Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
How to Win at the Sport of Business summary
Mark Cuban
If I Can Do It, You Can Do It
13 mins
Brief summary
How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban is a guide to succeeding in the business world. It offers insights from Cuban's own journey to becoming a billionaire entrepreneur with tips on networking, leadership, and embracing failure.
Table of Contents
How to Win at the Sport of Business
Summary of 6 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 6
Mark Cuban worked his way up from sleeping on floors to owning his own company.
When Mark Cuban moved to Dallas at the age of 24, he was looking for three things: sunshine, job opportunities and women. He had a broken-down car and a few polyester suits, and started off sleeping on the floor of an acquaintance's tiny apartment.
Cuban had several jobs, which he knew would help his career because they all represented opportunities to learn. While many people assume they need to find the perfect job right after college and commit to it, that’s not necessarily the best way to start your career. Rather, it’s better to build and develop a variety of skills first.
As a young man fresh out of college, Cuban spent a few months at Mellon Bank, where he learned about computer systems. As a budding entrepreneur, he also endeavored to improve the company without consulting his boss first – which got him fired.
After moving to Dallas, he got another job working with software. He bought himself a computer for $99 and started teaching himself programming. He devoted his time to this new pursuit rather than returning to university, as it was an opportunity to get paid while learning.
When working a number of temporary jobs, there’s another valuable lesson to be learned: other people’s methods won’t always be best for you.
Working a variety of jobs helps you learn about yourself, your skills and your ambitions, but it can also teach you a lot about where businesses or bosses go wrong.
When Cuban found that his bosses weren’t open to their employees’ ideas, he decided that he simply couldn’t work there any longer. So he left and founded his own company, MicroSolutions, which sold PC software and configured computers.
Microsolutions had its share of problems – at one point, a secretary stole nearly all the company’s money – but Cuban was able to grow it into a strong company that eventually brought in revenue of over $30 million.
Want to see all full key ideas from How to Win at the Sport of Business?
Key ideas in How to Win at the Sport of Business
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is How to Win at the Sport of Business about?
In How to Win at the Sport of Business (2011), Mark Cuban offers unconventional advice and wisdom on how to work your way up in the business world. Comprising a collection of posts from Cuban’s renowned blog, the book tells the story of Cuban’s own unconventional rise to success – a story that’s sure to inspire anyone willing to think a little bit differently.
Best quote from How to Win at the Sport of Business
Thats what success is all about. Its about the edge.
—Mark Cuban
Who should read How to Win at the Sport of Business?
- Aspiring entrepreneurs
- People looking for a way to make money by following their passion
- Business people who don’t play by the rules
Categories with How to Win at the Sport of Business
Book summaries like How to Win at the Sport of Business
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
28 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth