The podcast that changed my life
My First Million is the most impactful non-book media that I’ve consumed over the past few years. Here are the three biggest things this pod has shown me:
1. People make tons of money doing all sorts of unique things.
Growing up, I knew about doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, and that was about it. was totally clueless about every other career path and what sort of income and life you could have. When I first listened to the show I was fresh out of college working a big firm consulting job, didn’t know squat about the business world.
This pod taught me if a guy says he does anything — advertising, owns a car dealership, runs a water brand, whatever — he could be making $50k/yr or $50m/yr. Only your own creativity limits the possibilities for doing what you want for work and in life.
2. Issues, opportunities, and businesses exist everywhere, if you know how to spot them.
I’ve probably listened to 90+% of all MFM episodes released since Feb 2022 = hundreds of hours. Sam/Shaan constantly talk about what they notice as untapped opportunities or low-key killer businesses. I’ve taken that and started doing it myself. Five years ago I never could’ve imagined I would be doing an hour plus of research into the car towing / tow truck business in my local area. But here I am! I learn all sorts of fascinating stuff. Makes me appreciate anyone who hangs their own shingle, no matter what the business is.
3. How to be curious and what questions to ask
Business people have lots of experience and tons to share; you just have to know what to ask. I considered myself a curious person, but I’ve gotten tons of ways to ask other people about themselves and their work from sitting in on these podcast interviews. Ask about hiring, revenue, the early days, advertising, customer service, family life, partnerships, failure, or employees. If you ask the right way, people will tell you all sorts of stuff.
This is an amazing skill if you’re an employee or job hunting, by the way. If you ask good, detailed, motivated questions, employers and business owners will like you more, trust you more, and be more likely to hire you.
The phrase “this thing changed my life” is overcooked but this pod actually did change my life. I got my current job at a startup via cold email, which never would’ve happened if I hadn’t absorbed the courage and knowledge through my ears.
Thank you to Sam Parr and Shaan Puri for sticking with the podcast and cranking out great content!
This is a slightly modified version of a Twitter post I made that got a lot of love, including from one of the podcast hosts!