Vino and Dami asked me a couple of weeks ago to write this guest post for The Connected Network. I was flattered. I was also a bit hesitant; for some odd reason, these guys think I’m a good writer. I’m really not. For one thing, none of the ideas I share are original. I’m not sure if they know that, or if you know that, but that’s the case with a lot of writers and speakers: none of the ideas are original. We’re innovators, not inventors – we take ideas and apply them to new ones.

In fact, as a writer, I find that the majority of my work is studying the people that have done what we wanted to do. This is what I call exploring.

I wanted to write about exploring. So, this is it:

I have spent the past 8 months or so exploring. I’ve done my best to figure out the lay of the land regarding success.

How? I discovered that I’m not absolutely shitty at writing, and that I’m actually sufficient enough to write for larger publications and blogs. This was an opportunity that presented itself; I always knew it was a possibility, but I never really thought of leveraging it for myself until I was given the chance to do it.

Using that as a vehicle, I’ve been able to connect with people I never would have thought of as accessible even just eight months ago. I’ve been able to ask them for advice (under the guise of an interview). Even better – I’ve been able to help out some of my heroes. Surprisingly enough, some of the people I interviewed actually liked my work (wtf?).

I want to tell you this right now:

You already have the gifts and resources that you need to reach your heroes and the people you want to learn from. (Notice how this is not a question. This is a fact.) It can be writing, and interviewing people like that.

Or, it could be offering free work. Whether you’re a graphic designer, an economist, or a biology major, you have the intelligence and learning capacity that people you admire would love to have on their side.

In return, you can ask them for advice. I remember during my two-week span at a startup, I was too nervous to ask the co-founders explicitly for time to chat. As an interviewer, I knew that I was offering value – but as a marketing intern, I figured I’d already taken so much of their wisdom and their intelligence

On the night of my second last day, I’d realized that this was one of my shortcomings. I’d need to figure out how to ask this intrusive question, unintrusively. I didn’t exactly figure the unintrusive part out, but both founders were happy to chat with me when I asked them if they had five minutes. (Simple, right? Yes, the chat went on longer than five minutes.)

Anyway, I found some other interesting things along the way of my exploring that I wanted to share with you.

Things I Discovered:

There is never a silver bullet. Ever.

Silver bullets are pipedreams. They don’t exist. They’re just like that one-thing fallacy in psychology (“If I had this one thing, I would be happy”). Silver bullets are either fake (gimmicks), or they are one step along the way. They are by no means a cure-all.

Jay-Z didn’t rely on a silver bullet. Ryan Leslie did not rely on a silver bullet. Kanye West did not rely on a silver bullet. Instead, they built their repertoire of skills and talents up, one record at a time.

Haruki Murakami didn’t rely on a silver bullet. Tyler Brûlé did not rely on a silver bullet. Zack O’Malley Greenburg did not rely on a silver bullet. (These guys are writers.) They are rigorous writers, editors, and entrepreneurs. They put in hard work every day of their lives.

Ask Vino and Dami. These guys are amongst the hardest workers I know. Sure, they both got a good head start in the earlier days in grade school, when there was less competition for extracurricular activities – but it’s still no straight road for either of them today. Instead, they work hard to figure out how to stand out when they apply for jobs. They work hard to figure out how to make their product better. (What up, Knok.me?)

Whenever you think to yourself, “If only I had x, then I’d be successful,” I ask you to reconsider.

Never forget where you came from.

That’s not to be taken entirely literally. Sure, it’s important to remember your hometown, your roots, and your old friends and family.

But, it’s equally important to remember what all that stands for. All those are essential, crucial pieces of you. So what I mean is never forget who you truly are – your values, your passions and hobbies, your pastimes, the people who stood up for you when you needed it – and never let the chaos of mob mentality dilute it.

To do this, I plan to invest a lot more time into deeper relationships with my friends and family, who have been a part of me since the simpler, and much happier, times.

There is no secret to being happy. But it’s easier learning to dance in the rain than figuring out a way to avoid it.

