Decades before Warren Buffett became the legendary investor whose net worth totaled $83 billion, he was a young MBA student who had just graduated from Columbia University. Instead of pursuing a high-paying corporate job, Buffett offered Benjamin Graham, a Wall Street legend, that he’d work for Graham for free.

Graham said no, and Buffett got a job as a stockbroker elsewhere, but Buffett continued to write letters to Graham. Eventually, Graham said he’d give Buffett a job, and Buffett took his wife and child to New York to start the job without even asking if there was a salary.

As the quote says, Buffett is a master when it comes to long-term value and he knew that working under Graham would provide a lot more value in the long run than working at a high-paying corporate job.

Armando Christian Pérez, better known by his rap name Pitbull, is also a big believer in being an intern. As a young artist, Pitbull sought mentorship from Luther Campbell–a successful rapper and entrepreneur.

Even after winning a Grammy and having a number one record, Pitbull remained an intern. Pitbull tells Banayan that he asked Carlos Slim Jr.–the son of prominent businessmen Carlos Slim whose net worth is $59 billion–if he could intern him.

At first, the businessman thought Pitbull was joking, but Pitbull said he wasn’t kidding and he would do whatever he needed, “I don’t have a problem being down here for a month, getting doughnuts, making coffee, I don’t care,” said Pitbull.

Banayan writes that the goal to continued success is to humble yourself enough to learn, even when you’re at the top of the game. “If you want to continue being Mufasa, at the same time you have to keep being Simba” (Pg 237).



Bonus: Use The Third Door Method

The title of Banayan’s book is a metaphor for achieving success in life or business by taking craving your own path. Banayan says that success is like a nightclub and there are always three ways get inside. The First Door is the main entrance where the vast majority of people wait in line, hoping to get in. Then there’s the Second Door. This is the VIP entrance where billionaires, celebrities and the like slip through.

But there is always the Third Door. Banayan says “It’s the entrance where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, bang on the dor a hundred times, climb over the dumpster, crack open the window, sneak through the kitchen” and get in whatever way you can.

The Third Door is when people decide to take a different path in life and try multiple methods to get inside. Banayan’s book is filled with people who took the Third Door.

Larry King for example, didn’t go to college or even have a resume, but he knew he wanted to be a radio host. So he literally went to radio stations around Miami and knocked on their doors asking for a job. Eventually, a small station gave offered King a job and he jumped on it.

When Banayan was looking for a advice from a successful entrepreneur, he cold-emailed Elliott Bisnow and Bisnow said to meet him in-person. The only problem was that the meeting date was that to make the meeting, Banayan would miss his accounting final. Banayan decided it was worth the risk and Bisnow eventually became Banayan’s mentor and introduced him to several successful figures.

Banayan also talks about how he got to shadow Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, simply by asking Hsieh at a party. While shadowing Hsieh, one of the employees at Zappos who had worked there for several years told Banayan that he was lucky to have the chance to shadow their CEO. When Banayan asked Hsieh why he doesn’t let Zappos employees shadow him, Hsieh looked blankly and said: “I’d be happy to–but no one ever asks.”