“The third door” by Alex Banayan

The author 🖋

Alex Banayan is an New York Times best-selling author, keynote speaker and entrepreneur.

He’s been named to the Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and became the youngest bestselling business author in American history.

Key takeaways 🎓

1. The third door metaphor

Banayan explains that success can be like getting into a nightclub: there’s the front door for the masses, the back door for VIPs and the "third door" where you have to find a creative way in.

This represents the unconventional paths to success.

2. Success = persistence x creativity

The author emphasizes the importance of persistence and creative problem-solving.

Success often requires both and Alex shares stories of how many famous and successful people had to try quite unique methods - usually for a long period of time - to eventually reach their dreams.

3. Success leaves clues, learn from them

People who've done well have usually made a lot of mistakes.

Their experiences and learnings can teach us how to overcome our challenges.

The author highlights the importance of talking to successful people, asking questions, watching interviews and reading their books in order to make our journeys easier.

Closing thoughts 🧠

This book tells the story of a young man's quest to meet and learn from successful individuals.

Banayan managed to interview some of the most famous people in the world including Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Larry King, Maya Angelou, Steve Wozniak, Jessica Alba and others.

And there’s a ton of valuable lessons he got them to share.