How To Go Beast Mode As A Founder

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of 'level 12' intensity in achieving business success, arguing that most people operate at a lower intensity than they believe. He debunks myths about intensity, stating it's not about working 24/7 but focusing and executing with extreme dedication. Citing examples from Mark Zuckerberg, PayPal's Peter Thiel, and others, he illustrates how singular focus and prioritization can lead to breakthroughs. The talk encourages viewers to identify their one priority, commit to it fully, and understand that success often comes from consistent, intense effort rather than seeking the next new idea or strategy.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The script emphasizes the common trap of seeking external answers to problems instead of increasing one's level of intensity and focus.
• 🌟 Intensity is described as contagious and capable of creating a culture, suggesting that it can be a driving force within a team or organization.
• 📝 Peter Thiel's 'one priority' approach at PayPal is highlighted as an effective method for maintaining focus and driving results.
• 🔑 The concept of prioritization is further explored through the idea that having multiple priorities can lead to inaction on the most critical tasks.
• 🏆 The story of Mark Zuckerberg's acquisition of Instagram illustrates the power of intensity in business negotiations and decision-making.
• 💡 The importance of singular focus is underscored by the success stories of WhatsApp and Stripe, which excelled by concentrating on one thing and doing it exceptionally well.
• 🚀 The transcript encourages the listener to identify and implement their 'common sense solution' to challenges, rather than seeking complex or elusive strategies.
• 🛠️ It suggests that success often comes from an accumulation of smaller, focused efforts rather than a single grand strategy.
• 🎯 The concept of 'lead bullets' is introduced to convey the idea that there are no quick fixes, only hard work and persistence that lead to breakthroughs.
• ⏱️ The speaker advocates for recognizing when it's time to 'sprint,' or increase one's level of intensity temporarily to capitalize on opportunities or overcome obstacles.
• 🌱 The final call to action is for individuals to envision what 'level 12 intensity' would look like in their own lives and to strive for that level of commitment and dedication.

Q & A

What is the main issue the entrepreneur was facing when they called the speaker?

The entrepreneur was facing a plateau in their business growth and was stuck, looking for new features to add and side projects to work on, rather than focusing on the core issues.

What does the speaker suggest is the common trap that people fall into when trying to solve their problems?

The common trap is thinking that the answer to their problems lies elsewhere, such as in a mentor's advice, a book, or some unknown knowledge, rather than realizing that the solution often comes from increasing one's level of intensity in their efforts.

What is the 'one priority' system implemented by Peter Thiel during his time at PayPal?

The 'one priority' system requires every employee to identify a single, key priority to focus on, rather than having a long to-do list. This system forces individuals to concentrate on what is most important and helps in creating a culture of intensity.

Why did Peter Thiel leave the room when someone tried to discuss something that wasn't their one priority?

Peter Thiel left the room as a way to signal that the topic at hand was not a priority and to encourage the person to refocus on their main objective.

What is the definition of 'intensity' according to the speaker?

Intensity is defined as Focus Times Common Sense times Insanity, which means concentrating on a single task with a high level of dedication and effort, while also maintaining practicality and a willingness to go beyond the ordinary.

What misconception does the speaker address about intensity?

The misconception is that intensity means working 24/7, but the speaker clarifies that intensity is about focusing on the right things and doing them with a high level of commitment, not necessarily working non-stop.

What did Mark Zuckerberg do differently when he wanted to buy Instagram?

Mark Zuckerberg showed a high level of intensity by pushing for a deal over the weekend, offering double the valuation of the company, and working continuously for 48 hours to close the deal, which was a strategy that outperformed the competition.

How did Stripe's founders approach customer onboarding differently from other companies?

Stripe's founders would immediately onboard interested customers by setting up Stripe on their laptops on the spot, rather than sending them an invitation to join a beta program later, which was a more proactive and intense approach to acquiring customers.

What is the 'no silver bullets' philosophy mentioned by Ben Horowitz?

The 'no silver bullets' philosophy emphasizes that there are no easy or magical solutions to major challenges; instead, success comes from hard work, perseverance, and focusing on making incremental improvements.

What is the speaker's advice on identifying when to 'sprint' in terms of work intensity?

The speaker advises recognizing when a great opportunity arises or when it's time to buckle down and focus. These moments require increasing one's level of intensity, or 'sprinting,' to capitalize on the opportunity or overcome the challenge.

