Changing the World with Disruptive Thinking – Jay Samit

How one man disrupts industries and governments to solve problems

What kind of person runs an ad in the newspaper for a fake special effects job to find employment?

Jay Samit did exactly that after seeing the original Star Wars in theatres as a young man. By running the ad, he was able to see what education and qualifications the applicants had – and what companies had a potential worker out the door.

For the last three decades, he’s launched billion-dollar businesses, transformed industries, and held senior-level positions at companies like Sony and Universal Studios. He’s also the bestselling author of Disrupt You! Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation.

In this episode, Jay Samit champions disruptive thinking to solve problems and achieve seemingly impossible goals. Listen now.

https://startupcamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/JaySamitV1Final.mp3

Subscribe

“The key to disruption is an internal process.”

If you miss a math class in high school, you might convince yourself you’re bad at math. In believing it, you may make it true. But Jay says it’s these stories we tell ourselves that prevent us from improving our situation. Think about one aspect of yourself you’d like to change, he advises, and you’ll realize just how malleable you really are. This is the heart of disruption: if you can change yourself, you can change and influence others.

“There’s no shame in failing, there should be shame in not trying.”

Jay recommends an exercise to encourage disruption: write down three problems you face each day. A few days in, you might think you’re out of problems—until you start focusing on the granular, everyday annoyances. He shares stories about entrepreneurs who turned annoyances and problems they thought they could never solve into successful, wide-ranging solutions for consumers.

“Solve a problem for a few friends, you’re popular. Solve for a million, you’re rich. Solve for a billion, you change the world.”

Jay Samit is famous for his outside-the-box thinking, even as a kid. He’s dyslexic, and he came up with a creative solution for group projects so his classmates wouldn’t realize his reading skills weren’t as strong as theirs. Fast forward to adulthood: hear how he managed to convince McDonald’s to do a promo with Sony and navigated a three-million-dollar insurance snafu.

Jay shows us that instead of giving in to fear, we can channel our energies into solving problems, no matter how large or small.