Entrepreneurship Lessons from One of world’s Youngest Self-made Millionaire

Gurbaksh Chahal is a fantastic entrepreneur who learned all of his skills on the job rather than in school. He is among the very few successful entrepreneur who sold his first company at the age of 18 years (ClickAgents for $40 million) and his second at the age of 25 (BlueLithium for $300 million). I learnt about him in 2009 after he published his autobiography in 2008. I bought his book from Flipkart Stories (still have bookmark put by the another amazing founders). He was one of the key inspiration for me to launch my first venture — The Other Home.

I read his book (The Dream — Gurbaksh Chahal) in 2010 and organized my notes into a presentation. In his book, he shared some of the most incredible life lessons. I recall reading a passage in the book where Gurbaksh mentioned how he surprised his parents by purchasing two new cars and paying off their mortgage. He bought his first Ferrari and he didn’t know how to drive. He hired the guy who came to deliver the car to teach him how to drive.

Image — I was so happy when Gurbaksh shared my message on Facebook in 2010

I refer back to my notes from time to time because I believe some of the lessons he mentioned are exceptional. Some of the lessons shared by him are as follows. I would still recommend to read the full book:

• Always surround yourself with people who want you to succeed. In real world, most people are rooting for you to fail. STAY AWAY FROM THEM
• NEVER DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY — or, at least, solely for money. Don’t chase money, chase substance.
• If you genuinely want something, don’t wait for it —TEACH YOURSELF TO BE IMPATIENT.
• The biggest lessons come from the BIGGEST MISTAKES.
• Don’t tell people what they ask you, tell them what they need to hear to FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU.
• Jealousy is one of the most useless emotions on the planet. DON’T BE JEALOUS.
• Don’t be afraid to go off on all sorts of unusual directions, since that’s where you might just find the MOST INTERESTING — AND PROMISING — OPPORTUNITIES.
• NEVER BE CHEAP WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES. If one of them is a rock star, pay him or her a rock star salary.
• Learn to move on when it’s time to move on. Bite the bullet. Let go. START FRESH.
• CRITICISM is the best form of discipline because it makes you look at yourself.
• He who knows when HE CAN FIGHT AND WHEN HE CAN NOT, will be victorious.
• LISTEN TO YOUR HEART. We tend to do well at things we love, so find something you love — or learn to love what you’re doing.
• ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE. Without the right attitude, you’ll never succeed. You have to believe in yourself, often to the point of madness.
• Very few of us are gifted, so we need to work with the gifts we have. FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT.
• TRUST YOUR GUT. Try not to over analyze it. Some mysterious inner you is trying to help by pointing you in the right direction.
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK. BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into.
• Be frugal. The only person YOU NEED TO IMPRESS IS YOURSELF, and you’ll be impressed by success.
• DON’T EXPECT PERFECTION from yourself or others, but never stop striving for it, and try to inspire others to strive for it too.
• LEARN TO LISTEN. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is entitled to an opinion, and even wrong-headed opinions can open your eyes to things you might otherwise have missed.
• DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Procrastination is just another work for wanting to fail. If you’re not hungry enough, if you’re too lazy to move forward, you’re never going to get anywhere.
• ALWAYS NEGOTIATE FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH. If you need something from the other guy, you’ve already lost.
• EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. If you’re ready for anything, you’ll still be unpleasantly surprised — but at least you’ll get through it.
• Don’t get emotional. LOGIC AND EMOTIONAL DON’T MIX.
• Grow a thick skin — a very thick skin. THE SILENCE WILL HELP YOU FOCUS ON YOUR OBJECTIVE, AND YOU WILL PREVAIL.
• TAKE CHANCES. Without risk, there is no reward. But make sure it’s intelligent risk. Only a fool bets against Tiger Woods (until it is time to bet against Tiger Woods)
• When you commit, you really have to commit. BECOME UNSTOPPABLE AND DON’T QUIT.
• There is no need to reinvent the wheel. You simply need to find out that CAPTURED YOUR IMAGINATION, and then you figured out how to do it better than the next guy.
• SUCCESS IS REALLY ABOUT MAKING IT HAPPEN. It’s about dreaming. It’s about finding that one thing you love above all others and then figuring out how to do it better than anyone else.

Full presentations:

About The Author

Jaspal Singh is the Co-founder of Mobility Innovation Lab (MIL) and Host of the Mobility Innovators Podcast. He loves to talk about startups, mobility, and technology.