How did Sylvester Stallone approach writing the script for 'Rocky'?

Sylvester Stallone took an intense approach by writing the first draft of 'Rocky' in three days, painting his windows black to eliminate distractions, unplugging the phone, and fully committing to the task without concern for the time of day.

Outlines

00:00

🔥 Overcoming Business Plateaus with Intensity

The speaker addresses a common issue faced by entrepreneurs: business stagnation. They emphasize that the solution is not to seek external answers but to increase one's level of intensity. The speaker shares a story about Peter Thiel's leadership at PayPal, where focusing on a singular priority was key. This approach created a culture of intensity and helped to avoid the trap of gravitating towards the more familiar tasks instead of the important ones. The summary also touches on Warren Buffett's parable about searching for lost keys in the light, illustrating the human tendency to stick to familiar tasks rather than tackling the important but less obvious ones.

05:00

💥 The Power of Singular Focus and Intensity

This paragraph delves deeper into the concept of singular focus, using the example of Peter Thiel's strategy at PayPal. The speaker argues that having multiple priorities leads to mediocrity, as people tend to focus on the clearer, less challenging tasks. The narrative includes anecdotes about Mark Zuckerberg's intense approach to acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, demonstrating how high levels of intensity can lead to exceptional outcomes. The summary highlights the importance of commitment to a single goal and the power of focus in driving success.

10:01

🚀 The 'Cison Installation' and the Importance of Onboarding

The speaker recounts Paul Graham's observation of Stripe's founders and their unique approach to customer onboarding, termed the 'Cison Installation'. This method involved immediately setting up the product for interested customers, a strategy that was both intense and effective. The summary explains how this approach differentiated Stripe from other companies and contributed to their success. It also touches on the misconception that big successes come from big actions, instead of a series of smaller, focused efforts.

15:02

🎯 Lead Bullets and the Philosophy of Relentless Execution

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses the idea of 'lead bullets' from Ben Horowitz, which represents the belief that there are no easy solutions, only hard work and perseverance. The summary describes how Horowitz faced tough business challenges and the importance of not seeking a 'silver bullet' but instead focusing on relentless execution. It also includes the story of Sylvester Stallone's intense dedication to writing the script for 'Rocky', illustrating the concept of knowing when to 'sprint' and increase one's level of intensity.

20:04

🏃‍♂️ Level 12 Intensity: Defining and Achieving Peak Performance

The final paragraph focuses on the concept of 'Level 12 Intensity', urging listeners to identify what this level of intensity would look like in their own endeavors. The summary provides actionable steps for increasing intensity, such as narrowing focus, writing down a common sense solution, and considering what actions would represent a 'Level 12' commitment. It includes the example of Jesse Isler hiring a Navy SEAL to train him, embodying the ultimate level of intensity and dedication.

Keywords

💡Intensity

Intensity in the context of the video refers to the level of dedication, focus, and effort one puts into their work or goals. It is a core theme of the video, emphasizing that success often comes from elevating one's commitment rather than seeking external answers or strategies. The video illustrates this with examples such as Peter Thiel's single-priority approach at PayPal and Mark Zuckerberg's relentless pursuit of Instagram, demonstrating how high intensity can drive significant outcomes.

💡Plateau

A plateau in the video represents a stage where growth or progress has stalled. The entrepreneur in the script is facing a business plateau, which is a common challenge that many people encounter. The video suggests that rather than seeking new strategies or external solutions, increasing the level of intensity in one's efforts can help overcome this stagnation.

💡Priorities

Priorities are the tasks or goals that an individual or organization deems most important. The video discusses the importance of having a singular focus, using the example of Peter Thiel's management style at PayPal, where employees were encouraged to identify one priority to concentrate on. This concept is central to the video's message that focusing on a single, clear priority can be more effective than having multiple, less focused goals.

💡Mentor

A mentor, as mentioned in the video, is someone who provides guidance or advice based on their experience. The script challenges the common belief that mentors hold the answers to one's problems. Instead, it argues that the solutions often lie within the individual's own increased intensity and focused efforts, rather than external advice.

💡Cultural Intensity

Cultural Intensity refers to the collective level of dedication and focus within a group or organization. The video suggests that an individual's intensity can influence and create a culture of intensity, which can be contagious and lead to a more successful and driven team environment.

💡Singular Focus

Singular Focus is the concept of concentrating on one main goal or task at a time. The video uses this term to emphasize the importance of not diversifying one's attention but instead channeling all efforts into a single, high-impact activity. This is exemplified by Peter Thiel's approach at PayPal and the philosophy of WhatsApp's founder.

💡Common Sense Strategy

A Common Sense Strategy in the video is a straightforward, no-frills plan that does not require complex thinking or innovation. It is about doing the obvious things well. The video argues that instead of seeking complicated solutions, one should focus on executing simple strategies with high intensity, as illustrated by the success of companies like Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out.

💡Level 12

Level 12 in the video is a metaphorical reference to the highest possible level of intensity and commitment. It is used to describe the extreme focus and dedication required to achieve exceptional outcomes. The video encourages viewers to understand what Level 12 looks like in their own endeavors and to strive for that level of intensity.

💡Sprinting

Sprinting in the context of the video is a metaphor for periods of intense, focused effort. It suggests that while one cannot operate at maximum capacity all the time, there are moments that require an increased level of intensity to capitalize on opportunities or overcome challenges, such as the story of Sylvester Stallone writing the script for 'Rocky'.

💡Lead Bullets

Lead Bullets, as mentioned in the video, symbolize the idea that there are no easy solutions or 'silver bullets' to complex problems. Instead, it emphasizes the need for hard work, perseverance, and a willingness to try numerous approaches to find what works. It is about accepting the reality of hard work over seeking elusive shortcuts.

Highlights

The importance of increasing one's level of intensity to overcome business plateaus rather than constantly seeking external solutions.

Peter Thiel's 'Common Sense' system at PayPal, emphasizing having a single priority for every employee.

The tendency of people to gravitate towards the second task instead of tackling the most important but less clear problem.

Warren Buffett's parable about looking for lost keys in the light instead of where they were dropped, illustrating a common approach to prioritization.

Peter Thiel's approach to maintaining focus by leaving the room when discussions stray from the main priority.

The concept that having singular focus is a path to excellence and value, as opposed to having multiple focuses which may lead to mediocrity.

The brain as an 'answering machine' that responds to the questions we ask it, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the right issues.

The formula for intensity as being focus times common sense times insanity, debunking the myth that intensity means working 24/7.

Conor McGregor's quote on the level of dedication required to achieve exceptional success, illustrating the concept of intensity.

Steve Jobs' quote about focus being the ability to say no to many good ideas to pursue the one exceptional one.

The story of Mark Zuckerberg's intense negotiations to acquire Instagram, demonstrating the power of focus and intensity.

The strategy of WhatsApp's founders, focusing on doing one thing well rather than adding unnecessary features.

Stripe's 'Cison Installation' method of immediately onboarding interested customers, highlighting the effectiveness of high-intensity actions.

Paul Graham's observation that startups succeed because founders make them happen, not because of external circumstances.

Ben Horowitz's 'lead bullets, not silver bullets' philosophy, emphasizing the need for hard work over seeking easy solutions.

The importance of recognizing when to 'sprint' and increase one's level of intensity in order to capitalize on opportunities.

Sylvester Stallone's extreme focus and dedication while writing the first draft of 'Rocky' as an example of level 12 intensity.

Three actionable steps to implement intensity: narrowing focus, writing down a common sense solution, and envisioning level 12 intensity.

Transcripts

[Applause]

all right turn on the camera turn on the

camera I got a rant for

[Music]

