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



Canadian businessman and billionaire investor Andrew Wilkinson has made a successful career out of channeling his entrepreneurial spirit, but he knows that sometimes that energy can be a double-edged sword. On this episode, Wilkinson goes in-depth on the lessons learned from a career that’s seen him build a business empire of more than 40 companies, but also why he’s had to re-calibrate his personal goals after struggling to find happiness in the summer of 2021. He also discusses mimetic desire, building a business in a small Canadian market, competing with venture-backed companies, strategies for hiring CEOs, the mistakes that have cost him millions of dollars, and so much more.   Wilkinson is the co-founder of Tiny Capital, which boasts an enterprise value of more than $1 billion and owns 35 different companies including AeroPress, MetaLab and Dribble. He is also the co-founder and chairman of WeCommerce, a holding company that starts, buys, and invests in the world’s top Shopify businesses. He is based in Victoria, British Columbia.
--

Want even more? Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more. Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our Brain Food newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish