Noah Kagan Quotes

YouTube is simply the best way I’ve ever seen to grow an audience — and an audience of quality — for free.

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth . . . not going all the way, and not starting. — Buddha

Don’t be afraid to act. Be afraid of living a life that seems more like a résumé than an adventure

What’s your unique angle in thirty seconds or less?” In other words, why would anyone care to read his newsletter? I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the first question you have to answer before you put yourself into the public sphere. Pressed into defining his unique angle, Ben paused. He rumpled his face up, laughed nervously, and shrugged. This is hard! Finally he spoke, slowly, and then with confidence. Listen to how Ben defined his angle, his sauce: “I’ve been a performance coach for the last fourteen years, working with the best athletes in the world. Helping people perform better is my groove. I want to help anybody who wants to have a great day and shift them into the mentality to dominate their life. I have information to share when it comes to dealing with the best.” That is beautiful! Both in its heartfelt honesty and authenticity, but also in its clarity. Let’s pick it apart and look at what he did in those four sentences: He defines who he is, Why you should trust him, What he is passionate about, and What unique thing this prepares him to do for you. It is clear, approachable, direct, and short. The first three sentences define what makes him special (fourteen years helping the best athletes in the world perform better!), and the fourth (how he’s solving his customers’ problems, teaching mindsets needed to dominate life) defines the kind of love and attention he’ll generously dispense to cultivate a community. Take a minute, and as Ben has done, write out a pitch in your journal describing your special sauce. CHALLENGE Write out your unique angle. There are no right answers here. You can change these any time you’d like. Who are you? Why should people listen? What are you passionate about? What will you do for people?

1. Find a problem people are having that you can solve. 2. Craft an irresistible solution whose million-dollar-plus potential is backed by simple market research. 3. Spend NO MONEY to quickly validate whether your idea is the real deal (or not) by preselling it before you build it.

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth . . . not going all the way, and not starting.

superpower, which taught me a lesson I want to pass on to you: focus above all else on being a starter, an experimenter, a learner.

"Go see if your weaknesses are hindering you at your job...Fix them or move to another position. Also, constantly ask yourself, "how can I make the company more valuable?" You do that and you will never get fired."

I became an expert at taking leaps. Being unafraid to start new things meant that, unlike most people, I was constantly conducting experiments in my personal and professional lives, in both big and small ways. New industries. New hobbies. New technologies. New roles. New people. New side hustles. That’s where I found my superpower, which taught me a lesson I want to pass on to you: focus above all else on being a starter, an experimenter, a learner.

Become a Problem Seeker The best entrepreneurs are the most dissatisfied. They’re always thinking of how things can be better. Your frustrations — and the frustrations of others — are your business opportunities. Great ideas come from being a problem seeker. Analyze frustrations in your day, including the things that bother you at home, waste your time on your commute to work, or online. Here’s a list of things that bother me: What to make for breakfast that’s quick, healthy, and full of caffeine How to find a reliable house cleaner Where to go to dinner with my partner How to find my next therapist What kind of investment to make with some extra cash I received And these are just the problems I’ve encountered today. I could go on and on . . . and that’s the point! The number of things that can be better are endless — which is a gold mine for newbie entrepreneurs. The crucial first step toward entrepreneurship is to study your own unhappiness and to think of solutions (aka business opportunities) for you to sell.

Most people: Overthink first, act later. Every successful entrepreneur: Act first, figure it out later.

The thing is, most people don’t ask for what they want. They wish for it, they make “suggestions” and drop hints, they hope. But the simple fact of business is that only by asking do you receive what you want. No ASK? No GET. That applies to every part of life. Seriously, every part.

To come up with your unique viewpoint, ask yourself a few questions: What is something everyone thinks is true — but you think is wrong? What is something nobody in your target market is talking about — but should be? What are the biggest mistakes people in your market are making — but are totally blind to? Ultimately, your audience wants to learn something from you that’s relevant, useful, and surprising. And they want to do that by going on a journey with you.

What percentage of your list opens every email because they feel like they know and trust you? A healthy email list has a 20 percent open rate. Target that.

How can you accessorize the product (for example, stickers for an iPhone) or sell a service to those people (teaching someone how to use an iPhone)? It’s easier to sell to a large group of people who’ve already spent money on a product or service. Some ideas could be: Customizing Nike shoes. Video game tutorial for an Xbox game. Teaching computer novices how to use a MacBook.