you I got a call yesterday from a

entrepreneur who was going through

something that is so relatable they were

stuck they're they're at a plateau their

business is not growing as fast as they

want they were pitching me on all the

new things they were going to do new

features they were going to add the new

project and then they told start telling

me about the side hustle that they got

going on and I had to stop them and I

had to tell them the truth the truth is

stop searching for answers we are all

guilty of this you know like if I'm fat

all of a sudden I'm keto I'm paleo I'm

reading books I'm listening to podcasts

and I'm not just doing the obvious

things the Trap that people fall into is

thinking that the answer to their

problems is elsewhere that maybe a a

mentor has it or a book has it or

there's some knowledge that they don't

have and that's what's holding them back

but that's really never the case if I

talk to nine out of 10 people only one

might need a strategy change for nine

out of 10 the answer is up your level of

intensity the best part about intensity

is that it's contagious that you can

actually create a culture of intensity

there's a wonderful story about Peter

teal when he was running PayPal so Peter

teal was one of the he was a CEO of

PayPal he's the first investor in

Facebook and I was curious because Peter

T's kind of like a sort of a weird dude

and I was like he doesn't seem like a

classic manager leader inspiring guy

super organized button down running you

know daily standups it turns out he

didn't really do any of that [ __ ] he had

a very simple system his Common Sense

system was well everybody in the company

should fig figure out one priority like

you you should have one priority in your

brain you're going to do one thing

what's it going to be and forcing people

to figure out one priority not a to-do

list but a single priority was an

incredible forcing function everybody

had to say something and if you said

something stupid it would be like that's

your priority and so everybody picked

one priority but now that's good but

that's just like you know the very very

first half of the what's the second half

actually sticking to that because human

nature

is Everything feels important I have my

one priority but then there's the second

thing that's important too and then

there's a third thing that's important

too and the problem with this that Peter

said was that imagine you have three

priorities and even if you you stack

rank them you said this is number one

number two number three what happens is

that we often don't know the answer to

number one number one lacks a a clear

solution it's a gnarly problem it's an

important problem but it's not an

obvious problem so what we do is we just

gravitate towards the second task

because it's much clearer I know what to

do there so I I gravitate towards the

known right it's that Warren Buffett

story where the guy lost his keys

outside of a bar so he's crawling around

on the ground trying to find his keys

and the officer says uh uh sir what are

you doing he I'm looking for my keys did

you drop them here no no no I dropped

him over there well why you crawling

over here because this is where the

light is and that's how most people

operate in their day-to-day priorities

we crawl around where the light is we

crawl around doing the known things the

things that feel familiar to us rather

than the important things the things

where the solution actually is over

there it's just in the dark and so Peter

what he would do is if anybody tried to

talk to him about something that was not

their their big thing their one thing he

would literally just leave the room he's

like oh you're talking to me about that

I thought your thing is this okay see

you he's like I'm not going to sit here

and try to convince you but I will

signal to you that this is not a

priority by literally just leaving the

meeting or leaving the room or just not

refusing to talk to you about anything

besides your one thing to teal what he

what he said was he goes if you allow

yourself to have more than one Focus

you've already blinked I love that

you've already blinked you've flinched

and he says you know you've determined

that mediocrity is an acceptable outcome

my singular Focus philosophy is that

Solutions may not be clear but the paths

to Excellence and value are and the path

to Excellence and value is to have a

singular focus and I believe this to be

true I believe that the mind is a very

powerful tool I call the brain a

answering machine it's just about what

question you ask it if you ask yourself

a bunch of questions like um why did

this person cut me off your brain will

tell you because they're an [ __ ]

