Think Like Zuck summary

Say you want to launch a start-up. Should you look for the most up-and-coming industry? Or should you create a concept that caters to the biggest available market? Well actually, you should try a completely different approach, and let your passion drive you. After all, that’s exactly what Mark Zuckerberg did to build his phenomenal career.

Even before Facebook, Zuckerberg’s passion for connecting people was evident. For instance, in the 1990s, he built a messaging system called “Zucknet” to connect computers at his parents’ house.

While following his passion gave Zuckerberg his career direction, there was also another benefit to it: Consider the fact that in the beginning, Facebook wasn’t so different from Myspace and Friendster. However, since Zuckerberg’s passion was all about socially connecting people online, his product best matched what people actually wanted – allowing it to ultimately trounce rivals.

The lesson here is that when you follow your own passion, there’s no harm in “stealing” inspiration from elsewhere, because your idea will naturally stand out on its own.

Another advantage of following your passion is that you’re more likely to be persistent – that is, you won’t give up, even when you fail.

For instance, before Zuckerberg founded Facebook, he created “Facemash,” a social platform that allowed users to compare and rate photos of Harvard students. However, since the site used photos of students without permission, it was shut down by Harvard’s disciplinary board. Even though Zuckerberg failed, since he was driven by passion, he was able to persist.

It’s worth noting that although Zuckerberg’s passion was vital, his ability to act also played a huge role in his success.

Because after all, no matter how much you love something, if you don’t act on it, you won’t succeed. But luckily, you can overcome inaction by remembering the message on a poster located in Facebook’s headquarters. It reads, “Done is better than perfect.”