11 Things I learnt from Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World (Peter H.

Diamandis and Steven Kotler)

bold book

1) There is so much change happening in this world at an exponential rate. It amazes me how
much technology is impacting us and will continue to do so.

From the book:

Consider that, twenty years ago, the idea that a computer algorithm could help companies with
funny names (Uber, Airbnb, Quirky) dematerialize twentieth-century businesses would have
seemed delusional. Fifteen years ago, if you wanted access to a supercomputer, you still had to
buy one (not rent one by the minute on the cloud). Ten years ago, genetic engineering was big
government, and big business and 3-D printing meant expensive plastic prototypes. Seven years
ago, the only robot most entrepreneurs had access to was a Roomba, and AI meant a talking ATM
machine, not a freeway-driving autonomous car. Two years ago, the idea of living past a hundred
was a crazy idea. You get the picture.

2) The Six D’s of Exponentials.

From the book:

I have developed a framework called the Six Ds of Exponentials. These Six Ds are a chain reaction
of technological progression, a road map of rapid development that always leads to enormous
upheaval and opportunity.

Digitalisation. This idea starts with the fact that culture makes progress cumulative. Innovation
occurs as humans share and exchange ideas. I build on your idea; you build on mine.
Deception. What follows digitalisation is deception, a period during which exponential growth
goes mostly unnoticed. This happens because the doubling of small numbers often produces
results so minuscule they are often mistaken for the plodder’s progress of linear growth.
Disruption. In simple terms, a disruptive technology is any innovation that creates a new market
and disrupts an existing one.
Demonetisation. This means the removal of money from the equation.
Dematerialisation. While demonetisation describes the vanishing of the money once paid for
goods and services, dematerialisation is about the vanishing of the goods and services
themselves.
Democratisation is what happens when hard costs drop so low they becomes available and
affordable to just about everyone.

3) Attitude is everything

From the book:

Climbing Mount Bold is not just technologically difficult, it’s also incredibly psychologically
difficult. Every innovator interviewed for this book emphasized the importance of the mental
game, arguing that without the right mindset, entrepreneurs have absolutely no chance of
success. I couldn’t agree more. Attitude is the ball game. If you think you can or think you can’t—
well, you’re right.

4) You have to get use to everyone thinking you and your ideas are crazy.

From the book

As Burt Rutan, winner of the Ansari XPRIZE, once taught me: “The day before something is truly
a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.” Trying out crazy ideas means bucking expert opinion and
taking big risks. It means not being afraid to fail. Because you will fail. The road to bold is paved
with failure, and this means having a strategy in place to handle risk and learn from mistakes is
critical.

5) Flow is an incredible way to hack productivity. Flow is something that really interests me and I
will definitely be checking it out more.

From the book

As Virgin CEO Richard Branson says, “In two hours [in flow], I can accomplish tremendous
things . . . It’s like there’s no challenge I can’t meet.”

6) You’ve got to start somewhere. If you don’t have a following or a source of credibility, create
one.

From the book:

So if you’re lacking a track record, make one. Start your bold project with a much smaller effort
aimed at letting others see you pull it off.

7) Create a set of principles/values you live by

From the book:

Start collecting mind hacks by examining your own life and seeing what strategies consistently
worked along the way. Turn those strategies into your laws. Why is this so important? Because
fear is hell on decision making. As threat levels begin to rise, the brain starts limiting our options.
The fight-or-flight response is the extreme version of this story. When we are confronting mortal
terror, our choices are literally limited to three: fight, flight, or freeze. But the same thing starts to
happen with lesser fears. As Emory University neuroeconomist Gregory Berns wrote in an article
for the New York Times: “Fear prompts retreat. It is the antipode of progress.” And that’s why it’s
important to write down your own laws. You’re essentially creating an external hard drive for
when your internal hard drive is guaranteed to crash.

8) Passion and purpose are key:

From the book:

So what’s his secret? Musk has a few, but none are more important to him than passion and
purpose. “I didn’t go into the rocket business, the car business, or the solar business thinking this
is a great opportunity. I just thought, in order to make a difference, something needed to be done.
I wanted to have an impact. I wanted to create something substantially better than what came
before.” Musk, like every entrepreneur in this chapter, is driven by passion and purpose. Why?
Passion and purpose scale—always have, always will. Every movement, every revolution, is proof
of this fact. Plus, doing anything big and bold is difficult, and at two in the morning for the fifth
night in a row, when you need to keep going, you’re only going to fuel yourself from deep within.
You’re not going to push ahead when it’s someone else’s mission. It needs to be yours.

9) The book delves into the traits of Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Jeff Bezos.
What was interesting was that they all have different tolerances for risk. There are many paths to
greatness. Below is Elon Musks’ take on risk:

From the book

“The lesson I would pass on to others,” he says, “the one rule I would have for entrepreneurs is,
Don’t leave any dollars in reserve, you can always feed yourself, but don’t leave money on the
table. I spent it all.”

10) Incentive prizes are now easier to accomplish through the HeroX platform. Incentive prizes,
when used correctly (the book sets out an impressive step by step how-to) can leverage money
and knowledge.
11) Ideas can turn into reality much easier with today’s technology, however we can’t just rely on
technology

From the book:

Here’s the most important point: Abundance is not a techno-utopian vision. Technology alone
will not bring us this better world. It is up to you and me. To bring on this better world is going to
require what could easily be the largest cooperative effort in history. In other words, there is a
bold and bright future out there. But, as with everything else, what happens next is up to us.