Step 2: Run Down The Alley (Ch. 4-7)

Question 1

Institutional education tends to teach people to…

Answer 1

rely on teachers to guide us; “check off boxes”. when the real world forces us to do it on our own.

Question 2

the hardest part to achieving a dream is…

Answer 2

stepping through the fear of the unknown when there is no clear path.

Question 3

pg. 69

“the hardest part about achieving a dream isn’t actually achieving it—it’s stepping through your fear of the unknown when you don’t have a plan…

Answer 3

…Having a teacher or boss tell you what to do makes life a lot easier. But nobody achieves a dream from the comfort of certainty”

Question 4

the first step that Alex took to figuring out how to interview his list was…

Answer 4

reaching out and asking people he already knew for advice.

Question 5

how did he end up getting access to the Spielberg event?

Answer 5

an administrator at USC brought him as her assistant to the campus film event (even though students weren’t allowed)

Question 6

why did the USC administrator help Alex?

Answer 6

humans enjoy being part of the adventure, it’s enticing, romantic, and fulfilling to help others.

Question 7

to be prepared for the opportunity if it came up to speak with Spielberg, Alex…

Answer 7

read his biography during the day and watched all his movies at night

Question 8

“The Flinch” is…

Answer 8

fear of rejection. a sense of paralysis and stammering when talking. the precursor to no confidence and a lost opportunity.

Question 9

how did Spielberg get his start?

Answer 9

he snuck off of a bus at universal, bumped into Chuck Silvers (movie exec), got a 3 day pass, talked with as many people as possible, gave Chuck a short film, then landed a contract from doing so.

the third door.

Question 10

who mentored Spielberg?

Answer 10

Chuck Silvers

Question 11

schmoozing

Answer 11

talking with someone in a lively and friendly way, typically in order to impress or manipulate them

Question 12

what is the Spielberg game?

Answer 12

1. jump of the bus (third door)
2. find an inside man (a mentor)
3. ask for his or her help (trust, credibility, & belief)

Question 13

after procrastinating and hesitating to talk to Spielberg, he was on his way out when…

Answer 13

without thinking Alex finally went for it and asked to ask him a question

Question 14

another book that fuelled Alex was?

Answer 14

The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferris

Question 15

pg. 86 (excerpt from the 4 hour work week)

“What do you want?” is too imprecise to produce a meaningful and actionable answer. Forget about it.
“What are your goals?” is similarly fated for confusion and guesswork. To rephrase the question, we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture…
What is the opposite of happiness? Sadness? No. Just as love and hate are two sides of the same coin, so are happiness and sadness…The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is—here’s the clincher—boredom…

Answer 15

….Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your “passion” or your “bliss,” I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement.”

Question 16

Donorschoose.org ended up being…

Answer 16

the connection for an “inside man” to meet Tim Ferris. at the same conference he got Tony Hsiehs book, he met the COO of the charity. That same charity a proceed of Tim’s book went to.

Question 17

how did Alex end up meeting Ferris?

Answer 17

first he went to an Evernote event where he was speaking.

a bathroom was near the stage entrance.

he waited there listening through the wall, timed his exit to bump into Tim, and did.

he didn’t know what to say, then showed him a donorschoose gift card.

the interaction went nowhere.

Alex then called and emailed Tim’s assistant incessantly.

The only reason Tim ended up taking the meeting is he talked to the charity asking what was wrong with Alex, and they convinced him to take the call.

Question 18

pg. 98 (Tim talking to Alex)

“If you sense someone getting annoyed, you need to back off.” Jab. “You need to be polite and deferential and recognize that, if you’re emailing someone like that, you should have your hat in hand.” Jab…

Answer 18

…“There’s a fine line between being persistent and being a hassle.” Uppercut.”

Question 19

an easy way to get credible association…

Answer 19

…is to volunteer at organizations

Question 20

another way to create credibility is to…

Answer 20

…write for a publication, interview someone and publish the answers in the article

Question 21

borrowed credibility

Answer 21

associating oneself with well known organizations and publications

Question 22

pg. 100 (emailing someone busy)

“The general composition of my emails,” Ferriss said, “when I’m emailing a busy person, is:

Answer 22

Dear So-and-So,
I know you’re really busy and that you get a lot of emails, so this will only take sixty seconds to read.
[Here is where you say who you are: add one or two lines that establish your credibility.]
[Here is where you ask your very specific question.]
I totally understand if you’re too busy to respond, but even a one- or two-line reply would really make my day.

				All the best,
				Tim”

Question 23

superlative

Answer 23

of the highest quality or degree

Question 24

don’t end emails with…

Answer 24

“thanks in advance”

Question 25

where did Alex meet Stefan Weitz (director of microsoft)?

Answer 25

the same business conference he volunteered at where he met Cesar (the COO of donorschoice)

Question 26

Alex emailed Stefan Weitz about the mission and set up an interview with…

Answer 26

Qi Lu (Chee Loo) the president of online services for microsoft

Question 27

what is “Qi Time”?

Answer 27

a term coined by microsoft employees how Qi Lu did things twice as fast by sleeping for 4 hours a night and working 18 hour days.

this method creates 1460 hours in a calendar year, the equivalent of 2 months.

Question 28

Qi Lu used his extra time to write papers and study that ended up preparing him for…

Answer 28

one day when he attend a seminar. there he asked questions that the speaker was impressed by, and gave him the opportunity to take an admission test to study in America (a dream of Qi)

Question 29

pg. 110 (Qi talking to Alex about preparation)

“luck is like a bus. if you miss one there’s always the next one….

Answer 29

…but if you’re not prepared, you won’t be able to jump on”

Question 30

Qi Time isn’t sleeping less…

Answer 30

it’s sacrificing short term pleasure for long term gain

Question 31

Alex got an Inside Man with Sugar Ray Leonard by…

Answer 31

cold emailing someone who did his public relations work, she set up the meeting

Question 32

pg. 123 (Sugar Ray talking)

“I didn’t have the experience…

Answer 32

…but I had the heart, the discipline, and the desire”

Question 33

pg. 126 (Sugar Ray talking about when he fought Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns, was losing and his coaches said…)

“You’re blowing it now, son. You’re blowing it.”
Those words triggered a powerful feeling within Ray that spread throughout his body. Thirty years later, as we sat on his couch, he made those words come alive.
“You may have the heart—you keep fighting, you keep fighting, you keep fighting—but your mind is saying, ‘Man, forget this. I don’t need this.’ The head and the heart aren’t going together; but they have to go together. It all has to connect. Everything has to connect to reach that level, that pinnacle.

Answer 33

“You may have a desire, a wish, a dream—but it’s got to be more than that—you’ve got to want it to the point that it hurts. Most people never reach that point. They never tap into what I call the Hidden Reservoir, your hidden reserve of strength. We all have it. When they say a mother lifted up a car off a trapped child, that’s that power.”

Question 34

pg. 128

“How many times have people told you, ‘You can’t interview these types of people’? How many times have they said, ‘No way’? Don’t let anyone tell you your dream isn’t possible. When you have a vision, you’ve got to hang in there. You’ve got to stay in the fight. It’s going to get tough…

Answer 34

…You’re going to hear no. But you’ve got to keep pushing. You’ve got to keep fighting. You’ve got to use your Hidden Reservoir. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s possible.
“When I saw in the letter that you’re nineteen, I remembered how I felt when I was your age. I was eager. I was excited. I was hungry. I wanted that gold medal more than anything. And when I look at you”—he paused and stepped toward me, pointing his finger at my face—“don’t let anybody”