It is better to learn from people while they are rising than after they have risen. While they are rising, they can tell you how they are thinking, what they are doing, and why. Once they have risen, they can only reflect on what they think got them there, and what they think got them there is often very different from what actually did.
Here are a couple examples of things you can read from extraordinary entrepreneurs still relatively early in their respective rises:
1. Steve Job's biography from 1988. This was written during an interesting time. It was after Jobs was ousted from Apple (1985) but before he came back (1997). Steve was already an extraordinary success from his first run with Apple, but his second run produced the iMac, iPod, Macbook, iPad, and of course, the iPhone. What an incredible time this was to learn from perhaps the greatest entrepreneur of all-time.
2. Sam Altman's blog posts from 10+ years ago. Back then, Sam had sold his first company for $40M and he had become a partner at YC, but he was not nearly the success that he is today. He started the blog before he became President of YC, well before he co-founded and eventually became CEO of OpenAI. At that time, he was just an extremely fast-rising 20-something. His blogs provide a window into how he got to where he is.
The only issue with these examples is that they are dated. There are many timeless lessons of course, but all of what worked for Steve in the 2000's or Sam in the 2010's is unlikely to work exactly the same for you today. So the challenge is to find people who are rising NOW. There is a massive reward for finding someone you believe will be the next Steve or Sam or otherwise extraordinarily successful person and learning from them now, while they are rising, however you can.
This is the beauty of podcasts and blogs. Books are often dated by the time they are published, but podcasts and blogs are pretty much published in real-time, plus they are public and free. If the person you believe in does not write publicly or speak on podcasts, find a way to learn from them privately. Volunteer to work for them. Do whatever you need to do.
If you find someone you believe will rise to extraordinary heights, and you believe they are still in the early or middle stages of that rise, they should be an excellent person for you to learn from. People are sharing their perspectives more publicly than ever. The next Steve Jobs may well be writing on a blog. Your challenge is to find him, and find him early.
