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How To Find Opportunities EVERYWHERE

2020-07-06 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali, Bobby Siegel · recording, 8:06 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Mindset, motivation and happiness · mode: Explanation and tutorial · tags: Lesson from a book, His medical past, Family

Ali presents two mental models for approaching opportunities: door knockers, who open doors without knowing what is behind them, versus window openers, who act only when they can see the result, illustrated by clips of his Deep Dive with Bobby Seagull on saying yes after University Challenge; and Jim Collins's return on luck from Great by Choice.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Door knockers versus window openers

  • ★ Ali first came across the idea of door knockers versus window openers on the My First Million podcast, which he calls fantastic. — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ Ali describes two ways of approaching opportunities: window openers see the outcome before they seize it, while door knockers are all right opening a door without knowing what the outcome is. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ In today's world, Ali says, there are far more opportunities for success, however it is defined, for people who door knock than for those who window open. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Starting a YouTube channel is very much a door-knocking thing, Ali says: you cannot see where it will lead, but you just have to go for it. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Ali thinks people like him in medicine, a very traditional field, are all very much window openers. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ When Ali started his YouTube channel, his mum's first question would have been what the point of it was and where it would lead. — 00:01:27 · Ali Abdaal's mother
  • ★★ Ali often says in his talks that everyone should have a personal website; people then ask how long it would take them to succeed, wanting the path charted out before they do it. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Creating content on the internet and starting a business are inherently uncertain, Ali says, so the door-knocker mentality suits them better. — 00:01:27

00:01:56 — Bobby Seagull on luck, University Challenge and saying yes to opportunities

  • ★★ Bobby Seagull was in Ali's college at university, and they recorded a Deep Dive interview, Ali thinks the month before this video. (hedged) — 00:01:56 · Deep Dive
  • ★★ Bobby Seagull became famous as the charismatic captain of the Emmanuel College team on University Challenge; with Eric Monkman he went on to TV shows and book deals, and he became a big name in education. — 00:01:56 · Emmanuel College
  • ★★★ Bobby Siegel: Bobby Seagull sees his success as a combination of luck, being in the right place at the right time as Eric Monkman emerged in the same series, and how he dealt with it. — 00:02:35
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: Every year two or three people emerge and have their moment, Bobby Seagull says; what perhaps made him different was that he had left investment banking and chartered accountancy to become a teacher and make an impact in education. (hedged) — 00:03:04
  • ★★★ Bobby Siegel: After University Challenge, Bobby Seagull was very much a yes man: whatever opportunity he was given, such as a 6 a.m. studio slot, he made it happen, though he has since changed his view slightly. — 00:03:04
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: Saying yes to things and delivering, Bobby Seagull says, is what makes people see you as reliable and come back with more. — 00:04:20
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: A couple of years earlier Bobby Seagull was asked onto a show (Any Questions, as heard) to speak on the education budget; though no politician and nervous, he said yes, and more education work followed. — 00:04:20
  • ★ Bobby Siegel: Bobby Seagull is an ambassador for the Premier League. — 00:04:43
  • ★★ Ali sees Bobby Seagull as a door knocker: he says yes to random opportunities without worrying whether they are good for his career, and eventually good things happen. — 00:04:43
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: Bobby Seagull advises being prepared to take the knocks and not sniffing at an opportunity when it presents itself. — 00:04:43
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: Known as a public geek, Bobby Seagull was invited onto Geek Island, a tongue-in-cheek parody of Love Island with contestants who are smart. — 00:05:13
  • ★★ Bobby Siegel: Bobby Seagull took the gamble on Geek Island despite the risk to his reputation, and has since been seen as someone who can stand up for geeks and nerds. — 00:05:34

00:06:16 — Return on luck, from Great by Choice

  • ★★★ Ali draws "return on luck" from Jim Collins's Great by Choice: great companies such as Apple got about as many lucky breaks as their rivals but capitalised on them better. — 00:06:16 · Apple
  • ★★ Ali says people can get more lucky breaks by increasing their surface area for randomness and optionality, and promises more on that in another video. — 00:06:45
  • ★★★ People cannot really control when lucky breaks happen, Ali says, but they can control how they respond and their return on luck: the more they take advantage of lucky breaks, the better off they are. — 00:07:15
  • ★★ Bobby Seagull's lucky break was being on University Challenge at the right place at the right time, which started his rise. — 00:07:15

00:07:44 — Nebula and Book Club pointers, sign-off

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Bobby Siegel · return on luck · Window openers vs door knockers

Also: People: Ali Abdaal's mother · Jim Collins · Monkman

Works: Geek Island · Great by Choice · Love Island · My First Million · University Challenge

Organizations: Apple · Emmanuel College · Premier League

Concepts: luck surface area · optionality

Only in the description or credits: Deep Dive · Nebula

Also centred on Window openers vs door knockers: 15 Lessons that Improved My Life

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