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Since childhood, I watched and read manga, which are Japanese comics. It all started with Dragon Ball and from there grew. I’ve been reading and watching a Japanese manga series for over 10 years, One piece, by Eiichiro Oda - which is currently my favorite manga. Here are some lessons I have learned and expanded in my work and life that can be of great help to other entrepreneurs:
Have ambitious goals
Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist One piece. He is a rubber man who ate devil’s fruit, and as a result, he can stretch his body like rubber. He has an innocent personality and is fighting for his friends and family. Luffy’s name comes from the Japanese word “luffy”, which means “to become strong”.
One piece is a pirate story, and Luffy wants to become the king of all pirates. Just setting this goal is a huge ambition and means a lot of work. Luffy has no idea How to do so, but is willing to do the job and improve his own skills to achieve his goal. His “why” is more important than “how”. The reason why he wants to become a pirate king is that, in his opinion, the one who becomes a pirate king has the most freedom of all.
Set yourself ambitious goals! Your goals may even scare other people and be seen as polarized, but accept that some people will think you are crazy. When I started my own business, I wanted clients all over the world, not just in Germany. Now I have clients in the US, Germany, South Africa and Belgium - and this is really just the starting point! I also specialize in content produced by artificial intelligence. As Luffy, who wants to become the king of pirates, I want to become a contented AI king! I want to be the main person if you want to establish AI content tools and workflows in your company.
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Learn only from the best around the world
Luffy went through a lot of training, and he did some of his training with the famous Silvers Raileigh, who is also known as the Dark King. Reilly was in the crew of the old pirate king Gold Roger, who passed away. This crew has already sailed around the world and achieved what Luffy is trying to achieve. Through various circumstances, Luffy had the opportunity to train with the Dark King for a year, which he did immediately. This training improved his martial arts and also strengthened his team.
In the business world, I always try to work with people who are smarter than me and who have already achieved what I want to achieve. When I first started, I wanted to implement digital business models, so I worked with Norman Miller and we started Genius Alliance University. We have built this community of international entrepreneurs who support and grow together. Later, I wanted to position myself in the niche of AI content, and I started The AI Nerd Journal with Thomas Helfrich. Always try to find people who have already achieved what you want to achieve and cooperate with them or learn from them!
Related: How to increase your learning from other people’s experiences 10 times
Build a world-class team with high success
In time, Luffy found valuable team members who decided to join his crew. There’s Roronoa Zoro, who wants to become the world’s best sword fighter. There is Nami, who wants to draw a perfect map of the world as a navigator and more characters with very ambitious goals. They all support each other and learn from each other.
This synergy is something that always happens when successful people from different fields come together and work together. They support each other in their blind spots. That is what we are doing at our University of Genius Alliance - we are trying to build our community and give tools to grow and support each other.
Usually, those who have a high success rate are achieved. They have the ability to work alone and are more than happy to face the challenges they face. They also have a high level of commitment, which is important for every team. Successful people are not only doing things, but also setting an example for others to follow. They are not afraid to speak up and share their views with the rest of the team, which helps create a culture of openness and trust.
Always remember: the greatest freedom and the greatest power belongs to the one who positions himself as the king of his niche. You can also become Apple or Amazon in your niche - set that as your goal, surround yourself with top achievements and build a world-class team. Then you may be on your way to becoming the king of your niche.
Related: 6 steps to hiring the right people to build effective teams