My friend Greg posted that quote on Facebook one time, and it hit the nail on the head with a hammer.

Success should be relatively simple. Move fast.

Discover what the path was, or the common elements were, for those people who you think have succeeded. Then execute on it ruthlessly. Set milestones and goals for yourself along the way. For example, if you wanted to be a millionaire by 30, how much revenue do you need to generate as an individual? How are you going to do it? What’s in the pipeline for this week? This month? This year?

This is what people mean by “moving fast”. I learned to see everything as a race: how can I get from point A to point B faster than everyone else? I could run. Or I could spend time looking for a car (if a metaphoric equivalent of that existed in the realm of my exploration. Think YC for entrepreneurs, BCG for consultants, or an internship opportunity to follow someone who excels in your field).

If I ever seem impatient, I apologize. The race metaphor sometimes gets the best of me, and that’s why I place an extreme value on my time. However, I do recognize that I’m often times hasty and should be recognizing that every moment should be enjoyed to the fullest.

Metrics are extremely important.

If your goal is to start the world’s best magazine, what metrics are you going to use to measure? What’s “the best”? I can start one tomorrow and call it the best – how many readers are you going to have to win over in order to be the best? What awards would you have to win to be the best? Who would have had to interview to be the best?

Try to find metrics that are more relevant and valid in a real-world scenario. Then reward yourself accordingly: condition your mind to associate reaching your goals with rewards.

A friend of mine once told me that everything has a process, and anything with a process can be measured in quantitative or qualitative terms. So, in essence, you can be measuring everything! Once you start doing that, then you’ll also be able to figure out where you’re getting stuck, and why.

Once you figure that out, then you can work around it and get unstuck.

You’ll figure out your mistakes faster.

Failure is Unacceptable.

If you set a performance goal (like I’m going to write three posts today) and you fail to reach it, that’s not acceptable. Don’t even let yourself sleep knowing that you’ve fallen short of it. Make sure your goals are just beyond your comfort zone, so that you’re training to move faster. However, it’s equally as important to make sure you’re meeting those goals, otherwise you’re not going to be moving as fast as you need to.

This post was almost relieving to write, because I wanted to create something tangible for myself to refer to down the line. Who knows? It’s very likely that a year from now, I’ll look back and laugh at how naïve this article was. Or, perhaps it’ll reflect some advice that I totally forgot about.

Anyway, I hope it helps. Work hard, move fast, and stay sharp.

Sincerely yours,

Herbert Lui
Follow Herbert on Twitter @herbertlui

Get a free copy of Herbert’s book: Your Resume is Dead

For 4 months of the year the pressures of school are gone, and you have the freedom to do practically anything you desire.

This is summer, a time to learn new skills, meet new people and grow as a person. Every summer I try to challenge myself by doing things that help me figure out what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy.

I think this is a great way to set myself up for an exciting future.

Here are three things that I learned this summer

1.) I don’t want to work for someone

I don’t want my life to be limited by a schedule. I want to be able to do things without being held back by work commitments. This summer I worked the same two jobs as my last summer. I really enjoyed both places during the previous summer but during this time around I didn’t enjoy it as much.

Its not to say that the jobs weren’t great, they’re both amazing. But I realized that I wasn’t growing much while working.

It’s great that I realized this at such a young age. Many people realize these things when they’re much older. And some people don’t have a choice in where they work, so I feel very fortunate.

Only time will tell if I can stay true to not working for someone in the near future.

2.) I love travelling and exploring

This summer I had a chance to travel quite a bit with friends and family. Travelling and moving around has always been in my blood, as I’ve lived in 4 different countries in a span of just 12 years.

Seeing new cultures and being put in foreign environments, are two things that really spark my interest.

Spelunking with my friends and re visiting the Bahamas (I used to live there) were two of my favourite travel related things that I did this summer.

Walking to the cave

Reminiscing in the Bahamas

3.) I like to surround myself with smart and interesting people

One thing I realized this summer is that all of my close friends have very similar characteristics. They all think differently when compared to most people, they’re very ambitious and they all have different talents and skills.

