Being a child of immigrants breeds a challenging upbringing. Add on being the first in your family to go to college or start a career in the corporate space is another layer. There are these invisible barriers that we don't even know that we have until we go about the world. Reading about Robert's experience in going after what he wanted and having created his own community in which he belonged really resonated with me, hence this article.
Over the past few weeks I've been traveling, so I've spent a lot of time in transportation which has given me time to read and tune in. Last night I finished reading Robert Reffkin's book, No One Succeeds Alone. It's been a huge eye opener in pursuing my next steps wherever that may lead and I wanted to share some of what I've learned to keep up the momentum and put these principles into practice. Join along (:
In his book, he goes over the 8 Principles of Entrepreneurship along with a break down in how he's implemented them in his own life and ways for us to take action as well.
Here's the list:
Dream Big
Move Fast
Learn From Reality
Be Solutions-Driven
Obsess About Opportunity
Collaborate Without Ego
Maximize Your Strengths
Bounce Back
I can't tell you how many times I've cried while reading this. It's like someone had seen all my struggles, dreams and hopes and served them to me in a book with a map. A lot of what I've learned in this life came with lessons I never asked for. For a long time I thought about how much "easier" my life would be if I didn't experience my hardships without really seeing how these things have shaped me who I am now.
Robert dives deep in his own hardships, from being raised by a single-mother, abandoned by his grandparents and the prominent presence of racial inequalities.
As mentioned in the title, you don't succeed alone. It's the smallest opportunities from who you meet at a conference to your 2nd grade teacher that believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself. This brought me back to reflect on the people in my life that nudged me in the right direction, no matter how small. My high school teacher that taught me how to properly shake someone's hand, to my counselor who paid for my orientation fee to attend college to my manager that provided me with my first internship at Snap.
Each of these moments brought me closer to becoming the best version of myself. I might not have had parents that could show me the ropes of college life, family connections or even a network when I started, but that doesn't mean I can't start one myself or pass on what I've learned to help the next generation of leaders.
Of course he covers much more in the book, but these are the main things I wanted to discuss in this article.
Here are some more quotes that I took away as well:
"It's not that challenges in life are noble or beneficial, it's that they're universal and irreversible.”
"...you must first get to know yourself well enough to identify your strengths and accept your weaknesses."
"Doing what's right when it's hard- that is how you live your values."
"The truth is, if you try and fail, you should be seen only as someone who tries- and there's no higher honor than that."
Robert, if you're reading this - THANK YOU.
Let's grow!