because you've told your brain to focus

its attention on why this person cut you

off in traffic right you've focused your

powerful tool on a silly thing to focus

on and um you know the brain can really

only handle one question at a time is

not a m as much as we think we can

multitask we really can't we can kind of

solve one problem at a time it's just a

question of what are you going to load

into your brain and are you willing to

let it sit there until it is solved that

Peter teal one priority philosophy is a

very powerful one and something that

that I Implement on my day-to-day basis

all right so first let me dispel some

myths because I can already hear you in

the comments I can hear you typ it away

because what you're thinking is probably

what I used to think which is dude I

don't want to work 247 that's not my

goal well intensity is not working 247

that's the first thing intensity is a

Formula actually it is focus Times

Common Sense times Insanity that's it

Focus Times Common Sense times Insanity

that is what I mean when I say intensity

there's a great quote by the way I saw

Conor McGregor and Conor McGregor's

story is insane he went from a plumber

on welfare to the highest paid richest

athlete in the world on the Forbes list

to the first two-weight world champion

in the UFC and he did this all in like

five or six years and there was a video

of him after his training session I've

lost my mind on this game like Vincent

Van

go dedicated his life to the his art and

lost his mind in the process that's

happened to

me when that gold Bel was around on my

waist my mother has a big

mansion my girlfriend has a different

car for every day of the week my kids

kids have everything they ever

want then it will

pay and I and I'm happy I lost my mind

yeah I'll die a crazy old man and that

is the level of intensity and Insanity

that you can get to if you really do

this at a level 12 and not everybody's

going to want to do this at level 12 but

you should know what level 12 looks like

you should know what it is and then you

get to decide how you're going to dial

that knob down the problem most people

have is they think they're already at a

level 10 they don't even consider level

12 they think they're already at 10 when

in actuality they're at six and today

I'm going to show you how you are at a

six and you're not out of 10 because

that is a lie it's a dangerous lie we

want to tell ourselves the other

misconception by the way is oh great I

got to do more I'm already busy I'm

already overwhelmed now I got to do more

no no no it's actually the opposite you

are going to end up doing less uh

there's a great Steve Jobs quote I'm

going to butcher it but it's basically

something like focus is saying no to a

100 great ideas so you can say yes to

the one exceptional one focus is saying

no to a 100 great ideas great ideas are

ideas that you could totally make a case

for that you would it would seem smart

for you to go do but doing a hundred of

them doesn't work right you can do

anything you just can't do everything

and so focus is saying no to the great

ideas so you can do the one exception

one so if you do this right you're not

doing more you're actually doing less

you're just doing it better all right

guys really quick so back when I was

running the hustle we had this premium

newsletter called Trends the way it

worked was we hired a ton of analysts

and we created this sort of playbook for

researching different companies and

ideas and emerging Trends to help you

make money and build businesses well

HubSpot did something kind of cool so

they took this Playbook that we

developed and we gave to our analysts

and they turned it into an actionable

guide and a resource that anyone can

download and it breaks down all the

different methods that we use for

spotting upcoming trends for spotting

different companies that are going to

explode and grow really quickly so if

you want to stay ahead of the game and

you want to find cool business ideas or

different niches that most people have

no idea they exist this is the ultimate

guide so if you want to check it out you

can see the link Down Below in the

description now back to the show okay

let's jump into some examples and I'm

going to start with some business

examples because there's plenty of like

inspirational athlete stories or just

kind of like General motivation but this

is business podcast I am all about

business so let's do the first one so

first one is Mark Zuckerberg so there's

a great story of Zuck when he bought

Instagram and by the way today if

Facebook had not bought Instagram

Facebook might be dead Instagram like

literally ended up becoming the next

social network it was going to be his

biggest competitor and Facebook bought

it well okay that's cool that's just a

business decision right it's a strategy

decision no no no it was a story of

intensity so here's How The Story Goes

the founder of Instagram Kevin cam used

to work at a place called Odio he was uh

actually kind of like an intern sitting

at the desk next to this guy named Jack

D Odio pivots to Twitter that becomes

Twitter Jack dorsy ends up being the CEO

of Twitter at one point in time and Jack

dorsy is kind of like his mentor so

Kevin creates Instagram Twitter doesn't

have photo sharing Twitter says we want

to buy Instagram and they offer to buy

it for something like $400 $500 million

and again this is they have the

relationship they were first to make the

