The 10 Best Life Lessons From Ben Casanocha

thesuccessmanual on 15/05/10 city: New-York tags: remarkable quotes book summary  Comment: 0

Ben Casanocha started a software company called Comcate Inc. at age14, wrote a book himself titled "My Start-up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley " at age 19 and now at 21, this business prodigy is just starting out in the Silicon valley. Did I forget to mention that Ben is a popular blogger too? [From the 100 Ways To Be Being Remarkable Series, a special project that brings you business and self-development advice from The Success Manual. ] Here is quick guide to Ben's best thoughts,sourced from his book as well as his many interviews. 1. The idea of my book: Be the CEO of your own life. Adopt the entrepreneurial world view in all that you do - not just starting a business. It means thinking different, challenging the status quo, striving for impact, and generally maintaining a commitment to carve your own life path and not outsource that vital task to anyone else like a parent or professor. 2. Three things I planned to do in myr first year of college. 1. Reach out to 5-6 professors who won't be teaching me but who sound interesting anyways. Take them to lunch. 2. Engage in the ecosystem AROUND the college. For me, this is Los Angeles and all that it offers. 3. Talk to the Registrar and Dean about flexibility in my schedule so I can pursue various extracurricular activities. 3. Be careful with your "Brand Me". If it's not authentic and genuine, then "Brand Me" is stupid. You should live and be who you want to be, and then make sure that's how the world actually perceives you (branding). 4. (On Entrepreneurship) Learn by doing, learn by failing. Leave the office and go immerse yourself in the life of the customer. Your network is probably larger than you think. Somewhere in this network is probably a good co-founder for your business, too. Companies with 2 or 3 co-founders do much better than solo warriors. 5. The most important issues or challenges facing my generation today. To what extent will we accept the world for what it is versus what it can or should be. We should always try to improve our lives and the lives of others - we should strive to make the world a better place. 6. On Failure About 50% of what I do fails, so I have to do a lot of things to keep my hit rate up. 7. On Happpiness. I think you’d be happier if you stopped thinking of what the world had to offer you, and started thinking a bit more about what you had to offer the world. Real excitement isn’t just in whatever you happen to be doing, but in what you bring to it. 8. On Successful Businesspersons as Inspirations. People don't derive inspiration just from the most successful or most wealthy people. If this were the case, why wouldn't everyone just read Bill Gates's book and feel inspired? 9. On Sucessful Businesspersons as Writers. Just because you're a massively successful businessperson doesn't mean you can write a good business book. To be at once entertaining and insightful, outwardly ambitious and humble: it's hard. 10. My philosophy in seven words or less. Expose yourself to bulk, positive randomness. Be open to random opportunities. Who knows? Expose yourself to as much randomness as possible. Attend conferences no one else [in your field] is attending. Read books no one else is reading. Talk to people no one else is talking to. Read The Successmanual Online  | Get Our RSS Feed  | Follow us on Twitter Get The Success Manual - Encyclopedia of advice to 130 most important skills. Permalink

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