Its great to surround yourself with like minded people that will challenge and grow you. And I think that’s exactly what I did this summer and what I will continuously do.

TBIP

Now ask yourself, did you learn anything about yourself or do anything to challenge yourself this summer?

If the answer is no, then you should start to think about a time not too far from now, next summer.

Until next time,

Dami 

It may be hard sometimes to find out how to “kill it” in your field of work. If you are like me, you want to find others you can look up to in your field of interest so that you can learn from them.

But, I find that in this current day and age we are shown people who are killing it every day in various industries, especially one that is close to all of us: The Music Industry.

“Ben Horowitz, a prominent venture capital investor, says rap holds a trove of lessons for tech entrepreneurs. Throw business classes and books out the window, Mr. Horowitz says, and listen to rap lyrics instead.” (NY Times)

When I think of  rappers that are just “killing it” in their field, the first two artists that come to my mind are Jay-Z and Drake. Though these two grew up in completely different lifestyles, there is one commonality that binds them together: hustle.

Jay-Z

Jay-Z is arguably one of the best rappers of all time, but all of his fame and glory didn’t come easy. He grew up in the drug infested Brooklyn projects, but he used rap as a tool to escape from drug dealing. Although the process to becoming the most iconic rapper in the world wasn’t a simple one. Jay-Z was turned down by every label in the industry. But instead of giving up, he started his own record label.

Most people would take no for an answer. Jay-Z didn’t.

Most people would have given up and been ‘realistic’. Jay-Z didn’t.

Jay-Z once said in the song ‘Can I Live’, “I’d rather die enormous than live dormant”. The message is that in order to be happy and to be fulfilled, you need something to aim for: a vision. 

The fact is there is nothing fulfilling about ‘living dormant’, which essentially means being safe in a comfort zone. Most people would rather go to school for a degree that they have no interest or passion for because they assume its less risky and guaranteed with a decent paying job. They want comfort and they want a life that seems safe, but at the end of the day they’re going to recognize that it was a bore. Mediocre.

Your vision must be interesting though. It has to excite you, having a mediocre vision won’t do you any justice. You won’t be inspired to take action every day with a mediocre vision. You’ll feel the need for comfort.

You need a purpose, a ‘why’, a reason to keep moving forward when it seems like it’s too hard. Your ‘why’, your purpose, needs to be bigger than yourself. The bigger the purpose the better.

On his song ‘History’, Jay-Z gives us an idea of his ‘why’, the purpose he sees for himself in the world, a genuine desire to leave a legacy:

Ain’t in it for the fame that dies in weeks

Ain’t in it for the money, can’t take it when you leave

I wanna be remembered long after you grieve

Long after I breathe

I leave all I am in the hands of history”

Jay-Z’s already been through his struggle. He’s survived every trend, every diss and every era in rap. Let’s have a look at someone who is going through the process today.

Drake

Drake is by far one of the youngest and most successful rappers in the game. As a Jewish, half-white, Canadian, Drake didn’t fit the stereotype of a typical rapper. The chances of his success in the rap game were next to none. But after being mainstream for just two years Drake hustled his way to being the best.

Drake’s rise to fame was far from conventional, he had a lot of uncertainty and bumpy roads.

He starred in Degrassi, a Canadian television series, as Jimmy for 7 years and 138 episodes. Around the same time he was transitioning into the world of hip hop, he wanted to become a rapper. But in 2008, he was cut from Degrassi, after the cast was overhauled. At that point he had no source of steady income and wasn’t making anything significant from rap, yet.

“I was coming to terms with the fact that … I might have to work at a restaurant or something just to keep things going.”

Without a steady source of income Drake could have just given up on pursuing his dreams, but he stuck through with it.

The very young 25-year old that brought us smash hits as Forever and Over can teach us all a lot about hustling. Here are three things:

1. Jump into it!

First thing’s first.

Drake released three free mixtapes before he had the chance to release a mainstream album. His first two mixtapes weren’t huge mainstream successes. His first mixtape, Room for Improvement, only sold a modest 6000 copies.