offer they offered a big sum of money so

they did what they thought was level 12

intensity but then Zuck came and showed

them what's up so the way that the story

goes down is Mark Zuckerberg starts

texting Kevin Cam and he says um hey I

want to meet I wanna I want to talk to

you about buying the company and Mark

intensity is almost known it's sort of

legendary in the industry so Kevin is

texting his investor and he's saying

should I meet with Zuck I don't I'm

worried if I if I go there I don't

really want to sell and I feel like if I

tell him I don't want to sell is he just

going to go into like psycho mode and

crush me and the investor goes yeah

probably and so he's like okay I guess

I'll take the meeting he already has a

deal on the table to to Twitter for $550

million he then meets with seoa the

number one VC in Silicon Valley and they

say you know what you should stay

independent Instagram can be big we will

fund you at $500 million so same

valuation but you get to keep going you

get to keep your Independence but he

goes to meet Zuck and he goes unlike

Twitter Zuck did not take no for an

answer so he rejects Zuck first Zuck

says no no no just come over my house

and talk can you just come over today

and he says I guess I got to go over

there I don't want to really piss this

guy off so he just says okay I'll I'll

just go over there so he goes to his

house and now this is Good Friday you

know Easter's on Sunday he goes to his

house on Friday and he walks in and Zuck

says the following he says I've thought

about it and I want to buy your company

and Kevin's like I know but I already

said no he says I will give you double

whatever you're you're currently raising

around at so whatever your price is I'll

give you double and that would mean that

Instagram would be worth a billion

dollars and nobody had ever paid this

much for a mobile app before this would

be the first deal of its kind Instagram

had zero Revenue had like less than 20

employees it was tiny this seemed like

outrageously over the toop way of going

about things and Zuck said well look I

can give you a billion dollars for this

but here's the deal we got to do this

deal this weekend and he basically

pushed him and this was again it's

Easter on Sunday nobody's working over

the weekend the Twitter guys think that

they have a deal in the bag the Sequoia

guys think that they have a deal in the

bag and the mistake they made was they

thought that work starts on Mondays and

Zuck just decided to work over the

weekend so he basically said look let's

stay here and we'll either hash out the

deal and we'll make a deal happen or

we'll figure out the deal is not going

to happen but let's just agree we're

going to stay here and we're going to

figure it out so he says okay so they

basically stayed together for 48 hours

Zuck calls his lawyers he calls his Corp

Dev guys he says get over here we got to

figure out how we're going to close this

deal now Kevin calls his investors he's

like hey I'm thinking about having this

deal and here's the quote one of his

investor says I sat back and thought

what just happened like holy [ __ ] what

just happened how did he pull this off

and Zuck had this belief that that if we

don't create the thing that kills

Facebook somebody else will the

internet's not a friendly place I have

to act with a certain of intensity when

we find a deal that's like this and so

over the weekend just to give you a

perspective to do a billion doll deal

generally takes time six months will go

by nine months will go by Zuck his

lawyers and the founder of Instagram

they they end up cutting this deal over

the weekend they do a billion dollar

deal in 48 hours and by the time the

competition woke up on Monday the deal

was gone so that's the the story of how

Zuck buys Instagram and by the way this

is not the first time he also bought

WhatsApp how he bought WhatsApp was the

same way and WhatsApp had the right

culture WhatsApp also operated with high

intensity there's a famous story that

the founder of WhatsApp had this sticky

note on his desk and they took a picture

of it when he sold and it said no ads no

games no gimmicks that was their mindset

every other messaging app was always

adding more and more features they would

add games they would add stickers they

would add some some ads into it they

would just keep adding things and they

said the way we're going to win is we're

going to do the basic thing messaging

and we're just going to do it better

than anybody else they were like

Chick-fil-A have you ever been to a

Chick-fil-A like you don't go to

Chick-fil-A because Chick-fil-A adds

fish filets on the menu no no no

Chick-fil-A decided to have a common

sense strategy we're going to sell

chicken sandwiches and they just do it

with a better level of intensity than

anybody else they sell a better chicken

sandwich In-N-Out does the same thing

In-N-Out it's like we're gon to sell a

burger and fries is not a revolutionary

strategy they did not pivot they did not

innovate in that they just brought a

higher level of intensity to it than

anybody else was willing to do at the

time and so those two fast food chains

make more money per location than chains

that do 10 times more things that have a

wider menu that have more locations

because they operate with a higher level

of intensity that's the same way that

what'sapp and Zuck approached business

the founder of WhatsApp always said he

goes the FW around here is focus he says

