Mediocrity Is the Only Sin — Lessons from a Founder Who Said No to Google and Built Millions

Negotiate Anything

American Negotiation Institute

Education, Careers, Business

4.8 • 659 Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

That’s the rule Sharmin Ali lives by — even when it almost killed her. Buy now the book ⁠Bitch, Stop! Please . . . : An Entrepreneur's Journey of Innovation, from Chaos to Clarity⁠ by Sharmin Ali In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Sharmin reveals what it takes to walk away from Google, build two multi-million dollar companies across continents, and face the brutal cost of ambition. We go deep into the art of negotiating exits, building trust from scratch, and why most people fail — not because they lack talent, but because they never learned to hear themselves. If you’ve ever felt like you're too intense, too chaotic, or too much for the system you're in... this episode is your permission to go all in — without losing yourself. Connect with Sharmin Ali sharminali.com Buy now the book Bitch, Stop! Please . . . : An Entrepreneur's Journey of Innovation, from Chaos to Clarity by Sharmin Ali Contact ANI ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Request A Customized Workshop For Your Company⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Kwame Christian on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠negotiateanything.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to buy your copy of Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life!

Transcript

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0:00.0	AI moves fast and the path forward isn't always clear.
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0:30.2	Sharman, thanks for joining us today. Hi, Kwame. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
0:36.6	Yes, and we are excited to have you,
0:38.1	my friend. So how would you get started by telling us a little bit about yourself and what you do?
0:42.0	Hi, everyone. I'm Sharman. I am a serial entrepreneur. I've built and sold about three companies so far.
0:48.5	In the last 15 years of my career, I'm originally from India and engineer like most of us Indians are. No big deal.
0:56.3	But yes. And I am also very, very enthusiastic about writing, about content, about videos. I've
1:03.9	written three books. The third one's coming out in June. And I also Angel invest a little bit on
1:09.5	the side. And now I'm also a full-time keynote speaker.
1:12.6	So a bunch of things, but yes, overall, the one motto of my life is to give first.
1:19.5	Incredible. And listeners, you are in for a treat because I met Sharman in Nashville. We were at
1:26.1	a keynote speakers retreat. It's kind of meta.
1:29.0	It's a bunch of keynote speakers in the audience learning how to become better at keynote
1:32.1	speaking. It's really cool. And I was just enthralled with her story. And what's fascinating
1:38.5	about your journey, Sharman, is the fact that negotiation is a through line. It's almost like a supporting character
1:46.0	in everything that you do, whether it's an external negotiation with other people or an
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