How do you stand out in a world of shrinking opportunities?

One question I love talking as much to founder/CEOs/ mid-career professionals/those who are starting out is how do you stand out in a world of shrinking opportunities?

Guy Kawasaki is quite an inspiration. In his autobiography ‘Wise Guy – Lessons from a Life’ he talks about his early days. He learned old-fashioned sales in a jewelry store before moving to Apple – when it was a struggling hardware co. & not the trillion-dollar most loved brand it is today – and this is what he says about standing out:

“I loved to work. There are people who are smarter than me. There are people who work harder than me. But there are few people who are both. My ability to grind out work is the reason I succeeded in the Macintosh Division and, really, in life.”

We all work hard. If you can develop both smartness & the ability to work hard – I mean real passionate Aradhana – ‘ I like it better than Netflix/gourmet food/chilling’ – kind of passion then – not only do you do ‘epic shit’ – you are having fun doing it!