I sat down with the richest man in the world… here’s what I learned

5, Mar 2023

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I sat down with the richest man in the world… here’s what I learned.

The Hyperfocused Entrepreneur
March 5, 2023
Read time: 6.5 minutes

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Okay, full disclosure, I might’ve click-baited you with that title… but stick with me, ’cause I promise you’re gonna get a ton out of value out of this week’s letter.

First things first: No.. I didn’t sit down with Elon, Jeff, Bernard, Warren, or Bill.

I sat down with somebody a bit… older.

Somebody who transformed the world over a century ago.

Somebody who dominated the business landscape for DECADES with his ruthless tactics, unrivaled operational brilliance, and his ability to capitalize on moon-shot opportunities that others completely lacked the vision to see.

That somebody is none other than John D. Rockefeller.

Okay… so I’m going to assume for a moment that a lot of you aren’t familiar with this guy. Not surprising considering he died in 1937…

But here’s really all you need to know…

Rockefeller controlled 90% of ALL oil in the United States at his peak. His company (Standard Oil) is largely responsible for the anti-trust/monopoly laws that now govern American businesses.

Oh, yeah…here’s something else you should know about Rockefeller.

He’s considered one of the four main Robber Barons who rose to infamy in the late 19th century thanks to their ruthless and unscrupulous business practices.

Now, for the record, this isn’t a guy we should necessarily seek to emulate. However, while reading his biography a couple weeks ago (Titan), I found myself scribbling down a TON of notes and lessons learned.

I had many an Aha! Eureka! moment while reading this book and I think you might find some of these lessons really helpful (regardless of where you are on your entrepreneurial journey).

So, without further adieu, here are 6 of the most impactful lessons I learned sitting down with the (formerly) richest man in the world.

Bias Towards Action

“A man of words and not deeds is like a garden full of weeds.”

I hate it when people say things like:

“Here’s the millionaire morning routine…”

Or…

“Here’s the way to build a seven figure business…”

Truthfully, I probably slip up and say similar things on occasion, but I try to be aware of the fact that everybody is different and there are countless ways to build a successful business.

Some entrepreneurs wake up at 5am… some wake up at 10am.

Some are expert delegators… some are solopreneurs who do everything themselves.

Moral of the story: There is no one single characteristic that all successful business people share.

Now… with that said, I have noticed a striking similarity in MANY of the successful entrepreneurs I’ve met when it comes to one thing in particular:

Most of the successful entrepreneurs I know have a bias towards action.

Rockefeller was no different.

His biographer noted that:

“He’d get a thing done while his neighbors were beginning to talk about it.”

The lesson here: Talk Less, Do More.

Think Slow, Act Fast

My girlfriend Jamie runs a fitness gym here in the Twin Cities and the she’s always on the lookout for in a new hire is:

A Self-Starter

That is, somebody who takes initiative.

With that said, she came home once and shared a story of a new hire who had, in her words, “self-started too hard”.

Simply put… they jumped in and took action too quickly without really thinking things through.

One of the characteristics I found really interesting about Rockefeller was how slow, and ponderous he was in making a decision…

He NEVER rushed into making a decision.

BUT, once he DID make a decision, there was no hemming and hawing or second guessing…

He moved forward with 100% certainty and resolve.

The lesson here: Think Slow… and Then Act Fast.

Pardon the interruption…

But I’ve got something here you’re absolutely gonna want to check out.

The reason I think you’re gonna want to check this out is because you’re hear, reading this article which tells me you aren’t like most people.

See, most people are out there struggling with feelings of overwhelm, burnout, and constant procrastination.

They think that if they just had MORE time to get everything done, they’d get everything figured out and quickly be living the life of their dreams.

But you and I both know that the problem isn’t a lack of TIME…

It’s a lack of FOCUS.

I mean, you’ve heard the lie that time is your most valuable asset, right?

Well, people like us know it’s not.

We both know that our most valuable asset is actually our FOCUSED ATTENTION.

It took me almost 30 years to figure this out… and another 5 to figure out how to turn my ADHD into a super-power.

But once I did, everything in my life changed for the better.

So, I spent the last year laying out the step-by-step systems which enabled me write so many bestselling books, build multiple successful businesses, and acquire over $70M of real estate.

It’s called The Hyperfocus Masterclass.

Over the past two months we’ve had over 1,200 students go through the program and the feedback has been incredible.

