If you’re a teenager watching this I almost feel bad for you. Let me tell you why. It’s because becoming an entrepreneur is very similar to becoming an artist. And most kids who are artists are different. So our school system is not structured to nurture artists – or teenage entrepreneurs. I can only imagine how weird of kids Johnny Depp, Picasso, and Einstein must have been to their teachers.
The same is true for young entrepreneurs. Here’s why. Ninety-nine percent of the teachers in school are not, and have never been, entrepreneurs. So how could they know how to speak your language? So teenage entrepreneurs will feel a little weird, a little different.
Because of that, I want to create this platform for you to look at this video and share it with your peers so you can see you’re not alone. Being a teenage entrepreneur is going to be a little bit weird, but it’s going to be okay, so just bear with it.
So in today’s video I give you 14 common mistakes teenage entrepreneurs make. I went through a lot of them myself. The future looks bright. So let’s get right into it.
#1: Life is Not Disneyland
First, life is not Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. That's a lie. It's what you call a commercial. That's what gets people to want to go to Disneyland where for one day they feel they are at the happiest place on earth. That's called fantastic, creative marketing.
Let me tell you a shocker. Most of your friends don't want to see you succeed. That's confusing. But most of the people in school don't want to see you kill it. Very few do. I know this is very weird. It's almost as if your friends are very happy, as long as you do a little bit less than they do. They're okay if you get a B+, as long as they get an A. If you're dating a pretty girl, it's okay, as long as they're dating a prettier girl. But they're not happy if you're doing better than them. And there's nothing wrong with this. This doesn't mean your friends are bad people. It's just how people are wired for the most part.
#2: Don't Be Afraid to Break the Rules
Next, don't worry about breaking too many rules. I think too many young entrepreneurs don't break rules often enough. Listen, I didn't say law. I said rules. You have to break the rules more. Why? Because the only way we figure out how to make anything better is by breaking it down a little bit and breaking the rules a little bit to find out what can be done better.
Now don't come back and say, "Pat told me to break the law." I never said to break the law. Not laws, but rules.
#3: Don't Compare Yourself Too Much to Others
The next mistake teenage entrepreneurs make is comparing themselves with others. You don't need to compare yourself to other people. This includes people like Zuckerberg and Musk. Let these guys inspire you, but don't compare yourself with them.
Here's why. There's no way in the world you can be like them. And there's no way in the world they can be like you. Very simple. You're unique. They're unique. Play to your own unique abilities. You don't need to worry about comparing yourself to everybody else.
#4: Don't Worry About People Stealing Your Ideas
Don't be too concerned about somebody else stealing your ideas. First of all, hoarding your idea is not going to tell the world anything. And the biggest challenge is that 99.999% of the world will do nothing with your idea. This is because it's all about execution. So it's much better to be a little more comfortable about sharing your idea with people than to say, "I'm not going to tell anybody." If you keep it, the world's definitely not going to know about it. And if you talk to somebody else, they can possibly help you turn that idea into a bigger idea than it is today.
#5: Don't Let Age or Logic Bully You
Listen in here for why you shouldn't let older, logical people bully you.
#6: Team up With the Most Driven Individuals
Next, team up with the most driven people in school, not your best friends. You like your best friends, but perhaps one of them is more concerned about smoking pot and having sex with his girlfriend 24/7 than doing anything big with his life. You can't do anything with that guy, because he doesn't want to work. And some of your friends are more worried about getting cool points.
But then there's that one cat who's a nerd. Nobody talks to him, but he's a ridiculous coder. You go make friends with him. There's another guy that works 24/7, always selling something. Befriend that guy, because he can help you sell your product. He can be your Steve Jobs. Go find the hardest working people on campus that are selling things, hustling, making money on the side. Befriend them and get together with them.
#7: Take Care of Your Health Early
The next one sounds like a preachy type of thing, but listen, take care of your health early. Avoid Burger King and McDonald's and all that fast food stuff. It's just not necessary for you to eat that stuff. Some of you guys wonder why you get a lot of acne. It's from eating a lot of oily food. You don't need to eat the oily food. I used to have acne a lot as a kid. Oily food is not the way to go. Avoid that stuff. Take care of your health, very, very early.
