“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
An Entrepreneur's Vision /
The people who move the world forward are those that make the biggest sacrifices. They challenge institutions, they are looked upon as rebels and they fight harder than anyone else.
Why?
For one simple reason: they want to live in a better world. A more comfortable world. A more connected world. A world that has solutions to problems - easy and hard. And for this one reason alone - entrepreneurs are rewarded handsomely when they succeed. And if that financial payday doesn't come, they reap their rewards via experiences. Anyone can be a millionaire if they don't live life.
Not entrepreneurs. They leverage everything they have - they are the first ones to clear out their bank accounts and then ask friends and families to do the same.
As I've built PaLaCart over the past few years, I've been privileged to meet so many entrepreneurs who are making the world a better place in their own way.
A friend is building an ed-tech company. Another is making it easier for investors to track their investments. A third is making communication easier. And dozens others.
Outsiders often criticize entrepreneurs - the market is not big enough, the idea is dumb, the team is inexperienced, the product will never work, etc. But outsiders are outsiders for a reason - they don't have the entrepreneur's vision.
Entrepreneurs don't start companies because it's an easy path to success. Sure, some have gotten lucky. However, more often than not, building a company is a lot of work. It requires far too many sacrifices. But, entrepreneurs stick to their vision.
That vision is simple - to make their product better than anything else available and to solve a problem. How do you challenge that vision? How do you challenge an entrepreneur's vision to make the world a better place, so that you, your family and the next generation of people to occupy our places can live in a better world?
You don't.
On scary decisions /
One of my favorite pieces of content is The Risk Not Taken by Andy Dunn. If you've ever had to make a tough decision, I would highly recommend reading it.
Scary decisions are not unique to entrepreneurs. They are universal as people go from one phase of their life to another. Whether it's dropping out of school or proposing to your girlfriend or moving to a country 10 time zones away. .
For entrepreneurs, this decision is compounded by the fact that once you take the leap into being involved in a start-up full time, your entire life changes - stability gets thrown out the window, friendships start deteriorating and on some days, stress levels make you question if any of this is worth it.
Here's the thing - it depends on who you are and your ability to stomach all the ups and downs while building a company, managing your employees, reporting to your board and working on your personal life. The only thing I can say for certain is that it you always need to be pushing forward. Building a company is not an easy task. It is one that requires determination to succeed when the entire world is against you.
But, scary decisions are easily mitigated by knowing that despite success or failure, you can always go back to your previous life. It may take you a bit longer, but your perspective and outlook on everything will change - regardless of outcome.
Scary decisions are only scary because of the unknown. And to quote H.P. Lovercraft:
““The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ”
The best thing about scary things? They're temporary. They last for a quick second and then they're gone.
Experiencing the 2014 FIFA World Cup /
The 2014 World Cup had seen enough controversy even before it got started - poverty, corruption and danger. However, just like Sochi, some of it is hype and some of it is real.
I had a chance to visit Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and in a few words - it was amazing!
It was a very last minute trip and the process couldn't have been any smoother. I walked into the Brazilian consulate in New York and applied for a FIFA World Cup visa. The process took a few days and cost me nothing. I picked up my visa, booked a flight to São Paulo from New York, switched to the domestic airport after picking up a friend and flew to Rio.
Before touchdown in Rio, there was a bit of celebration at the airport as Argentinean fans were celebrating on the ground and mid-air.
Upon landing in Rio, the city airport had a lot of FIFA booths promoting the games and the energy was on an all-time high.
Getting in a cab was straight forward and navigating to the hotel was painless.
However, once at the hotel, the check-in process was slow and brutal. For an event as large as the World Cup, many hotels were not prepared for international language speakers, making it challenging to navigate. Thankfully, Google Maps was incredibly helpful and worked flawlessly in Rio.
The first day, we played tourist - going up to the Cristo and exploring the nightlife.
The second day, we tried to scalp tickets to the Argentina v. Bosnia game without any luck. Either the ticket prices were unaffordable or there were too many fakes in the market.
Instead, we decided to watch the game at the FIFA Fan Fest, which was an amazing environment and incredibly fun.
The food, the people, the culture and the hospitality were absolutely spectacular. And an experience I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy.
If you're still on the edge of going to Brazil for the World Cup or any other major sporting event, I would highly recommend making the leap and going for it.
Declining Loyalty: United Airlines /
It's June of 2014 and I'm on the phone with the the loyalty desk at American Airlines. More specifically, the Executive Platinum desk of the airline that serves their most loyal customers that fly over 100,000 miles per year. I'm sitting next to a pool and asking the agent on the phone if she could upgrade me to first class. The agent puts me on hold for a few minutes and comes back on the line indicating that they have specifically filed a request to open up space in first class for me. That's American Airlines and that is my definition of loyalty.
And it's not a one-time occurrence. On a flight between New York and Miami, I miss my chance for an upgrade. A flight-attendant comes up to me in coach and asks me what I would like to eat and drink - on the house - since I wasn't upgraded. That's loyalty.
On the other hand, it's November of 2013 and I'm flying between Mumbai and Newark on United Airlines. I am fortunate enough to have 3 seats next to me that are open. I ask the flight attendant to move my brother into one of these Economy Plus seats. She refuses. I then ask the purser to do so. And she refuses as well. Not only do I fly over 75,000 miles per year on United Airlines, entitling me to 8 companions in Economy Plus, my brother is an elite (or "Premier") member as well - primarily through high fares, thanks to corporate flying.
I pay $179 for the upgrade and let it slide. Upon arriving in Newark, I immediately call the CEO's office and send them a scathing email with facts and the non-recognition of benefits. I get a call back within 24 hours and all is taken care of.
United Airlines has significantly downgraded its loyalty program, but worse, has nearly destroyed any and all goodwill it had built up over the past few years - even with customers - that flew over 200,000 miles on their airline while spending upwards of $40,000 per year.
United Airlines is not the first company to chase after the next penny instead of enjoying what they have now. However, it seems to be the only airline that is actively trying to piss off its customers just to please the market - a tactic that will definitely and absolutely fail.