In a conversation with CNBC, Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, a software development company that allows apps to contact users directly, highlighted the importance of taking initiative and taking advantage of opportunities as they come. As entrepreneurs, you’re expected to fail at one point or another; how you respond to that failure is what counts.
“No one is going to just teach you exactly [what you need to know]. Life is not a paint-by-number sort of deal. We have to figure it out … My grandfather, during the Depression was working in a factory and he wanted to make more money … He went to the owner and he said, ‘I need to make more money, how do I do that?’ The guy said ‘I don’t have any other jobs. The only job I have is driving the truck. Do you know how to drive the truck?’ My grandfather’s answer was, ‘give me the keys’ — and he got this job and made more money. But here’s the thing he never told his boss: He had never driven a truck before in his life … it’s a lesson that I’ve internalized and brought into our company … it’s like, you know what, we’ll figure it out. And if we don’t, someone else will … The best way to learn something new is to commit yourself to doing it.”
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