I was in NYC two weeks ago for a very interesting conference: Ramit Sethi’s 100K Summit. I joined a hand-picked group of twenty business owners for a three-day course in advanced entrepreneurship. Ramit is a highly-successful young (31) internet entrepreneur recently featured in Forbes. He’s a brilliant, irreverently sharp-tongued online teacher and bestselling author (I Will Teach You to Be Rich) who innovatively fuses psychology and financial topics. He’s also a kick-ass businessman. This was a rare in-person course with Ramit, and I jumped at the chance to hang out in a small group with such a delightfully deviant leader and the equally fascinating group he would surely attract. I was not disappointed.
We met in a hip Chelsea event space. As Ramit spoke to our group on the first morning, these words of his jumped out at me, “I like seeing people’s results.”
There it was! Ramit Sethi’s spark.
Being a Potentiator, I am always listening for people’s sparks—those tiny things inside each of us that connect to our affinity (purpose). Given the right fuel, sparks are fanned into flames.
By Tony Fischer
Ramit interwove his own stories of building his business into the three-day program, and I studied every personal detail he mentioned. His business lessons and exercises also aligned with, “I like seeing people’s results,” and that connection to his affinity was ultimately why Ramit’s class was such a success. When you are in touch with your sparks and your affinity, you tap into an infinite reservoir of energy: your potential.
Ramit has built an enormously successful business at the age of 31. This didn’t happen by accident. He has deliberately built his Entrepreneur Identity over many years. He doesn’t speak in terms of Identity when he tells his story, but that’s just a matter of vocabulary words.
Here’s a brief deconstruction of Ramit’s Entrepreneur Identity formation process using my terms from the Identity matrix and his stories:
(If you aren’t familiar with the Identity Matrix, see the screen shot below from our software, The Fit. Along the top: The constructs Validation, Affirmation, Affiliation, Affinity. Along the side a selection of the many systems that interface with constructs to create Identity.)
Click for an enlarged view of The Fit Software Identity Matrix
Ramit’s Entrepreneur Identity, deconstructed:
Validation: Singular, impactful events from authoritative sources that are positive, “Yes, I am this Identity,” or negative, “No, I’m not.”
-About creating his courses, Ramit said, “I’m going to develop the world’s best material.” This is positive validation in the self system.
-Ramit was just featured in Forbes magazine in a spread right next to Warren Buffett, one of his heroes. This is positive validation in the vocational system.
-Ramit told us, “Being extraordinary is unusual. Accept that you are different. Expect to be misunderstood.” This is discernment of negative validation in the social, family, and many other systems. He doesn’t try to change what people think about him, he takes note of it and chooses to validate himself in those systems.
Affirmation: Ongoing and systematic reinforcement (positive) or not (negative) of this Identity; the daily process of working on the Identity.
-“Apply for courses and jobs just slightly out of reach.” This advice leads to positive affirmation in the educational, vocational, and other systems.
-“I spent one year working on this new course with ruthless perfection.” Ramit’s daily commitment to excellence in creating his material is a positive affirmation in his vocational system.
-“All of us can play to win; most of us don’t.” Ramit is describing an ongoing process of working for and developing our entrepreneurial identities—a positive affirmation in the vocational system.
Affiliation: Relationships with other people reinforcing this Identity (positive) or not (negative).
-“I study and befriend the best in my field.” This is positive affiliation in the vocational system.
-“Friends and family often encourage mediocrity.” This comment shows Ramit’s awareness of negative affiliation in the family and social systems. Again, he is teaching discernment—you can’t change these systems, but you can be aware and chose not to allow your Identity to be negatively impacted.
-“I teach everyone around me to revere my work.” I love this one. He is harnessing the power of affiliation to further his Entrepreneur Identity and therefore his work.
Affinity: Meeting your unique purpose and meaning through this Identity, or not.
-“I’m in the business of teaching people to live a rich life.” Contained in this statement is a nod to Ramit’s affinity, and I have no doubt that he is meeting his affinity through his entrepreneur Identity in his vocational system, and likely many other systems.
-“What business are you really in?” He was indirectly asking us to tune in to our affinities.
Ramit has created a highly-successful Entrepreneur Identity by deliberately working on validation, affirmation, affiliation, and affinity in his own life.
One thing you might have noticed is that all of my examples about Ramit were confined to a few systems, mainly vocational, social, family, and educational. This is because those were the systems he discussed in his presentations to our group. If I interviewed Ramit about his Identity, I’m sure I would find that he has addressed many other systems as well.
Also note that I never specifically named Ramit’s affinity. Our affinities are deeply-held and very personal. Only Ramit can know what his affinity is—I just see the sparks and impacts of meeting or not meeting one’s affinity.
What makes Ramit a kick-ass Entrepreneur is that he continues to fine-tune his deliberate process of building his Entrepreneur Identity and knows that ongoing growth requires ongoing effort and a framework for doing that work. Ramit and I may have a different vocabulary, but we are speaking the same language.
The best is yet to come.
