Open Borders by Bryan Caplan is another great book I read this year. Game changer for me.

Why?

I got a huge confidence boost after reading the book. I had to chance to learn & remind myself why immigrants are so important to U.S/ other countries.

For an obvious reason, when you say immigrant in the bay area, you automatically think “tech founder from overseas who came to the bay to raise capital or scale the company.” But, that group of people is such a tiny number out of the entire immigrant community. I learned a ton of the history of US/world immigration & science and ethics of immigration.

Also, the book is a nonfiction comic book that did an excellent job of breaking down such a complex/complicated issue in a very digestible way.

That’s why I want to give this book a gift to my readers. Please send me an email, if you wish to read this book.

When do you think your time is over?

I am not talking about “the death”; that is the final time over.

Your time at work.

If the work is based on how much time you put in and get paid, your time is fixed there. Like working at a fast-food chain. No extra commission or bonus. You get paid hourly.

How about your work is timeless? It never ends. The job is paid by bonus+commission. Or your own project.

Such as: If you outreach one more person on Linkedin, that might bring you a huge deal or connection. So, it is hard to stop and say my time is over.

It is easy to blame others.

“Yes, I’m right, and they are wrong.“

“I keep telling them what they need to do, and they don’t get it!“

“This is it! No more doing work with them.”

“They don’t get me!“

“Why, man? Why?“

External validation is so dangerous. Of course, we want to be approved or appreciated by our closest parties. But, it’s other people’s task. And, they don’t do it!

So, what should we do?

Either talk and fix it! Or walk away.

Born in a developed country is a lottery ticket.

Having an encouraging family is a lottery ticket.

Growing up in an environment with lots of books and intellectual discussion is a lottery ticket.

I’m sure everyone had at least one or two lottery tickets minimum while growing. The important skill is knowing what’s something we gained on the way, what was the given!

Do you want to work with a superstar?

Who doesn’t want it! A superstar salesperson or engineer can change your organization dramatically.

But, how about a superstar? Do they want to be with you?

Maybe, they are busy. Or, you or your business is not qualified that superstar.

The best way to work with Superstars is to “create your own.”

How?

Invest in someone who has potential who can learn & grow with you. And, they turn to be your “SuperStar.”

I heard this at a podcast Derek Sivers was a guest. Since last week, I have been thinking, whatever scares me, aykut go do it.

I mostly do things that are not my expertise or have never been tried before. So the real growth actually comes from something unexplored.

Abraham Maslow said so well “Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.”

List your daily activities which one of them is under the safety bucket which one of them is under the risk/growth bucket.

Being new is a great situation to learn new things every day.

Or, it can be a nightmare. Because you left your comfort zone.

If you are new to your neighborhood, you can discover new things every day. This new experience makes you either exciting or home-sick.

If you are new to the English language, every book/movie/music/podcast is a great teacher to you. This new skill-building process makes you either motivated or tired.

New to “marriage, fatherhood, country, job, running, home cooking”. The list goes on and on…

It’s all about perspective. The key is to keep reminding yourself, “ Is this situation helps me to learn new things or just the same things over and over?

We don’t want to convince. We want to win!

We don’t want to learn from each other. We want to dictate our opinion!

We don’t want to move on. We want fight!

There is no need to explain who you are. You are what you did.

Action speaks itself.

Don’t tell me more about yourself. Show me what you delivered. It does not matter good or bad. We want to see “the effort”.

Yes, I remind myself from time to time. Why?

-Makes me motivated: The life I live in my childhood dream. Age of 13, I promised myself to start a company in Silicon Valley and have friends/customers/users worldwide. I’m not doing this for something or someone else.

It keeps me motivated and driven.

-Makes me proud: I think my 13 years old who sees me today can say, “Well done, Aykut!, You came from a pretty long way. What a ride!”

I finally have everything I need. I’m good. It’s enough.

But, I want to keep growing and try new things. The more I try, the more I learn. And my knowledge, source, and connections can be helpful to people around me physically & virtually. That makes me proud.