uh I don't think about things that I

can't figure out I don't think about the

future I don't go to conferences and

give talks about where the industry is

going he goes I focus my brain around

the things that I can wrap my head

around like this customer's complaining

about this thing let me go fix that bug

and he said that the reason they sold a

Facebook was because Zuck chased them

for two years personally he would meet

them for coffee then a hike no deal

would happen and he would keep inviting

them hikes dinners coffees and he did

that for two years until finally they

relented and they ended up closing the

deal okay I want to talk to you about

stripe one of the stories I love about

stripe comes from Paul Graham Paul

Graham was you know running YC at the

time when stripe went through it he met

the founders early on and these were a

couple of teenagers that were basically

saying we're going to change the

financial system we're going to change

the payment system we're going to go

work with banks and he's like these two

you know redheaded teenagers think that

they could do this all right well I'm

curious let's see what happens and he

noted that stripe was doing one thing

very differently than the average

company through YC remember YC is the

best of the best so these guys were

uncommon amongst the uncommon companies

and so he called it the cison

installation he said most companies when

they would talk to a potential customer

they would bump into another founder

they would say oh yeah here's what we do

they would say oh that's interesting

that's cool he say oh awesome you're

interested cool I'll send you a link uh

I'll send you invite to the beta when

we're ready and you can sign up that's

what most people do he said what the

cison would do was very different we

started calling this the cison

installation which would be as soon as

somebody showed any sign of Interest

they would say awesome do you have your

laptop on you I can just set you up

right now I'll do it for you and they

would literally Brute Force get

customers on board the person would open

up their laptop and they would literally

install stripe they would explain it to

them and they would onboard them on the

spot and they did this to the first you

know 100 200 customers manually and Paul

Graham noted he goes you know I want

wonder why don't more people do this

it's not like this was some outrageous

strategy it's not that it was even like

that hard to do he said the reason

people don't do this is two things

shyness or a fear of rejection um he

goes also a misconception he goes they

think that big things come from big

things but actually big things come from

an accumulation of smaller things I

thought it was a beautiful way of

putting it to understand how a big thing

happens is just a accumulation of

smaller things and he said that you know

many people believe that startups you

know take off or they don't take off

that your business either works or it

doesn't work and he said actually what

I've learned doing YC is that startups

happen because the founder makes them

happen they take off because the founder

makes them take off and he goes it's

like an engine right you can't force

something that's never going to work to

work what you can do is if something has

the potential to work you can crank that

engine manually hand crank it to get it

going and then it starts and once the

engine started you know you pushed the

boulder enough eventually it starts to

roll and now you're chasing the momentum

of it rolling downhill but at the

beginning it felt like pushing it to the

top of the hill and I thought that was a

great analogy of how stripe operated

with a higher level of intensity and if

that's how they onboarded customers

imagine how they did the 10 other things

because how you do one thing is how you

do everything the Trap that people fall

into is thinking that the answer to

their problems is elsewhere that maybe a

a mentor has it or a book has it or

there's some knowledge that they don't

have and that's what's holding him back

but that's really never the case so

rarely is that the case almost always

the answer you seek is within one of the

great stories about this comes from Ben

Horwitz he has this phrase he goes lead

bullets not silver bullets and he's

talking about when he was running his

company they were at a very tough point

there was tough competition the company

was on the line it was it going to go go

Bust or they were going to figure out a

way to make it he go my first instinct

was to Pivot to try to find a magical

win it's a magical solution a rabbit out

of a hat he's like I so wanted to stand

in front of my company and say aha I

have the answer I I went for this walk I

met this guy and here's the answer we

just got to do this and it'll all work

out he said but that's not really how it

worked he goes I I stood in front of the

company and I told them I said there are

no silver bullets for this only lead

bullets they didn't want to hear that

but I had to make it clear we simply had

to build a better product there was no

other way out there was no window no

hole no escape hatch no back door we

have to go through the front door and

deal with the big ugly Glide that's

blocking it we needed lead bullets in my

experience the thing that's actually

come out of this philosophy of there are

no several bullets is that actually

there are bullets but the only way you

discover them is by just firing a [ __ ]

