Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes | Richard St. John

Executive Summary:

  • Passion, hard work, focus, and persistence are key to achieving success, as highlighted by various Richard St. John.
  • Serving others and coming up with good ideas are also important, though Richard St. John argues that ideas are not as essential as commonly believed.
  • Mentorship and attending events like TED can provide valuable guidance and insights on the path to success.

Meeting Notes:

The Path to Success

  • Richard St. John highlights that being driven by passion rather than just money is crucial for success.
    • Richard St. John says "I'm driven by my passion"
    • Richard St. John does it "for love, not for money"
  • Richard St. John states "I would pay someone to do what I do", reinforcing the idea that if you are passionate about what you do, the money will follow.
  • According to Richard St. John, Richard St. John says "it's all hard work, nothing comes easily", emphasizing the importance of hard work.
    • Richard St. John also mentions "I have a lot of fun" and refers to successful people as "workaholics" rather than just "workaholics", suggesting that hard work can still be rewarding and enjoyable.
    • Richard St. John emphasizes the importance of "practice, practice, practice" to achieve mastery in something.
  • Richard St. John states "I think it all has to do with focusing yourself on one thing", highlighting the importance of specialization and mastering one area rather than trying to do many things.
  • Richard St. John advises to "push yourself, physically and mentally" and "push through silence and self-doubt".
    • Richard St. John admits she "always had self-doubt" and didn't think she would make it, but had to persist nonetheless.
    • According to Richard St. John, "persistence is the number one reason for our success" - persisting through failure, criticism, rejection, and other challenges is essential.
  • Richard St. John states that while many kids want to be millionaires, the key is to "serve others something of value" because that's how people truly become rich and successful.
    • Richard St. John says "it was his privilege to serve as a doctor", suggesting that serving others is an important aspect of success.
  • Richard St. John cites coming up with a good idea, like founding the first microcomputer software company, as a key to his success.
    • However, Richard St. John argues that there's "no magic or creativity in coming up with ideas", it's just about "doing some very simple things".
  • The interaction between Richard St. John and the high school student highlights the importance of having someone to guide and provide advice on the path to success.
    • When the student asked Richard St. John what leads to success, he felt unable to provide a good answer, prompting him to seek advice from successful TED speakers.
  • Richard St. John claims that by paying $4,000 to attend TED, one can learn the "8 keys to success" that he has identified through his 500 interviews with successful individuals.