure and shame if one does not succeed, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the dignity in all work and the opportunities available to those who work hard.

Highlights

The importance of acknowledging the different stages in one's personal journey and the advice needed at each step.

The confession of being reckless with money during a time of financial struggle, highlighting the complex relationship between poverty and financial decisions.

The candid admission that luck plays a significant role in success, especially in terms of being born in a supportive environment for entrepreneurs.

The advice for young people to move to one of the 'super cities' to increase their chances of economic success.

The assertion that having a college degree can significantly increase lifetime earnings and open up more opportunities.

The emphasis on the importance of being in a city with high economic growth for professional and personal opportunities.

The idea that being in a city with successful people can elevate one's own game, similar to playing against better opponents in sports.

The suggestion that young people should take advantage of living in cities due to the flexibility and opportunities available.

The notion that the economic opportunities in certain cities far outweigh those in smaller towns or regions.

The impact of AI and technology on various industries and the potential opportunities it presents for those in the right locations.

The argument that focusing on a specific field where one can excel and has high employment rates is a key to financial success.

The advice against having side hustles if the main hustle is not working, suggesting to focus on one area of expertise.

The counter-argument against the meritocracy myth, emphasizing that not everyone can achieve the same level of success due to various factors.

The encouragement for those in low-wage jobs to work hard, act like owners, and seek opportunities for advancement within their current field.

The reminder that there is dignity in all work and that every job can be a stepping stone to further opportunities.

The strategy of using an entry-level job to save money for further education or to move to a city with more opportunities.