But after three tries, Drake struck gold. His third mixtape, So Far Gone was Drake’s ticket to success.

His debut album, Thank Me Later, ended up selling 462,000 copies in its first week and his sophomore album, Take Care, sold 600,000 in its first week.

Most people would have given up if they only sold 6000 in their first try. You’ll never get it right first.

2. Do it while you’re young

Realize that you’ll never ever be as young as you are right now. As you get older trying new things will get boring and risks will be, well, riskier.

“Get it while you here boy, cause all that hype don’t feel the same next year, boy,” is what Drake said in the song I’m on One. 

Age is your advantage, use it to gain knowledge and move ahead of your  aging competition.

“Yeah, 15, 16, I mean, 17, 18, is when I was really getting into that hip hop phase, you know, and really studying the things that I needed to study as far as learning about flows and learning about lyrics.”

3. Surround yourself with the best

Drake signed with arguably the hottest and most popular record label in the industry, Young Money. Smart move on his part, but he took his time and weighed his options before signing.

He’s also worked with the best of the best. Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West, Timberland, and Jamie Foxx just to name a few.

Kanye produced, Find your Love and Show me a Good Time on Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later. Jay-Z was also featured on the song Light Up with Drake.

How many artists can get the best of the best to work with them, yet alone make an appearance on their debut album?

Drake is a true hustler, and he’s only getting started.

Some of my favourite Jay-Z and Drake  quotes/lyrics: 

“You can want success all you want, but to get it, you can’t falter. You can’t slip. You can’t sleep. One eye open, for real, and forever.” – Jay-Z

“I believe that intentions are a form of reality” – Jay-Z

“Saw it all before and some of y’all thought I was crazy” – Jay-Z

“Everybody can tell you how to do it, they never did it.” -Jay-Z

“They always tell me nobody’s workin’ as hard as you
And even though I laugh it off, man its prolly true
Cause while all of my closest friends out partyin’
I’m just here makin’ all the music that they party to…”  - Drake

“I’ve seen a lot man. I’ve seen a lot of life, put it that way. I’ve been with the most blessed kids in the world. I’ve been with people whose life is right at the bottom of the barrel. I was on a TV show, I went to art school, I went to hood schools. I’ve lived. I’ve lived a full 24 years man.” – Drake

“I’m not looking at you dudes, I’m looking past you” - Jay-Z

“I’m Aubrey Drake Graham and I make a living off truly being myself. Thats it.” – Drake

Until next time,

Dami

P.S. keep hustling.

At the end of this month I will be ending work at Kiip. I have been working with the Business Development team for almost 6 months and wrote this letter to share with the team.

Dear Kiip Squad,

Looking back to February, one of the things I treasure was the opportunity I was given after having one of the fastest lunches with Brian (this guy can eat). Joining the Kiip team turned out to be one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on why Kiip has stood out over any other job I have taken and it boiled down to two simple reasons:

1. Surround myself with the best

In high school, most students dream of going to Harvard or Princeton in order to have the opportunity to work with the world’s finest. I found that Kiip similarly attracts nothing but the best of the best to work in a disruptive space. Kiip became my premier learning institution.

I would be shocked to learn about the people that I would end up in a room with. Anywhere from young tech gurus to a designer who has worked with One Direction.

From Waffle Wednesdays to Nerf Gun Wars I found that this company culture was nothing short of “Awesome Sauce”. Being able to have a comfortable environment where you could call your co-workers your friends was what really sold me.

2. Kiip became a rocket ship for my life

Kiip has been a crazy ride since I first jumped aboard the rollercoaster ride. We’ve grown to have a network of 400+ apps, Series B funding of $11 Million and a constantly growing international team. Taking a step back, it is great to see the work I did actually contributed to moving this company forward.

It was Joel Gascoigne (founder of Buffer) that said, “By choosing to take hold of the rocket ship and cling on for the ride, everyone in the team gives themselves a chance to grow personally much faster than they could by any other means.” I am glad to say that Kiip became my rocket ship where I could learn and grow. 