ton of bullets that you think are lad

and then you sort of pleasantly surprise

yourself when you find one idea one

experiment one uh tactic that totally

works in an outsize way uh you find your

silver bullet but the only way to do

that is by being the guy who believes

there are only lead bullets so that's

I'm gonna I'm willing to fire all the

lead bullets in order to make this work

versus the guy who's going to run around

trying to just find the one magical

Silver Bullet and really take no action

right if you want to look at your pie

chart you should be spend spending maybe

10% of your time on the idea or the

strategy side of things it is important

to get a good strategy but it's usually

a very common sense strategy if your

strategy is convoluted if your strategy

requires

multiple new Innovations and leaps of

Faith you are likely going to fail you

are likely duding yourself into thinking

that the pie chart is 80% ideas and 20%

execution it's much more like 10 or 20%

ideas and strategy and 80% Blood Sweat

and Tears and that Blood Sweat and Tears

should come from a certain level of

intensity right it's not simply about

working more hours it's not simply about

just burying yourself in the office

there are times where you'll do that and

that's the other kind of philosophy that

you should internalize which is there is

a time to Sprint okay you cannot Sprint

the whole time you cannot always be

running your max speed it doesn't work

that way but you should be able to

recognize when you need to change years

and you need to Sprint one of the

stories I love I've talked about this in

the podcast before is the story of

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Stallone

wants to be an actor and so goes in the

auditions everywhere and he can't get a

get a role nobody wants to cast him as

an actor he doesn't look the part his

mouth moves a little funny because he

had a problem at Birth and he just

wasn't the guy he wasn't the Classic

Hollywood face he doesn't give up he

decides take matters into his own hands

he says if I can't get cast in a movie I

will make a movie and I will give myself

the role H the problem is he hates

writing so he decides well I'm gonna for

this I got a Sprint I'm gonna do this

thing at the best I can but I will plow

through I will brute force my way to

this so he goes to his house and decides

to write a movie he writes the first

script of Rocky the rough draft of Rocky

in three days three days most people

don't think that's possible he did in

three days he talks about how he did it

I want to read you this quote this this

is sylvest Salone talking about uh Focus

his daughter asked him she goes did you

really paint your windows black to focus

he goes yeah I did paint them black

because I didn't want to know what time

it was it didn't matter what time it was

it was time to write otherwise I would

tell myself oh it's time to for time for

breakfast and I would immediately myself

I would say well I'm just going to have

breakfast when I'm hungry I don't need

to know what time it is and that was the

kind of thing you know I wanted to

eliminate all my possible excuses all my

possible distractions because I knew how

hard it was for me to write I was

begging when I was writing please

someone just call the phone just please

get me to do anything else besides this

but instead I unplugged the phone so

that nobody could call I painted the

windows black he says 100% black windows

no phone and that approach of painting

the windows black is a certain level of

intensity he doesn't do it all the time

but he knew there was a time to Sprint

so one of the key things in life is to

identify when a great opportunity comes

your way or when it's time to buckle

down this is the moment it's you're

going on One path or the other path and

that is the time to Sprint that is the

time you dial up your level of intensity

so I have three actions for you how do

you actually go do this first you need

to narrow your focus I did a whole

podcast on this called laser focus go

watch that it's like 20 minutes long

it's good so you need to narrow your

focus you need to stop giving your brain

so many different priorities and so many

different problems to think about you

need to narrow it down that's the first

thing Focus the second thing is you need

to write down your common sense solution

I call it a common sense solution

because that's the check your solution

to your problem should sound very easy

it should sound as simple as I got to go

figure out why all these people are

churning canceling their subscription I

need to go solve that or I need to make

better product I need to make a product

so good that people want to share it

that's my strategy make a product so

good that people want to share it my

strategy is I need to make 30 sales

calls a day if I want sales to grow I

just need to do more calls 30 a day I'm

going to take a giant sticky note I'm

going to write 30 and every day I'm

gonna cross that 30 out and then

tomorrow I'm gonna wake up and the first

thing I do is I write the big number 30

Again by the way this is something I

actually did uh for my companies write a

giant number on the wall and that number

is the one thing I need to do today if I

do that one thing alone I have made

today successful so you need a common

sense strategy that you can execute so

like a no-brainer fifth grader strategy

that you can execute at a level 12

and that's the last question the last

thing you need to do is ask yourself

what was what would level 12 intensity

look like at this thing that I'm doing

just as a thought experiment you don't

even have to do it but just ask yourself

that question right if I dialed the

intensity knob all the way to 12 what

would that look like what would I

actually do I'll give you a very simple

example A lot of people probably you out

there listening to this have had a goal

at some point in time of getting in

better shape right you want to lose

weight you want to go run a marathon at

a certain time whatever you want to get

into your the best shape of your life

and we've taken what we think is a level

10 intensity to this right I did I did

the best I could do right I uh I hired a

coach or I you I I I wrote down my goals

and I I tried it just didn't work out

well Jesse Isler a guy's been a guest on

this podcast he had the same goal as you

he wanted to get in the best shape of

his life he wanted to get in the best

running shape of his life so what did he

do he hired a Navy SEAL to come live in

his house and whoop his ass every day he

said I will do everything you tell me to

do whatever time you tell me to wake up

I wake up what however many miles you

tell me to run I'll run he would train

two to three times a day for 30 days

straight he ate exactly what this guy

said he drank exactly what this guy said

he did pull-ups when this guy said do

pull-ups he ran when this guy said run

it was raining it was hailing outside it

was freezing cold he get out there and

he would run that Navy SEAL by the way

was David gogins this is before David

gogins was even popular he hired David

gogins to come live in his house for 30

days he would come into the bedroom

where him and his wife were sleeping and

wake him up and say wake up [ __ ] we're

running now that was level 12 intensity

and the sad part is we don't even know

what level 12 looks like until we've

heard something like this so if I did

one thing for you today I hope I just

inspired you to go figure out what level

12 intensity even looks like maybe from

the examples I gave you today maybe from

some people in your life find a way to

see it and find a way to ask yourself

what does level 12 look like if I

ratcheted up the intensity of the thing

I'm already doing that's it

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