Rob Walling

Dharma Shah, a lot of folks who I'll say like are successful and they're on podcasts or they speak at MicroConf, you can start to see how they operate and you can get a sense of their thinking when they're interviewed or if they write stuff or do talks. And to ask yourself, can I operate like that? Am I operating at that level? And if not, why? And it's not to copy.

I'm not trying to copy anyone or put them on a pedestal. No one is perfect. We all have strengths. We all have weaknesses. But there are always folks that are ahead of you. I know there are many folks ahead of me, and they have helped me over the years reflect on myself and say, why have I not achieved what, you know, And maybe it's just choices I made. Maybe it's I focused more on my family.

I'm not trying to copy anyone or put them on a pedestal. No one is perfect. We all have strengths. We all have weaknesses. But there are always folks that are ahead of you. I know there are many folks ahead of me, and they have helped me over the years reflect on myself and say, why have I not achieved what, you know, And maybe it's just choices I made. Maybe it's I focused more on my family.

Maybe just my starting point was there, whatever. There can be a bunch of reasons. Or it may be, huh, because they overcame their weaknesses and it took me a while. It took me a long time to, I think, to turn some of my blind spots into things that I was aware of. So I hope you enjoyed those thoughts today on weaknesses versus blind spots. The next topic is the idea that everyone struggles.

Maybe just my starting point was there, whatever. There can be a bunch of reasons. Or it may be, huh, because they overcame their weaknesses and it took me a while. It took me a long time to, I think, to turn some of my blind spots into things that I was aware of. So I hope you enjoyed those thoughts today on weaknesses versus blind spots. The next topic is the idea that everyone struggles.

And this actually came from a conversation I was having with Ruben Gomez, founder of SignWell. He's been on the podcast many times. He told me that someone else told him, they said, you're so successful, it makes me feel better that you have trouble at times, that sometimes you struggle with things.

And this actually came from a conversation I was having with Ruben Gomez, founder of SignWell. He's been on the podcast many times. He told me that someone else told him, they said, you're so successful, it makes me feel better that you have trouble at times, that sometimes you struggle with things.

And I thought to myself, well, of course, I've talked to Ruben almost monthly basis for 14 years or something. So I know his struggles because we talk about them. But it's so interesting on the internet how things might not come across that way. And Ruben, of all people, is not someone who is humble bragging and only talks about the good. I mean, he'll talk about all the stuff.

And I thought to myself, well, of course, I've talked to Ruben almost monthly basis for 14 years or something. So I know his struggles because we talk about them. But it's so interesting on the internet how things might not come across that way. And Ruben, of all people, is not someone who is humble bragging and only talks about the good. I mean, he'll talk about all the stuff.

But it isn't always apparent just how much struggle each of us is going through. And frankly, I'm just going to mea culpa here, how many mistakes each of us makes, even once we kind of know what we're doing. Like the level of mistakes that I've made in the past 10 years is pretty incredible. So why have I achieved, you know, I would say each year I've been kind of more successful than the last.

But it isn't always apparent just how much struggle each of us is going through. And frankly, I'm just going to mea culpa here, how many mistakes each of us makes, even once we kind of know what we're doing. Like the level of mistakes that I've made in the past 10 years is pretty incredible. So why have I achieved, you know, I would say each year I've been kind of more successful than the last.

I've had more wins than the last. I'm happier now. I make more money. Whatever measure, I've built more successful companies. I struggle less. I am less stressed. So by all measures, I would say my life has gone up into the right, and yet I've done a lot of things that haven't worked.

I've had more wins than the last. I'm happier now. I make more money. Whatever measure, I've built more successful companies. I struggle less. I am less stressed. So by all measures, I would say my life has gone up into the right, and yet I've done a lot of things that haven't worked.

And I guess this is maybe more of a personal episode than I've done in a while, but I wanted to walk through a few of those failures. You know, are they failures? I don't even want to label them. They're just things that I did that basically... kind of didn't work long term. They were decisions that I made that were a lot harder than I thought or just didn't turn out the way that I thought.

And I guess this is maybe more of a personal episode than I've done in a while, but I wanted to walk through a few of those failures. You know, are they failures? I don't even want to label them. They're just things that I did that basically... kind of didn't work long term. They were decisions that I made that were a lot harder than I thought or just didn't turn out the way that I thought.

One of them, man, going back to 2013, so this is 11 years, when we launched Trip, I had some hubris about the fact that it was going to work, that I knew what I was doing, that I'm a successful entrepreneur. It was my fifth company. Yeah, because MicroConf was fourth, TinySeeds sixth. Anyways, it's my fifth company. And I was like, you know what? I know what I'm doing.

One of them, man, going back to 2013, so this is 11 years, when we launched Trip, I had some hubris about the fact that it was going to work, that I knew what I was doing, that I'm a successful entrepreneur. It was my fifth company. Yeah, because MicroConf was fourth, TinySeeds sixth. Anyways, it's my fifth company. And I was like, you know what? I know what I'm doing.

I have a bit of money in the bank. I have some experience. I have a good network. I have an audience. I'm a product person. I've done this before. It's just going to work. And then we launched and it didn't work. And it plateaued at eight, you know, you've heard the story, plateaued at eight grand a month for months on end. And I was just distraught.

I have a bit of money in the bank. I have some experience. I have a good network. I have an audience. I'm a product person. I've done this before. It's just going to work. And then we launched and it didn't work. And it plateaued at eight, you know, you've heard the story, plateaued at eight grand a month for months on end. And I was just distraught.

And I had a moment where I was like, I'm supposed to be good at this. People listen to me about being an entrepreneur. Like, don't I know how to do this? I thought I knew what I was doing. And it turns out I figured it out, right? It was grinding. It was working with Derek to figure out the next thing to launch and how to pivot the product. And we did.