Originally, I was worried I wasn’t going to find a challenging enough environment, but after the past 6 months I have learned that Kiip literally rocked my socks!

Thanks Kiip Team for all the time and energy you invested in me. I am honoured to say I got to be apart of such an awesome family.

Keep hustling hard and stay awesome!

Anytime you are in Toronto hollar at your homie

Sincerely,

Vino

P.S. Kiip is also hiring 

by Vino Jeyapalan

It is sometimes hard to fathom how the likes of Donald Trump and Rihanna ended up where they are now. The lure to these icons is created because of their ability to take their interests and master it. Whether it is building a net worth of $2.9 billion or receiving over 196 awards,  success is something everyone strives towards in their respective interests.

However, somewhere down the line, this all changes. We become complacent. We tell ourselves that maybe we can’t reach that high and, instead, we settle.

Although I have been on a path of entrepreneurship, I can’t deny the seductive lure of comfort and stability does pop up in my mind. I think this may come with age or influence from society, but regardless this will always be something everyone thinks about.

So, I decided to find a way to fight it. I had to identify what makes us initially go after these wild dreams and figure out a way to manufacture that.

I call it the impossible test. Everyone needs to prove to themselves that anything is possible. The best way to do it is by doing something you thought was impossible to do. This then becomes the solution to revitalize your dreams because now they are closer to a reality.

Instead of just talking about this example I decided to do a real life example. I have always admired the musicians, particularly producer and new media entrepreneur Ryan Leslie. This guy is one of my role models and has inspired me to hustle and work hard at everything. He built a media company, made millions as a producer, and is releasing his third album. I decided I wanted to meet him.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but all I did was try. I reached out and at first it was a shock to see his response and interest. All I did was advocate my interest in learning from his experiences, and even though I am not in the music industry, it was the parallel I created between the two of us.

Surprisingly enough we had a lot of commonalities, such as the difficult time we had in school to the struggle with parents. Being able to connect with someone with similar aspirations was what made me believe.

If I could meet the likes of Ryan Leslie to Shervin Pishevar, then what else can I do? It gives me this boost and belief that the impossible is possible.

As children we are told we can do anything and that’s where the hunger begins. Imagination makes us believe in the impossible; for some reason, as we grow older, it seems that the concept dwindles away, but it doesn’t have to. It’s completely up to you on whether or not you want to fight for your dreams to become a reality.

Meet the people who have done the impossible

By Dami:

Vino and I decided that the best way to make the most out of our summer is to create a bucket list of some short term goals that challenge and help us both grow as individuals.

We’ll be posting the progress that both of us have made every week!

Here is Vino’s Bucket List:  

Here is my (Dami’s) Bucket List:  

Here are some videos that really inspire me each and every time I watch them. Whether you’re in school, working on a startup or not sure what to do in life, these videos will help!

Jack Dorsey – The Power of Curiosity and Inspiration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7j0VEwWmkE

Steve Jobs – Passion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRoHtUjIkmY

Steve Jobs – Marketing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2cDQw-Cmd4

Steve Jobs – Team work & Collaboration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jZi2waofq8

Steve Jobs – Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw

Steve Jobs – Failure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI

Josh Linkner – Creativity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_pGl3glBC4

Larry Smith – Why you will fail to have a great career
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHTawgyKWQ

Guy Kawasaki – Art of Start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54kpwPXCyxo

Kevin Systrom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nld8B9l1aRE

Reid Hoffman
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12220

Tim Ferris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccFYnEGWoOc

David Lieb – Just Start Building
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7chiMU31sVw

Malcolm Gladwell – Meaningful Work through Passion, not Genius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIYUMwxKFzo

Sean Parker – Advice From Steve Jobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzBfpkCkZGw

Richard Branson – Advice for Entrepreneurs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH35Iz9veM0

- Dami

From building YENYR, working in Loose Button, and leading Impact I had a concrete idea that entrepreneurship was my field. The only dilemma was finding something I was passionate and curious enough about to focus my career towards.

