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My business partner, a jail cell, and a fart joke...
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Could you spend a night in jail with your business partner? Weird question, I know. But a quote I read in a Tim Ferriss book has me asking it about pretty much everyone I work with. In it, Tim’s investing mentor dropped an unexpected answer to one of the most frequently asked questions. First, the question: “How do you find the right people to partner with?” Now, his mentor’s answer: “The best people I’ve partnered with and invested with are people I could see myself spending a night in jail with.” Meaning? Ya gotta partner with people who juice your creative energy to the point where everything you want seems within reach… so close, in fact, that you may get yourselves into some shenanigans. Funny thing is, I could see myself spending a night in jail with my business partner, Charlie Bennett. I could see myself spending a night in jail with every mentor I’ve had. And I could see myself spending a night in jail with my employees LOL. Funny enough, I’ve hired 3 people over the past 90 days, which is strange to think about.
All of whom I thoroughly enjoy shooting the shyt with. Of course, there are a lot of other factors that go into hiring: experience, trust, reliability, and skills, just for starters. But at the end of the day, when I’m choosing between multiple candidates, I often find myself reverting to that Ferriss quote. Because do you want to surround yourself with people you can’t freaking stand? I sure don’t. I’d rather work with someone less experienced who enjoys a decent fart joke than the most skilled person in the industry who doesn’t know how to smile. Idk, maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’ve had too much of the woo-woo sauce lately. Or maybe I’ve just realized something that took me years to figure out. The whole point of building a business is freedom. Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with whoever the hell you want. And what good is that freedom if you spend 8 hours a day surrounded by people you can't stand? Sounds like a job to me lol. Because 20 years from now, I doubt I'll remember how much money we made on some random Tuesday. But I'll sure as hell remember the ridiculous conversations, the stupid jokes, the late nights, and the people who were there for all of it. Maybe that's the mission. Not just building a business that makes you rich. But building a life you don't feel the need to escape from. With people you'd happily spend a night in jail with. Ciao, Parker |
The Story
Grab attention, monetize, and persuade with Storytelling Every Thursday you'll get one story and writing tactics in 5 minutes. This is the FREE newsletter that 50,000 follower accounts read.
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