Knowledge Project

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways

• Mimetic desire: whatever the people you surround yourself with want, you end up wanting as well, i.e. being subconsciously driven to achieve external validation rather than intrinsic validation 
• The constant desire to want to improve parts of your life or business turns your weaknesses into strengths
• “Most successful people are just an anxiety disorder harnessed for productivity” – Andrew Wilkinson 
• Andrew focuses on building businesses that do not compete with venture capital and whose success can be predicted with reasonable certainty 
• Andrew applies the “80/20 rule” to learning about health; spend an hour a month reading all of the scientific summaries and then don’t think about it again
• On raising kids with wealth: “At the end of the day, your kids just need to know that you’re there and you love them, and I hope that’s enough.” – Andrew Wilkinson
• The Concept of Self-Binding: create an environment where you can’t do the things you don’t want to do, such as eating ice cream, by removing the stimulus from your environment completely
• The unconscious mind is far more powerful than the conscious mind 

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

My guest is businessman and investor Andrew Wilkinson, who has made a successful career out of channeling his entrepreneurial spirit, but he knows that sometimes that energy can be a double-edged sword.

We discuss the lessons learned acquiring 40 companies, why he struggled to find happiness and what changed, mimetic desire, competing with venture-backed companies, hiring and firing CEOs, getting back up after million dollar mistakes, and so much more.

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