Want to learn how to do less, but better, so you can get more done in a month than most people do in a year…

Then click here to join The Hyperfocus Masterclass.

Wealthy is an Obligation

Many people think amassing massive amounts of wealth is immoral.

We hear it in phrases like: “Money is the root of all evil”.

P.S. Yes, yes, I know this isn’t the original Bible quote. Please don’t feel the need to point this out.

Rockefeller, despite being INCREDIBLY religious, didn’t agree.

He thought it was his moral obligation to amass as much money as possible because only HE had the frugality and soundness of judgment to determine where that money would best be allocated.

In fact, he went so far as to say that his wealth was divinely ordained (why else would God make him so absurdly wealthy?).

Okay, putting aside the hubris for a moment, the truth is, Rockefeller was one of the most philanthropic billionaires of his generation.

He took his charitable giving very seriously (so seriously, in fact, that it led to a complete physical breakdown).

I believe you can’t help the world until you can first help yourself.

Many of the most caring and giving people I know (nurses, teachers, social workers, etc…) wil give and give and give of themselves until there is nothing left of them and they’re completely burned out.

This lack of self-care eventually catches up to them and suddenly THEY become the ones in desperate need of help.

You cannot fill the world’s cup if yours is empty.

This is why I believe everybody should first focus on filling their own cup, and then when your cup is overflowing and abundant, you can start worrying about how to fill other people’s cups.

Rockefeller embodied this to the extreme, but here’s the lesson: Your moral obligation to the world is to first take care of yourself so that you do not become a burden on society, and then from your abundance, to give, give, give.

Ignore Negativity

If you’re pursuing your greatness or trying to build something remarkable, here’s the harsh truth:

You’re going to attract a TON of negativity.

Doesn’t matter how noble your goal or pure your intentions, there will never be a shortage of trolls waiting to jump out of the shadows to try and tear you down.

Most of the time, it’s not even the trolls you have to worry about… it’s well intentioned friends, family, and colleagues.

People that want the best for you…but only up to a certain point.

“I want you to do well… but not better than me.” – some famous comedian

This fear of criticism unfortunately stops most people from ever taking action.

But not you…

Since you’re hanging around these parts, I know you’re committed to pursuing your greatness and won’t let a simple thing like negative people slow you down.

Well, if that sounds like you, then you share one of the core traits that I’m certain enabled Rockefeller to achieve so much.

In his own words:

“Excessive reflection upon unpleasant but unalterable events only weakens one’s resolve in the face of enemies.”

The lesson here: Don’t fixate on negative events outside of your control.

Money Slave

Here’s the first, most important revelation most of us have on our wealth building journey:

It’s very difficult to become wealthy by trading your time for money.

Warren Buffet said:

“If you cannot find a way to make money in your sleep, then you’ll work until you die.”

Well, it seems Rockefeller shared that sentiment when he said:

“I decided to let the money be my slave and not make myself a slave to money.”

This is not a profound sentiment, but it’s so fundamental to wealth building that I don’t think we can be reminded of this lesson too often.

Here it is in my own words:

Two things about the above quote:

First, it turns out there IS a third option: You can do both.

Second, some people have pointed out that you can also Earn, Steal, and Borrow money…

But this is important:

Earning, Stealing, Borrowing are how you GET money.

Saving, Investing, Spending are what you DO with the money.

The lesson here: To build wealth, you must become a MASTER of your money.

This week’s YouTube video dives into the details of how to do exactly that. Check it out here.

BONUS LESSON: The Tyrannical You

Okay, this one is so good, and reflects one of the most important lessons I had to learn in my own personal life as I was overcoming ADHD, that I just have to share it with you here.

Rockefeller said:

“I would rather be my own tyrant than have someone else tyrannize me.”

It was a sentiment similar to this that led me down a path of discovering the power of discipline in my own life.

This is such a profound lesson that I actually did a deep-dive into the topic which I highly recommend you check out here:

Learning this about DISCIPLINE changed my life.

Interesting Sidenote: This video about Discipline of all things is the 3rd most viewed video on the YouTube channel. It’s incredible to see how hungry people are to develop Discipline in their own lives. I hope this serves you!

Stay Hyperfocused,

AV

From YouTube This Week:

I read over 100 books on money… here’s what I learned.

Want to go even deeper?

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