Taking The Third Door

Last week I went to a meetup in Santa Monica as part of Alex Banayan’s book tour for his national bestseller The Third Door.
 
I was introduced to Alex about a year ago through a mutual friend who said we had a lot in common with our drive to understand what makes people successful. He told me that Alex was on this incredible quest to interview some awesome people and that I should follow along.
 
Fast forward to August 2018 and his project has become one of the best books of the year – The Third Door. I mean, it’s really good! He interviews people like Jessica Alba, Pitbull, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and so many more while also sharing his story and overcoming incredible adversity.

I knew the book was going to be great from the get go. I mean not only did he dedicate 7 years of his life to writing it, but he funded the entire project by hacking and winning The Price is Right. As an author and entrepreneur, I’ve loved supporting from afar and watching Alex and the book absolutely take off.
 
I purchased the book right away and in the midst of my jetlag when I got back from China at the end of the July, I sat down to read his book. I finished it in one sitting. It was THAT good.
 
So when I saw on Instagram that Alex was hosting an event in LA, I knew I had to attend so we could finally connect. Leading up to the event, I did what anyone else would do and listened to 6 podcast interviews that featured Alex. I wanted to make sure that when I arrived I could ask a question that he has never been asked before.
 
Not only was it incredible to connect with Alex at his event, but the people he attracted were pretty amazing as well.
 
Throughout the event I took notes from the Q&A with Alex as well as my encounters with some of the other attendees.
 
Here are some of the big takeaways from attending his event:

1. Ask the first or last question – you’ll be more memorable. I asked the first question during the Q&A which was, “how do you balance your ambition and pursuit of greatness with your ability to be present in the current moment and enjoy the journey?”
2. If you want your book, business, product, or whatever to be great, you have to train like an Olympian.
3. Books as a mentor are vastly underutilized. Often people spend months and years trying to figure out how to ask someone for a mentor or how to find a mentor, when in reality, books serve as great mentors. Real life mentors are invaluable but when you combine it with books, you can evolve even quicker and more efficient.
4. If you don’t try it, you can’t do it.
5. I met an incredible author named Natalie who wrote the book The Miracle Morning for College Students. We exchanged books and the next day I started reading Natalie’s book. So far it’s awesome. If you need help creating a morning routine, this is the book for you.
6. I met a friend named Phil who is a podcast editor and we spent about 15 minutes talking about the idea that the question you ask is sometimes more important than the answer. The right questions will lead to understanding the right solutions.
7. If you get nervous at a networking event, try this strategy. Count to 3 and on 3, do whatever it is you are nervous about. If you want to speak with the author, count to 3 and go for it. If you want to meet another attendee, count to 3 and introduce yourself.

 
When I left for the night, I was feeling very grateful that I made the decision to attend the event. I learned that I had a lot of work to do to prep for the launch of Elevate Your Network, I met some great people, and I had a great time connecting with Alex. 
 
Alex has had quite the journey from attending USC to hacking The Price is Right to trying to get in touch with Warren Buffett for 8 months straight. His story is extremely inspiring and I highly recommend anyone who’s interested in learning from the best in the world and seeing what having a laser focused vision looks like to pick up a copy of The Third Door. 

Jake Kelfer is the bestselling author of Elevate Beyond and a lifestyle entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which features NBA draft prospects in a secondary draft combine. As a high energy inspirational speaker, he is on a mission to elevate and motivate millions of people to achieve their definition of success. He and his work have been featured on Forbes, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report, and many other major media outlets. Connect with Jake on social @jakekelfer!
​