Bill Gurley, Silicon Valley VC turned Austin resident, shares practical career tips.

Here are some takeaways (my side commentary):

• Chase your curiosity (growth mindset)

• Hone your craft (something that’s not easy to hand off to AI)

• Find mentors and peers (even better when they are a notch above financially, professionally, mentally)

• Go where the action is (big cities with mass transit: Silicon Valley, NYC, DC, etc.)

• Always give back (enroll in civics programs to learn how to give back)

On a recent podcast, Bill shared about his visits to China and how he’s put his kids on a dual East – West learning path. The West is commercial and highly utilitarian. Eastern philosophy tends to lean inward with a group orientation. The ultimate takeaway here is building a framework that ensures optionality.

I consider optionality a defining success metric. If you have healthy and lucrative options, you’ve probably achieved a lot. Most options involve money. Some folks interviewed such as Sal Khan (link) could afford to find their true life calling (transforming online learning) because they were doing well in traditional careers. Bill was an engineer who quickly made a path towards finance and venture capital. Sal was an investment banker who wanted to help his family and give back.

To get ahead one has to get started. This book is perfect for anyone aged 15-25.