running down a dream

by bill gurley [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYekD6-PZ8]

find your passion

• pick a craft about which you have deep personal interest

• this should be your personal passion

hone your craft

• be obsessively curious about your field; consider your obligation to learn everything you can about it

• study the history of the field as well as the field's pioneers

• it isn't always easy to be the smartest or the brightest, but it's very doable to be the most knowledgable

• you might need to go to the place where the craft is most practiced

develop mentors in your field

• take every chance you can to meet people that are known for success in the field you have chosen

• try to have these mentors interested in your development and success

• this is not just at the beginning of your career, but all the way through the end of your career

embrace peer relationships in your field

• develop deep relationships with peers that are on the same journey

• always share best practices, don't worry about proprietary advantage

• celebrate their accomplishments a if they were your own

• peers don't need to be in the exact same field

always be gracious and humble

• always give the majority of the credit to the mentors and peers that helped you along the way

• send letters, send gifts, send tweets; show appreciation

• eventually become the mentor for others that are coming up the ladder