A while back, while pondering lazily how I could become more successful in life, I came across the article:
“How To Be Successful”
“Hmmm maybe I will read this article,” I said to myself, “and it will tell me the secret I have been missing.”
It looked like a good bet.
The article had 894 upvotes on a popular news aggregator. It had 300 comments. And it was linked to repeatedly ever since it was published, popping up every few months, each time with a big new response.
So what did this article say to justify this level of influence and interest?
Well, it had 13 insightful and surprising ideas such as:
* Work hard
* Focus
* Build a network
No?
You say these ideas aren’t tickling you with their novelty?
You don’t feel any insight from hearing these secrets of success?
Well, that’s kind of my point.
The article is solid. But it’s hardly novel or uniquely insightful.
It could have been written by some diligent high schooler in a 2,000 word Quora response.
But if the quality of the content is not it, what possibly explains the success of this “How to be successful” article?
Is it the presentation? The copy in the headline? The story in the lead? Is it just blind luck?
I’ll quit teasing you.
The article was written by Sam Altman. Altman is a 37-year-old tech investor worth some $250 million.
At age 26, Altman became president of the startup incubator Y Combinator (Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase).
Currently, he is the CEO of OpenAI, the Elon Musk- and Peter Thiel-backed research lab that is looking to replace every creative job on the planet with better, faster, cheaper software.
Maybe none of that means too much to you.
So the point I am trying to make is that within the venture capital and tech world, Altman probably could sign his name on a cocktail napkin… then take a photo of his napkin… post it on Twitter… and get thousands of people liking his autographed napkin photo and enthusing, “This! This is what makes the difference between the hugely successful and all the wannabes!”
And that is how you write for influence.
First, you become somebody famous, admired, and elite. And then you say whatever you like, even if it’s just “work hard.” People will still upvote, share, and spread your message on their own.
That’s not to say Altman’s “How to be successful” advice is not solid. It probably really is where it’s at.
Just nobody would hear the message it if it wasn’t coming from the mouth of Sam Altman.
But since it is coming from him, maybe you will hear it. Maybe you will even hear it right now.
So in case you are more ambitious than I am, and you want to read all of Altman’s 13 well-trodden points, and 1000x your chances of becoming a lightning success, here’s the full article: