Master Your Mindset Series (#7)
Think and Grow Rich – Peter Diamadis, My Imaginary Board Member #2
From the time I was around six years old, I wanted to do two things: go to space and figure out how to stop the aging process. I was obsessed with the thought of both. I knew our species should be interstellar and that there was a way to live forever. Growing up with such different beliefs than other kids and even most adults made the kind of conversations I liked to have mostly disheartening.
All that began to change shortly after college. The Internet had become a thing. I liked the chat rooms and ended up meeting a social networking volunteer for Michio Kaku, a well-known quantum physicist, who had written a couple of books I massively enjoyed. During one of our conversations, I shared my beliefs about how dumbfounding I found that humans just accept death without vigorously trying to slow it and eventually stop it. He told me there were a few people he knew of who not only agree but who are being very vocal about how and when it will happen.
Through the documentary, Transcendent Man, which was just in the process of being produced and would be released a year or two later, he introduced me to two of my now-favorite people: Ray Kurzweil and Pieter Diamandis, co-founders of Singularity University. Both are graduates of MIT.
It felt like forever waiting for the release. I felt euphoric the day I could finally see it! I watched the documentary three times in a row. I felt connected to Ray and Peter in a way I had never related to anyone, thanks to their love of space, longevity, science, and technology and for their purpose of bringing people together to tackle world problems or limitations and figure out solutions. They are futurists!
Peter Diamandis was inspired by the story of the Orteig Prize which was a competition to award $25,000 to the first person to complete non-stop air travel between New York and Paris. This competition provoked the public to the initiative of developing this technology. Peter started XPrize and offered up to $10,000,000 to the first privately-financed team to build a spaceship—and it worked! But only because Peter never gave up on his “moonshot” endeavor.
Peter had to raise the $10,000,000 to fund the prize and he endured A LOT of rejection. Most people wouldn’t have the mindset to keep going but he did and now, thanks to his vision and persistence, the world has XPrize! Richard Branson (who also might be on my imaginary board of directors) later joined forces with SpaceShipOne for Virgin Galactic. I’ve included a picture of me with Virgin Galactic.
I first met Peter at the 10-year anniversary of the private space flight at Denis Titto’s estate in Southern California. There I also met Steven Hawking’s daughter, Lucy. All of a sudden, I was around the kind of people I loved learning from. Shortly thereafter, Peter released a book How to Make a Spaceship and I entered a contest of who could sell the most books to spend the day with him. I came in 5th place, but I still got to spend the day with Peter who without any irony has a podcast called Moonshot Mindset. I donated the books, which chronicle Peter’s life chasing his dreams, to the business department at UNLV to help inspire up-and-coming business leaders and entrepreneurs.
In my imaginary board meetings, I ask Peter to keep me inspired on using the exponential mindset to take my business endeavors 10x (1000% increase) – the moonshot. It works, I am always pushing the limits and every time I accomplish a big goal, I already have two new ones to get me to the next level.
Who would be on your imaginary board of directors? Share in the comments.
Stay tuned to Master Your Mindset series. Next week, Richard Branson: Going Deep – Virgin Galactic https://cannabiscommunitycollege.com/blog-new/