Mozart was one of the best music composers of Europe’s classical period. He composed hundreds of pieces of music many of which are considered masterpieces today.
A story about him goes like this:
A young man, around 25 years old, goes to Mozart and asks him “How do I write a symphony?”.
Mozart tells him that he is too young to write symphonies.
The young man gets confused and reminds Mozart that Mozart himself had been writing symphonies since he was 10 years old.
Mozart responds, “Yes, but I wasn’t asking anyone for advice.”
Advice on Asking for Advice
★ Stop asking experts basic questions (especially things you can Google) because you will not get a straight answer.
★ If you’re asking for basic non-specific advice, you likely don’t have what it takes. People who succeed figure the basics out by themselves. When they ask for advice, their questions aren’t “How do I use a computer?” or “Which programming language should I learn?”, they are specific questions about something that is hard to figure out.
★ If you want to do something just do it. Asking for “advice” is often just asking for permission, and if you’re asking for permission, you don’t have what it takes.
★ Everyone who went to the top just figured it out on the way. There is no “structured path” to the top. No one knew everything and no one got there without struggle.
★ You will have more luck drawing a painting and asking people if they want to buy it than if you asked people “Should I make a painting?”. This is because most people can’t recognize talent when they see it, and the only way to know if you can do it is to try.
★ Other than your mom and dad, no one really cares about you and even your mom and dad just want you to be “safe”. If you want to do risky things, you’ll have to do it without encouragement and support.
★ Once you succeed, encouragement and support will be given to you regardless because everyone likes to get on the “winning side”.
★ That said, if you need encouragement to start a business, you should probably do something else because you are unlikely to make it.
★ If you want to learn something, don’t ask for advice. Do some research by yourself. Watch some YouTube videos, buy a course, read a book on the topic, and if you still can’t figure it out – then you can ask (and be taken seriously).
★ The average person is a time waster who’s always asking questions but never taking action. If you’ve worked in sales for even a day, you know this. The guy who asks 10000 questions never buys.
– Harsh Strongman