Transcripts

we we really need to because I'm

thinking

about the lens that I kind of think

about this conversation through is like

different stages in my own journey and

the advice that I would have wanted from

you at different steps in my journey and

I I just flashed back to working in

those call centers where I was making

just about enough money to well to be

fair if I'm being completely honest I

did have disposable income but when I

was poor I was Reckless with my money MH

so I would get the £500 disposable

income on payday leave the call center

go and buy 400 TV flat screen TV and put

it in a room where the TV was as big as

the wall of my room right and I'm trying

to I'm really trying to zoom in on that

person who is so far away from nine

figures yeah and they're like okay Scott

I want to be Scott Galloway so what is

the set of steps or the mindset the

fishing rod I need in my mind to become

Scott Galloway nine figures well the

first is the first is some of it is luck

a again a lot of My Success if I'd been

born in Europe I don't think I'd have

that number Europe's not as forgiving of

entrepreneurs that have failed I've had

a lot of failure if I lived in China

think there's a decent chance I'd be in

jail so the smart again the smartest

thing I've ever done was being born in

California so saying to move does that

matter what's that should I move City oh

if you're young the first thing you want

to do is to get to one of 20 super

cities if you're I'm just talking about

someone who wants to be an economic

animal right you might who doesn't okay

but some people might say Scott it's

your way it's not the right way I want

to teach coach football in my little

village outside in the Amalfi Coast I

can make make 55,000 working running a

small bakery and have a really nice life

I think they would have clicked more

power to you that's not the majority of

the people I hang out with the majority

of the young people I hear from realize

that capitalism the wealth equals

relevance and love in a capitalist

society and they want to be economically

very secure the easiest thing the best

piece of advice is one get credentialed

we live in a LinkedIn economy what you

did your success is especially

impressive Ive because on average people

who get a college degree earn 50 to 100%

more over the course of their life

there's an entire set of industries that

are off limits to people that don't have

credentialing I worked to work for

Morgan Stanley we not only didn't hire

people without college degrees we didn't

hire people that didn't go to one of

eight universities when I applied eight

you had to not only go to college you

had to go to one of eight colleges to

get a job at Morgan Stanley at that time

so if you can't get credentialing

the second thing not everyone's cut out

for college I get that the second thing

is get to a super city 2third of all

economic growth over the next 30 Years

is going to take place in one of 20

cities so if you're in that small town

in Italy you want to get to Milan as

quickly as possible and then if you can

you want to get to London as quickly as

possible or Munich or a bigger city and

then quite frankly if you have total

Geographic agility and flexibility

ignoring the ridiculous ins of the US

you want to get to New York or San

Francisco because to be good in San

Francisco is much better than being

amazing in stutgart the amount of

economic here's the thing I'm I'm a

mediocre I'm a mediocre Surfer I've

actually even given it up but when I was

young and I used to go to Hawaii and the

waves were perfect I started believing I

was a good Surfer where I go to Aspen

after a Fresh coat of snow I'm like I'm

a decent skier no you're not the snow

and the waves are amazing anyone

could be a good skier in this get

to where the waves in the snow are

amazing aming and that's generally

speaking in cities and when you're young

you can be in a city because you can

live in a 400t apartment you can be out

of the house all day you can dance

Between The Raindrops and make money but

when you are in a city you know how when

you play tennis if you play with someone

much better than you it elevates your

game when you're in a city you're

playing against Serena Williams every

day everyone is smart everyone is well

dressed everyone is working hard

everyone is taking chance

and you are surrounded by people who are

very successful and you are going to

bump off professional and personal

opportunity every day do it while you're

young because when you start collecting

dogs and kids as I did in my 30s I could

no longer afford to stay in New York so

I had to move to delay beach in Florida

when I say half to we have a wonderful

life down there there's not a fraction

of the opportunities in delr beach for

someone in their 20s and 30s now I

already had professional momentum but

Sunday to Thursday night I was commuting

to New York cuz that's where the action

was so one credentialing but two

absolutely get to one of 20 super cities

when you say 20 super cities I thinking

now we're having this conversation in a

world where AI seems to be the biggest

topic of conversation it seems to be

ripping up many Industries but it I also

reflect on that I go where is the AI

opportunity going to be if that is the

biggest wave coming into Shore in terms

of opportunity um should I be playing my

sort of geographical um decision- making

based on artificial intelligence because

everyone's raving about how big of an

opportunity that is and Technology

generally over the next 10 years seems

like it's really going to eat up a lot

of uh industry yeah I don't I don't know

if it'd be possible to determine

geography based on AI what I would say

is okay you know every literally a third

of my class NYU they get on a plane for

San Francisco the day they graduate

there's just within a seven mile radius

of San Francisco International Airport

there's been more wealth created I think

in the last six months

than than Germany's created in the last

decade Nvidia is worth more than the

entire UK stock market nvidia's they

make the they're basically they make the

brains for artificial intelligence they

make a GPU which is essentially a

microchip that powers all of AI right

now and no one can buy them fast enough

now they have 30,000 people I would bet

10 or 15,000 of them are worth at least

$10 million

now because the 30,000 employees got

stocked options and when a company goes

from from 300 billion to 3 trillion it

means everyone is getting rich that

doesn't happen that often in Dortmund it

doesn't happen that often it doesn't

happen I'm being kind right you grow up

in Engle doot you either go to work for

Audi nothing wrong with that make a good

living but if you're young and you think

I really want to get in front of the

biggest waves you want to go to one of

several cities you want to have the

winds at your back so if you're young

what do you have you have agility

geographically but going back you

initially asked me what's the algorithm

what are the steps and I tried to the

book's called the algebra wealth I try

to distill it down to a a small number

of of features the first is focus go all

in on something once you find you

Workshop in your TOS once you find

something you're really good at that you

could be in the top 1% at and here's the

key part as we referenced before that

has a 90 plus% employment rate and 90%

of Industries have that but if you can

be in the top 10% of an industry that

has a 90 plus% employment rate you're

going to make really good money first

thing Focus try not to have side hustles

if you have a side hustle it means your

main hustle isn't working use side

hustle to Workshop new main hustles but

once you find something you're really

good

at go all in on it can I pause there

just as we keep going because I want to

just provide counter arguments just in

case certain people are objecting in

their own minds I I think about me and

the southwest of England as I grew up

and I was in Plymouth working at a

MacDonald's I worked there for two days

M but I worked in retail and shops and

stuff what I had at that moment I in

hindsight was a void of information

so I could only work at like a clothing

store and a McDonald's because I didn't

have any other information and if a kid

hasn't gone to University or some those

things just haven't hasn't got the

information and they've stumbled across

across this podcast but they're working

in I don't know the equivalent of a

Wendy's or Burger King for example and

they just like how do I get out of this

Burger King

Scott I'm a cashier at Burger King yeah

look I I don't I I I want to be

clear I think there is a certain

downside to the notion that we live in a

meritocracy and it creates a lot of rage

and shame among young people and that is

the notion that in America especially

anyone can be anything well not really

boss cuz the problem with thinking we

live in a meritocracy is that if you

don't make kit you up it's your

fault yeah and there's dignity in every

work what I would say to someone working

at a Burger King or in fast food that

want something bigger work really I was

on the board of Panera Bread which is a

fast food chain or Quick Service they

call it qsr they don't like the term

someone who was hardworking and showed

up at work every day on time and worked

with their colleagues and acted like

they own the place probably within two

years could be managing the place and

making 60 or 80 grand a year now I'm not

suggesting you go all in on food but

there's always dignity in work there's

always opportunity for people who work

hard and act like owners and are good

people and try to look out for other

people and are good

managers that might just be for you a

means to an end where you're

workshopping other stuff to say how do I

get to to school how do I get to

training how do I find a better job how

do I save for a one-year apprenticeship

program to become an electrician how do

I start meeting people you got to pay

your bills there's dignity in all work I

coach a lot of young men and the first

thing I say is you got to start making

some money and they're like I'm not

going to work at CVS or at McDonald's

I'm like yeah you are because you need a

taste for flesh the best way to make a

lot of money is to start making a little

bit of money but have a plan I want to

be the assistant manager of this

McDonald's I want to save enough money

so I can go back to school I want to

save enough money so I can move to Dubai

or move to London and get a job there

that might be higher paying