About 3 years ago I took an “Entrepreneurial Lecture Series” class at BYU. The class met once per week and had a different entrepreneurial speaker come each week and speak to us.
After 3 years I only remember a few of the speakers, and remember less of what they spoke about. However, there was one speaker I distinctly remember because he
1. Was a good speaker
2. Gave useful advice
I’ve never been able to remember who he was or exactly what his keys to success were, other than he said to get up early. Well, I just found my notebook from that semester and have been going through the notes I took from the speakers. Here are my notes from Jim Richie.
Jim Richie
Two formulas for success
- J. Paul Getty
- Get Up Early – Successful people get up early in the morning. They work while others are sleeping.
- Work Hard
- Find Oil – Real Estate, banking, internet – Anything can be oil.
- David B. Haight (his mission president, who gave this advice on his last day before going home)
- Get your education
- Make your mark – make a difference in the world
- Get prepared to be used / be of service
The more credibility you have, the more opportunity you’ll have. That’s why you get an education.
Putting all of those things together, Jim’s list was:
- Get up early – 6:30 am at the latest
- Work Hard
- Get your education – Respect/trust is easier to gain if you have a degree
- Find oil – Find something you can be the best at
- Make your mark
- Get prepared to be of service
The sixth one is the only one that matters. That’s why you do the previous five, so that you can serve others.
Make a lot of money and become financially independant so you can be of more service. You’re more useful to others if you don’t have to work.