Noah Kagan was #30 at Facebook, #4 at Mint.com, and is the Chief Sumo (founder) of SumoMe, a company which offers free tools to help grow website traffic. He has built 4 products that each generated 7-figures and become one of the leading marketing experts in the world

Favorite Success Quote

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”

“You’re not important and no one cares”

Key Points

1. Just Do Things You Enjoy 

As far as we know, we only have one life. We only have one opportunity to live, laugh, and love.

So why is it that so many of us waste our precious time doing shit that we don’t like?

Why do we work jobs that we hate, stay in relationships that we don’t enjoy, and force ourselves to spend time with people who suck?

It’s absolute insanity.

Although there’s no “One size fits all” approach to happiness or living the good life, everything starts by doing more of the things you enjoy and less of the things that you hate.

So start today.

Find a way to cut out activities that you don’t enjoy and that don’t serve the bigger picture and a way to add in more activities that light you up and put a smile on your face.

2. No One Gives a Sh*t About You 

This sounds harsh, I know.

But if you think about things objectively, you will quickly realize that it’s true.

Outside of your immediate family and maybe a handful of close friends, no one cares about you, no one.

People don’t care whether you succeed or not, they don’t care if you’re happy, and they don’t really care if you carry on living.

Although it sounds morbid, this is actually good news.

The fact that no one cares gives you permission to screw up, it gives you permission to fall on your face, to fail, to lose, and to try things that might not work because, at the end of the day, no one really gives a shit either way.

So stop worrying about other people and focus on yourself.

If you don’t, you will live your life trying to make everyone else happy without ever taking a second to think about your own happiness and well being.

3. Learn to be Empathetic 

Even though no one really cares about you, this doesn’t mean that you should go through life constantly ignoring others, acting like a narcissist, and screwing people over to achieve your goals.

You must develop a certain level of empathy so that you can successfully maneuver through the world.

The people that you encounter in your everyday life have their own goals, their own struggles, and their own problems.

When you can learn to identify with them and consider things from their point of view, you will become a social powerhouse.

4. Define Success for Yourself 

One of the biggest mistakes that anyone can make in their life is striving to achieve a version of success that isn’t truly congruent with their deepest goals and desires.

Noah has made millions of dollars several times over but his lifestyle is pretty modest.

You won’t see him posting on Instagram about his new McLaren or bragging about his new private jet.

He’s content to live in a 700 square foot flat and drive his scooter downtown in search of the city’s best tacos.

Because that is his version of success. He enjoys what he does and has a simple life.

For other people, however, this would be a living hell.

People like Gary Vaynerchuk need to be in constant motion to enjoy their life and feel fulfilled, they need the rush of the deal and the job in order to feel successful and fulfilled.

Neither path is wrong.

It’s simply a matter of what works for you.

So I want to challenge you to take some time to think about what success really means to you. What do you really want? What would it take for you to be happy and fulfilled?

Once you have your answer, go do that thing, and ignore everyone else’s opinions and ideas.

Because your definition of success is the only thing that matters.

5. Stop Complaining and Start Looking for a Solution 

For the next 30 days, I want you to do something.

It sounds simple, but I promise it’s not as easy as you might assume.

I want you to quit complaining.

That’s it.

For the next 30 days, I want you to consciously quit complaining about anything in your life whether it’s your job, your spouse, your kids, or just crappy weather.

Stop complaining and start looking for solutions.

If something bothers you, instead of bitching about it, find a way to change it.

It might sound simple, but I promise that it will change your life.