The ability to solve problems well is the ability to take a complex issue you’re facing and break it down into a step-by-step formula that helps you identify the root of the problem.” Take the behemoth down gradually by committing to incremental growth, insists Bet-David. While you quietly strengthen your company, the behemoth will be resting on its laurels, unaware of your progress. This complacency allows you to emerge as a surprise competitor and conquer. Find at least 3 alternative solutions to a given problem. The more choices you have, the better are your decisions All the discovery questions I’m asking are to lead you to find out which path suits you best. The key is to find the best position that highlights your talents. Founder? CEO? Chief strategy officer? Sales leader? Number two? Business developer? Intrapreneur? The list goes on. We’re living in an era in which entrepreneurs get the headlines, but that life may not be for you. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a place for you to build wealth and find fulfillment.

I had to look inward and get clear about who I wanted to be—and where I wanted to go. The list I made looked something like this:Finding the right levers so you can beat the giants (i.e. the huge, established market leaders in your industry) who have much more resources, experience and capital than you. Bet-David advocates using social media as a key marketing tool to engage your audience, shape your story and influence public opinion. One day, my supervisor, Robby, offered me an assistant manager position at the Bally in Chatsworth, thirty miles outside Hollywood. He wanted me to turn the club around; it had been hitting only 40 percent of its monthly goal. Shortform note: Bet-David advises you to maintain control over your ego and your reactivity to temptation to keep your company momentum up. But he doesn’t specify how you can do these things. One good way to master both temptation and ego is to cultivate mindfulness: a sense of connection to what you’re feeling in a given moment. You thus increase your awareness of when you’re being tempted to behave badly or when your ego’s in control and can then actively work to resist temptation or override your ego.) Way #2: Obtain the Input of Experienced Business People If you’re looking to disrupt an industry, you’d better be armed with the right story, right team, right data, and right strategies.” To take down a behemoth, use the following two tactics: Tactic #1: Take Down the Behemoth Gradually

The ability to make effective decisions based on access to information at hand with the highest odds in your favor WOW… I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THIS BOOK JUST CHANGED MY LIFE, HOW I LOOK AT LIFE AS A WHOLE AND HOW I MAKE CHOICES AND HOW THEY AFFECT OTHERS, IN BOTH BUSINESS AND LIFE IN GENERAL. IT EVEN MADE ME UNDERSTAND HOW I HAVE LET MY PTSD TAKE OVER AND MAKE CHOICES FOR ME, AND I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE IT. DEFINITELY… READING IT AGAIN… George Washington’s Liberty Key: Mount Vernon’s Bastille Key the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and SoulI want to work with people who keep their commitments—especially leaders with whom I work and who impact my career path. Finally, even when you’re growing steadily, always behave as though a threat could overthrow your business, counsels Bet-David. Stay alert in two ways: Way #1: Don’t Cede Control to Temptation or Your Ego In doing so, don’t compromise your quirks or other things that may seem weird to others—these idiosyncrasies are important because of what you have experienced and the way you are wired. You really need to get clear about what you can sacrifice and what you absolutely will not sacrifice. It will lead you to create your own list of nonnegotiables.

I want to make the name Bet-David mean something, so much so that my parents will be proud of the decision they made to leave Iran. While his title talks about Five Moves (something that maybe only true geniuses can handle), its really his Rule of Three that he uses most often, especially urging one to always think about having three options, and evaluating each one of them before moving in any particular direction. Doing this very few people do, and it would be highly advantageous to many people if they did. Just stopping to think and force oneself to ask What else could I do? will often generate highly creative and profitable solutions. This book captures the lessons he learned from his own experiences, successful people he met/studied over the years (e.g. Sheryl Sandbert, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Robert Greene, Kobe Bryan) and his insights after reading >1,500 business books. Asking what someone else would do forces you to take a time-out and consider your next sequence of moves. The second thing it does is challenge you to embrace greatness. I believe so strongly in challenging myself to reach another level that I hired an artist to create a unique visual for my office.Adversity will inevitably strike when you start growing rapidly, warns Bet-David. When this happens, seek the counsel of numerous people with differing perspectives and experiences. Ideally, find people who’ve studied or personally experienced the type of problem you have. They’ll give you the most valuable advice. Yet another thing is effectively working with others to find out what their goals are, especially in hiring them to begin with, and then, when/if their performance falters, asking them to compare their goals and their performance. Partner with competitors that share an enemy. Look for synergies with Goliath’s enemies and build strategic alliances My office is bizarre, and it was expensive to create. The key is to start somewhere. I started off with pictures from magazines that I taped to my bathroom mirror and now have my entire office as a reminder of what inspires me. I challenge you to find a way to create a visual that reminds you to be heroic. Start with something small. You don’t need to hire an artist; Photoshop will do. If you want to get to the top, theres always the risk that it will isolate you from other people. -Magnus Carlsen

Patric is so to the point, and says so much, its hard to follow and to use the message for yourself. I’m a productivity coach ready to help another 10.000 men and women across the world work less, achieve more, and live fulfilling, abundant lives without distractions, fear, or procrastination getting in the way. A phrase I use all the time is future truth. It means to live in the present as if your future truth has already become a reality. According to Bet-David, you can build culture by creating a set of company principles (for instance, honesty and diversity) and acting on them (for example, by leading CEO Q&A sessions and establishing a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee). Behaving in accordance with your principles lends you credibility in your team’s eyes.Investigate. Find out the real causes of the issue, the impact of the problem, and how urgent it is In the summer of 1999, I was twenty years old and had left the army. My plan: to become the Middle Eastern Arnold Schwarzenegger. That June, I felt certain I would become the next Mr. Olympia, marry a Kennedy, become an actor, and eventually govern the state of California. I said to myself, “ Bet-David. The world’s going to know this last name. I know the pain we went through. I know the challenges we went through as a family when we came to America from Iran. I remember how embarrassed Mom would get from speaking broken English. I remember the look on Dad’s face at family gatherings when he was looked down upon by people. Before long, you’re going to be so proud of your last name. You’re going to be so proud you came to America. You’re going to be so proud of the sacrifices you made.” There are several strategic elements that determine if your business will grow, stagnate, or even collapse. To scale up and achieve exponential growth, you must: How fast you grow will be dictated by how well your team is working on your business. And to maximize results, you need to have mechanisms to hold people accountable.