Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
01:22:34 · G2 Patel, Lenny Rachitsky
[01:22:34] S0: Stamina trumps intellect. I feel like it's very important to have smart people, but you can become smart if you have curiosity and hunger and staying power and persistence. And so I think that trait of learning to learn and constantly being hungry and having the stamina and persistence is far more important than the absolute measure of intellect that you might have, because that is very, very trainable and learnable over time and improvable over time. But hunger is very, it's not teachable is what I've found. [01:23:11] S1: I 100% agree with that. Interestingly, when you watch AI work, it's just like, partly the reason it's so good is it just keeps trying. It's just like, "Okay, this didn't work. Let keep going. What else can we just keep trying? Just give me half an hour, I'll figure this out. Okay, last question. So when you were younger, you worked at Sizzler Steakhouse making $4 an hour is what I read. [01:23:33] S0: 2.25, not four. It was below minimum wage 2.25, but we got tips. We got tips though, so that was- [01:23:43] S1: Okay. I see. Did you have a favorite dish at Sizzler, is my question?
01:23:43 · Lenny Rachitsky, G2 Patel
[01:23:43] S1: Okay. I see. Did you have a favorite dish at Sizzler, is my question? [01:23:46] S0: Yes. They used to have this Malibu chicken dish was like magic. And then it was probably, I don't know if people know this, and I know this is rapid fire, but I used to stutter when I started working at Sizzler and Sizzler is what allowed me to break out of my shell and not stutter. Because something changed in my brain, but I'm like, I have to entertain people and if I don't, then they're not going to give me a good tip. And so the stuttering went away at Sizzler, and so I have an immense debt of gratitude and I think everyone should work in hospitality for a while in their younger years. And I'm kind of sad that my daughter has no interest in doing that because I'm like, "I wish she just worked as a waitress somewhere for a bit." And it's just so important to just, there's so many lessons on, I cleaned toilets at the restaurant. I actually washed dishes. I actually waited on tables. And it was the best experience I had. It shaped me for what was to come in the most profound way. [01:24:58] S1: Jeetu, you're just endlessly full of wisdom. Two final questions. Where can folks find you? Where do you want to point people to learn more about you, what you're up to, and how can listeners be useful to you?
01:24:58 · Lenny Rachitsky, G2 Patel
[01:24:58] S1: Jeetu, you're just endlessly full of wisdom. Two final questions. Where can folks find you? Where do you want to point people to learn more about you, what you're up to, and how can listeners be useful to you? [01:25:07] S0: Where you can find me is ... I tend to ... A lot of people will ask the more success you encounter or the more people want to get mentored by you and learn from the experiences you've had, and I have run out of cycles to be able to do that on a one-on-one basis. So what I try to do is do a lot of that on LinkedIn and Twitter, but largely I do a lot of that on LinkedIn. And so find me on LinkedIn. I tend to be very open about not just the work stuff, but the non-work stuff to do that. How can people be useful to me? Was that the question? What was the last question? [01:25:48] S1: That is, how can listeners be useful to you?
01:25:48 · Lenny Rachitsky, G2 Patel
[01:25:48] S1: That is, how can listeners be useful to you? [01:25:51] S0: How can listeners be useful to me? If there is ... I would say that if you got something out of this session and if you get something out of whatever you learn from social media, just pay it forward and help the next person out a little bit more. Yesterday I was at a talk and someone pulled me aside and said, "Hey, I saw your LinkedIn post about this." Don't be stingy with words, and Jeetu, since then, I've been going to see my parents once every two months or so in India, and when I see them, I tell them that I love them all the time. Literally, what could be more rewarding to me than that? It was amazing that they were able to go out and have joy brought to their lives as a result of something they got inspired by something that I learned in my life, that's paid forward. [01:26:51] S1: I'm excited to hear the stories that come out of this conversation. Jeetu, thank you so much for being here. [01:26:57] S0: Thank you for having me. It was great. [01:26:58] S1: Bye everyone. Thank you so much for listening. If you found this valuable, you can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Also, please consider giving us a rating or leaving a review as that really helps other listeners find the podcast. You can find all past episodes or learn more about the show at lennyspodcast.com. See you in the next episode.