#8: Don't Read Crappy Books
Next, you don't need to read crappy books. Now let me tell you what I don't mind, and that is books about imagination, that take you to a place where you visualize things that are just crazy. It's cool to read books like that. I'm talking about books that serve no purpose. Instead, read business books. In the future I'll make another video on the top 10 books teenage entrepreneurs need to read. Stay tuned for that. For now, just don't read crappy books.
#9: Learn the Difference Between Ass Kissing and Networking
Next, learn the difference between ass kissing and networking. Some students want to kiss ass to their teachers. Right? We used to call them teacher's pet. Instead of ass kissing, be a great networker.
Let me tell you who to network with. Go to your principal and ask which one of the teachers in your school was at one point a professional athlete. Then talk to them about what it takes to be a professional athlete. Next, find out from a teacher, principal, or counselor on campus which teacher ran successful businesses in the past, and has now sold it. Now they became a teacher as a way of giving back to the public. Befriend that teacher. Take that teacher out to lunch. Ask him or her to spend an hour with you after school.
By the way, I promise you that you can find out who those teachers are by asking, "who's the richest teacher on campus?" I guarantee you that everybody typically knows who's the richest teacher on campus. You know why? It's because everyone talks about them. And by the way, the majority of the teachers don't like that teacher, because that teacher has money. They did things backwards. First they made money, and then they became teachers. The other teachers started teaching right after school, and some aren't doing too well money wise since they don't make a lot of money. Now don't get me wrong. I admire teachers. Teachers impacted my life tremendously. But if you want to network, network with the guy that knows all the right people.
#10: Stop Trying to Be Cool
Next, stop trying to be cool. I was dying to be cool when I was 12, 13, 14-years old. Having just come to America, I had a terrible accent. I didn't even know how to pronounce certain words. Don't fall for it like I did. Don't spend too much time trying to be cool and making everybody else happy. Just realize this is you, this is how you are. Maximize what you have and don’t try to get cool points from everybody else.
#11: Avoid Putting Yourself in Dumb Situations
Next, avoid putting yourself in dumb situations. Listen in here for some of the dumb things I did when I was younger.
#12: Don't Make Sex your God
Next, don't make sex your god. I know that boys especially, as teens think about sex, sex, sex. And they wonder if they will ever have sex. Let me make a prediction for you. The chances of you having sex is very high. And not only sex, lots of sex. You're going to be fine. The more attention you give to it, the more your mind goes to places instead of coming up with ideas and other positive things. Don't let your mind be consumed by thoughts that aren't really going to do anything for you. And by the way, I understand the hormonal thing, but don't worry. You're going to get plenty of sex. Just trust me on this. Don't make sex your god.
#13: Feeling Like You Don't Matter
Next, is feeling like you don't matter. Listen in here for the types of things that can make you feel that way, and how great entrepreneurs and leaders have overcome this mistake.
#14: Study the Right Content
Finally, study the right content. Let me tell you what I mean by studying the right content. There are a lot of people on the Internet right now that tell you what to do and not do. You have to learn to decipher between the right content and the wrong content.
I suggest you go backwards and go through every single Valuetainment episode that we have on YouTube. There is a lot of other good content out there as well. Study the right content, based on people who run businesses, and not based on people that tell you things they picked up from a book. Always find out how the person that's teaching you the content online has made their money. This is what I call a trifecta entrepreneur, somebody that has theories, and experience, and applies their theories and experience and are winning in the world of entrepreneurship. So make sure you study the right content.
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My challenge to you is to watch the Valuetainment content. Go back to back with these episodes. And you'll be amazed in the change in you. So study the content, follow the content, and comment on the bottom if you have questions. And you can always snap me, betdavid19. I generally respond. We're getting thousands of messages now, so if I don't get back to you, send it again, and we'll eventually get back to you.
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