In February, I made the choice to travel down to San Francisco (aka Silicon Valley) to take a vacation from my daily routine and understand what direction I wanted to take my life.

I guess from studying in Biology and being in one place for a long time got my mind clouded about stuff that wasn’t important. Getting caught up in the daily routine of class, assignments and parties put me in a rut. I wasn’t being challenged and instead I was being tested to see how long I could tolerate this type of lifestyle (before my liver or mind gave out).

That is when I decided to leave for a week to Silicon Valley to put myself in a new environment and learn from those who do what I want to do. In summary, it was an unreal trip! Meeting with VCs to young entrepreneurs, such as Sahil Lavingia - the founder of Gumroad and previously worked on the founding team of Pinterest. Even being able to talk to Canadian entrepreneurs that have moved down South, such as Saif Altimimi founder of Notewagon - really helped me open my eyes.

The biggest realization: You only have one life to do what you are passionate about.

Seeing the potential being reached by those in Silicon Valley showed me that they aren’t afraid. Everyone there is constantly reminding themselves that they have to fight for what they want to do.

I had the great opportunity of finding a place in the Business Development team at Kiip during my trip. It wasn’t because I was searching for a job. It was because I was looking for a place to be challenged and fight for something I believe in. They were the perfect fit.

This trip really helped open my eyes and clear my mind. It helped me get back in the driver seat in directing my life.

The message from this post should be very clear:

Don’t let life’s routine dictate your direction

Start taking risks and stop being so afraid. Don’t let the past or anything else dictate what you do with your life.

From risks and failure you will learn.

Whether it be school, friends, relationships or work I have failed. I acknowledged it and moved on. I understand that parents, religion, culture or society may be your excuse, but you can only tolerate living someone else’s life for so long.

What are you waiting for? Get out of your daily rut and find out your life’s calling.

Yours Truly,

Vino

By: Vino

I think this article written by the founder of Upverter is a really great overview of the emotional “roller-coaster ride” that entrepreneurs go through.

Take some time to check it out:

The ability to simplify and to focus on in on things are two skills many have yet to master. Over the past four months I cut down on many of the things I was involved with and focused in on a few. I have become much more productive and I have little to no stress. Focus tends to create those types of results.

When you focus in on the things you truly care about, then that’s when great work will be done. But with so much opportunity in the world, and so many paths to take, focus is easier said than done.

Here are some things I do to help me with focus:

1. Connect with your passion.

If you’re not enjoying something, you’re not going to give it your full attention. Cut out the things you don’t care about and find things that interest you. Once you find something that sparks your passion then you’ll most likely spend most of your time on it.

2. Never use to-do lists.

If you need to create a document or a list of tasks that you need to complete, then you have too much on your plate. You should be able to remember mosts things you need to do in head. This works for me because I only focus on a few things, my startup, school and work.

2. Say NO!

“Focusing is about saying no.” Simple as that. Watch the video below for a detailed explanation from Mr. Jobs:

Okay, now we’re done talking about focus. Let’s talk about something very similar, simplicity. Being able to simplify things is a skill I wish everyone had, it would make the world a lot better..

Simplicity is being to take something so complex, such as an algorithm and explaining to an average person with clarity. Many of the things we interact with on a daily basis are quite complex in many ways but simple to us.

Whether you’re a student, a working professional or working on a startup, simplifying the things around you and the things you create will benefit you in many ways.

Knok.Me is a startup I’ve been working on for a year now with two other co-founders. We’re a social address book who’s mission is to simplify the way people connect with one another. There are a ton of features that we’ve thought of and that many of friends have told us to add. Sure features are cool, because its easier to add features and to make our startup complex than it is to simplify and focus on our mission.

I’ll leave it at that.

These two videos are great. The first is Jack Dorsey on Charlie Rose. He says, “It’s Really Complex To Make Something Simple.”

The second is Kevin, the co-founder of Instagram and he talks about cutting down on features from 44:00 – 46:30.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

- Dami