On Steve Jobs, greatness, and nailing your pitch

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: Steve Jobs’ Secrets of Life

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use.” - Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs Secrets of Life

2: Common Attributes of Greatness

David Hemery, a former Olympic champion, conducted a study in the mid-1980s to identify the attributes that contribute to success in sports and other fields. He interviewed 62 elite athletes and found common characteristics among them:

1. Introversion, Sensitivity, and Humor: A high percentage of athletes considered themselves introverts, were sensitive to others' opinions, and valued humor as a means of reducing tension.

2. Coping with Pre-Competition Stress: Athletes thrived under pressure and could isolate themselves from distractions before competitions.

3. Visualization: Around 80% of athletes used visualization techniques to mentally rehearse their performance, which helped boost confidence and performance.

4. High Self-Confidence: A majority of athletes had confidence in their ability to produce their best effort, often stemming from their belief that they had worked harder than their competitors.

5. High Tolerance for Discomfort: Athletes had the ability to push through physical and mental discomfort during training, which built mental resilience.

6. Enjoyment of Pursuit: Most athletes didn't view their sacrifices as sacrifices because they genuinely enjoyed their sport, maintaining intrinsic motivation.

7. Feeling in Control of Destiny: Athletes believed in their ability to control their destinies while acknowledging the role of luck in their success.

Source: 14 Attributes of Greatness

3: How to Nail Your Pitch

Shaan Puri is an entrepreneur, investor, and co-host of the My First Million podcast.

In this storytelling workshop, he helps founders explain what their company does without boring people to sleep.

Two key points:

1) Use the Storybrand method to explain your business in simple terms:

• Most people have this problem

• We offer a simple solution

• So that you get a happy ending

2) You should prepare different versions of your story

• Tweet, 5 min conversation, blog article, podcast interview, book version

Source: Painting a picture while tickling the brain

See you next Monday,

- Jay + The Z Fellows Team

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