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A New Billionaire’s 10 Rules for Success

101 points by vwadhwani 15y ago

sayemm 15y ago
I agree, this list doesn't sound all that insightful. But it did make me want to look him up on Wikipedia, and I found his history to be interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons He started out as a self-taught programmer in his late-20s and he founded his first business when he was 37. Also find it interesting that he came from a really humble background, along with a strong military background too. Reminds me of "the anatomy of determination".
nkp007 15y ago
I'm surprised. A lot of this is good advice. Always stay out of your comfort zone. Never give up. Never stop improving. Measure everything of significance. It's not a quick fix or a cure all, but I think it's helpful to internalize whichever of these points resonates with you and actively apply it in your life. You have to execute and that's the hard part.
- billswift 15y ago
  I would say it is even more important to try to apply those points that don't "resonate" with you. Those are the things that are more likely to help, since you probably already apply those you agree with, at least partially.
fastfinner 15y ago
I am with you all about all the negative reasons why not to like GoDaddy and Bob Parsons. Just looking at the guy and his macho-posters I really do not feel like I would even want to hold a 5-minute conversation with him. It reeks of BS. That said, I do have (or force myself to have) a lot of respect for the guy. Earning money is not easy. Building and maintaining your company is not easy. Establishing a brand is not easy. Being a billionaire is... whoa. I do think we have a lot to learn from him, despite the fact that we may not like him.
felipemnoa 15y ago
It is actually depressing to think that you can encapsulate success on ten easy steps/rules. Advise like this makes it seem like I'm being sold snake oil.
- cheez 15y ago
  Getting out of your comfort zone is the #1 recipe for success. Do it, all the time.
  - felipemnoa 15y ago
    The thing is that everybody says it. There are no real secrets to becoming successful.
    - Joakal 15y ago
      If everyone says it and the group is quite skeptical, and you know it has basis, then it seems the steps to becoming successful are actually useful. I'll call that common knowledge for lack of a better word. Why would common knowledge be depressing?
      - felipemnoa 15y ago
        Making it seem as if he is the first one to discover it? It is common knowledge.
        cheez 15y ago
        Few people translate to action anyway.
athst 15y ago
He forgot to mention the whole part about objectifying women, bad product, and constantly pestering customers to buy stuff they don't want.
- cheez 15y ago
  While it is annoying, it is how he got to where he is. My 10yo daughter knows a godaddy page. Ugly green + chicks. That's branding. But I always have to explain to her how he is objectifying women and how men who fall for it are stupid. Then she asks me how I found out about it...
  - jonnathanson 15y ago
    "....men who fall for it are stupid" In fairness to GoDaddy, I doubt there's a significant portion of its historical customer base that has "fallen for it," i.e., bought products or services from the company solely or primarily because of its scantily clad models. GoDaddy got to where it is today because it was -- at least for a long period of time -- the cheapest provider of domain registration widely known to the general public. Say what you will about its upsell tactics, or its spotty service level, or its arguably shady subscription terms. But the sticker price of $2.99 per domain was a monumental proposition back when GoDaddy first came onto the scene. Do its ad campaigns objectify women? Yes. Are they cheesy, sleazy, and in questionable taste? Yes. But their purpose has always been simply to attract attention and traffic to the site. Now, that branding might get folks in the door, but it doesn't actually sell product. To claim that people have purchased GoDaddy registrations because they "fell for" the ad campaign is a bit of a stretch.
    - cheez 15y ago
      Um, getting people to your door is one step. Certainly a good product is next! If that wasn't clear, yes, the product is good which helps. But there are lots of good products out there.
  - dumbphone 15y ago
    > While it is annoying, it is how he got to where he is. Not necessarily. For years GoDaddy has had the cheapest non-promotional domain pricing. That's what made a lot of IT-savvy people use GoDaddy despite of its annoying user interface.
arkitaip 15y ago
This is the sort of Top10ListWisdom rubbish that's almost tautological in nature and worthless when it actually comes to running a business.
- klbarry 15y ago
  I suppose everyone has to learn for themselves (it doesn't internalize from a list), but there is value in the lessons. It would probably stick better in story form. For instance, I cannot tell you how many times success came after getting very close to giving up. I left college after one semester to find work, and taught myself basic SEO. After ranking my local pizza shop to number one to prove I could do it, I started cold calling the big businesses in my neighborhood to do work for them. My awkward self called thirty-ish businesses, on a list of thirty five, then gave up. My girlfriend encouraged me to try one more, and sure enough they bit. Without this experience my life track would have been substantially different.
  - iamwil 15y ago
    This is advice that seem vapid until you end up learning them yourself. It's hard to extract the real-life story and experience from just the list. This sort of thing only reaffirms those that have already learned the lessons, and brushed off as vapid from those that haven't.
  - lsc 15y ago
    I don't think the parent was saying "Don't give up" was bad advice, just that it was obvious "almost tautological in nature" Anyone who has achieved any level of success in anything is going to have a "I almost gave up... then I succeeded! I am so glad I didn't give up." story. I have some. Saying "Don't give up" is just not useful advice. I mean, it might be useful encouragement for some people; some people respond well to inspirational stories. but that's kindof a different thing than advice, if you ask me.
- jamesbritt 15y ago
  ... and worthless when it actually comes to running a business. They may or may not be worthless, but I don't see how Bob Parson can even know this. How many times has he become a billionaire that he (or anyone) can extract just those behaviors that in fact make a difference from those that are mere coincidence. How do these "rules" stack up when examined in the context of people who don't become billionaires, or even reasonably successful? As an example, I bet there are at least a few people who did quite well by sticking to what they knew and what they felt comfortable with and who would have not succeeded had they stepped out of their comfort zone. The book The Halo Effect covers this fairly well. http://www.the-halo-effect.com/ http://www.the-halo-effect.com/
whereareyou 15y ago
Summary of Godaddy founder Bob Parsons' 10 Rules for Success: 1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. 2. Never give up. 3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. 4. Always be moving forward. 5. Be quick to decide. 6. Measure everything of significance. 7. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. 8. Never expect life to be fair. 9. Don’t take yourself too seriously. 10. There’s always a reason to smile.
- raldi 15y ago
  1-4 are essentially the same piece of advice: Never quit moving forward outside your comfort zone.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
VMG 15y ago
Formatting bullet points doesn't seem to be a rule. Must fall under violently executing his plan today instead of perfecting typography tomorrow.
edw 15y ago
What bothers me — far more than the banality of Bob's rules for success — is the WSJ's use of two spaces after a full stop. Do these guys think they're publishing with a typewriter?
switch 15y ago
Just a quick comment on the people who're hating on the Rules of Success Bob Parsons has put up and on GoDaddy * If one of the things he recommends turns out be of great value to you. Then does it really matter whether or not he objectifies women or does a hard sell? * It seems that we as geeks tend to love people who pretend to be all goody-goody like Google and open source people but if someone has the balls to be politically incorrect then it automatically means that the strategy they are using must be bullshit. He shot an elephant != His advice is not good. Here's a little story about 'When you're ready to quit you're closer than you think. One of my sites got closed down by a hosting company. Some stupid reason. I was thinking about closing down the other site hosted by that hosting company too - Didn't, Stuck with it and that site has ended up making me $440K over the last two years. At the moment when it seemed most hopeless i.e. the bigger site is just nuked and what's the point in sticking with the fledgling site -> sticking with it ended up being a great decision. That's just one example. Perhaps rather than applying your ethics and morals filter it might help to consider his advice on its own (i.e. separate from the person). Does it stand up - are there examples in your own life that prove that? * A Colombian Cocaine Warlord might figure out the same strategic magic that Jack Welch does (perhaps something like - If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete). It's still great strategy.
- nupark2 15y ago
  I tend to ignore advice from people who I consider unethical because I generally find that their advice runs counter to my personal goals, my approach to work, and (obviously) my ethics. Take your advice, for example: One of my sites got closed down by a hosting company. Some stupid reason. I was thinking about closing down the other site hosted by that hosting company too - Didn't, Stuck with it and that site has ended up making me $440K over the last two years. I've never had a site closed down by a hosting company. I don't even know why I would have a site closed down by a hosting company. I also don't know why I'd walk away from a product I'd developed if it was shut down by a hosting company. To me, it appears that you (and Bob Parsons) have VERY different ideas about personal fulfillment, and as such, your advice (and his) don't really seem to apply to me, outside of the fortune cookies style generalisms ("don't quit", "push yourself").
dlo 15y ago
The original post by Parsons, which contains 6 items in addition to the 10 reproduced in the WSJ article, expresses the following as a term of reproduction: "You must reproduce the Rules in their entirety, with no changes or alterations."
dfischer 15y ago
This is actually a really good list of rules. Despite what you may or may not think about Bob, this truly is a solid set of ways to structure success.
primitur 15y ago
sigh I miss the InterNIC.
schiptsov 15y ago
Remarkable, someone still pay money for copy-pasting from "Think And Grow Rich" and "How To Win Friends..". ^_^
aw3c2 15y ago
Even if it is the Wallstreet Journal, you better directly visit the source: http://www.bobparsons.me/bp_16_rules.php?ci=21428 http://www.bobparsons.me/bp_16_rules.php?ci=21428 WSJ picked 10 of those 16 rules to make a fancy "top 10 list". Bah!

101 points by vwadhwani 15y ago

I agree, this list doesn't sound all that insightful. But it did make me want to look him up on Wikipedia, and I found his history to be interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons He started out as a self-taught programmer in his late-20s and he founded his first business when he was 37. Also find it interesting that he came from a really humble background, along with a strong military background too. Reminds me of "the anatomy of determination".

nkp007 15y ago

I'm surprised. A lot of this is good advice. Always stay out of your comfort zone. Never give up. Never stop improving. Measure everything of significance. It's not a quick fix or a cure all, but I think it's helpful to internalize whichever of these points resonates with you and actively apply it in your life. You have to execute and that's the hard part.

billswift 15y ago
I would say it is even more important to try to apply those points that don't "resonate" with you. Those are the things that are more likely to help, since you probably already apply those you agree with, at least partially.

fastfinner 15y ago

I am with you all about all the negative reasons why not to like GoDaddy and Bob Parsons. Just looking at the guy and his macho-posters I really do not feel like I would even want to hold a 5-minute conversation with him. It reeks of BS. That said, I do have (or force myself to have) a lot of respect for the guy. Earning money is not easy. Building and maintaining your company is not easy. Establishing a brand is not easy. Being a billionaire is... whoa. I do think we have a lot to learn from him, despite the fact that we may not like him.

felipemnoa 15y ago

It is actually depressing to think that you can encapsulate success on ten easy steps/rules. Advise like this makes it seem like I'm being sold snake oil.

cheez 15y ago
Getting out of your comfort zone is the #1 recipe for success. Do it, all the time.
- felipemnoa 15y ago
  The thing is that everybody says it. There are no real secrets to becoming successful.
  - Joakal 15y ago
    If everyone says it and the group is quite skeptical, and you know it has basis, then it seems the steps to becoming successful are actually useful. I'll call that common knowledge for lack of a better word. Why would common knowledge be depressing?
    - felipemnoa 15y ago
      Making it seem as if he is the first one to discover it? It is common knowledge.
      - cheez 15y ago
        Few people translate to action anyway.

athst 15y ago

He forgot to mention the whole part about objectifying women, bad product, and constantly pestering customers to buy stuff they don't want.

cheez 15y ago
While it is annoying, it is how he got to where he is. My 10yo daughter knows a godaddy page. Ugly green + chicks. That's branding. But I always have to explain to her how he is objectifying women and how men who fall for it are stupid. Then she asks me how I found out about it...
- jonnathanson 15y ago
  "....men who fall for it are stupid" In fairness to GoDaddy, I doubt there's a significant portion of its historical customer base that has "fallen for it," i.e., bought products or services from the company solely or primarily because of its scantily clad models. GoDaddy got to where it is today because it was -- at least for a long period of time -- the cheapest provider of domain registration widely known to the general public. Say what you will about its upsell tactics, or its spotty service level, or its arguably shady subscription terms. But the sticker price of $2.99 per domain was a monumental proposition back when GoDaddy first came onto the scene. Do its ad campaigns objectify women? Yes. Are they cheesy, sleazy, and in questionable taste? Yes. But their purpose has always been simply to attract attention and traffic to the site. Now, that branding might get folks in the door, but it doesn't actually sell product. To claim that people have purchased GoDaddy registrations because they "fell for" the ad campaign is a bit of a stretch.
  - cheez 15y ago
    Um, getting people to your door is one step. Certainly a good product is next! If that wasn't clear, yes, the product is good which helps. But there are lots of good products out there.
- dumbphone 15y ago
  > While it is annoying, it is how he got to where he is. Not necessarily. For years GoDaddy has had the cheapest non-promotional domain pricing. That's what made a lot of IT-savvy people use GoDaddy despite of its annoying user interface.

arkitaip 15y ago

This is the sort of Top10ListWisdom rubbish that's almost tautological in nature and worthless when it actually comes to running a business.

klbarry 15y ago
I suppose everyone has to learn for themselves (it doesn't internalize from a list), but there is value in the lessons. It would probably stick better in story form. For instance, I cannot tell you how many times success came after getting very close to giving up. I left college after one semester to find work, and taught myself basic SEO. After ranking my local pizza shop to number one to prove I could do it, I started cold calling the big businesses in my neighborhood to do work for them. My awkward self called thirty-ish businesses, on a list of thirty five, then gave up. My girlfriend encouraged me to try one more, and sure enough they bit. Without this experience my life track would have been substantially different.
- iamwil 15y ago
  This is advice that seem vapid until you end up learning them yourself. It's hard to extract the real-life story and experience from just the list. This sort of thing only reaffirms those that have already learned the lessons, and brushed off as vapid from those that haven't.
- lsc 15y ago
  I don't think the parent was saying "Don't give up" was bad advice, just that it was obvious "almost tautological in nature" Anyone who has achieved any level of success in anything is going to have a "I almost gave up... then I succeeded! I am so glad I didn't give up." story. I have some. Saying "Don't give up" is just not useful advice. I mean, it might be useful encouragement for some people; some people respond well to inspirational stories. but that's kindof a different thing than advice, if you ask me.
jamesbritt 15y ago
... and worthless when it actually comes to running a business. They may or may not be worthless, but I don't see how Bob Parson can even know this. How many times has he become a billionaire that he (or anyone) can extract just those behaviors that in fact make a difference from those that are mere coincidence. How do these "rules" stack up when examined in the context of people who don't become billionaires, or even reasonably successful? As an example, I bet there are at least a few people who did quite well by sticking to what they knew and what they felt comfortable with and who would have not succeeded had they stepped out of their comfort zone. The book The Halo Effect covers this fairly well. http://www.the-halo-effect.com/ http://www.the-halo-effect.com/

whereareyou 15y ago

Summary of Godaddy founder Bob Parsons' 10 Rules for Success: 1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. 2. Never give up. 3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. 4. Always be moving forward. 5. Be quick to decide. 6. Measure everything of significance. 7. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. 8. Never expect life to be fair. 9. Don’t take yourself too seriously. 10. There’s always a reason to smile.

raldi 15y ago
1-4 are essentially the same piece of advice: Never quit moving forward outside your comfort zone.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

VMG 15y ago

Formatting bullet points doesn't seem to be a rule. Must fall under violently executing his plan today instead of perfecting typography tomorrow.

edw 15y ago

What bothers me — far more than the banality of Bob's rules for success — is the WSJ's use of two spaces after a full stop. Do these guys think they're publishing with a typewriter?

switch 15y ago

Just a quick comment on the people who're hating on the Rules of Success Bob Parsons has put up and on GoDaddy * If one of the things he recommends turns out be of great value to you. Then does it really matter whether or not he objectifies women or does a hard sell? * It seems that we as geeks tend to love people who pretend to be all goody-goody like Google and open source people but if someone has the balls to be politically incorrect then it automatically means that the strategy they are using must be bullshit. He shot an elephant != His advice is not good. Here's a little story about 'When you're ready to quit you're closer than you think. One of my sites got closed down by a hosting company. Some stupid reason. I was thinking about closing down the other site hosted by that hosting company too - Didn't, Stuck with it and that site has ended up making me $440K over the last two years. At the moment when it seemed most hopeless i.e. the bigger site is just nuked and what's the point in sticking with the fledgling site -> sticking with it ended up being a great decision. That's just one example. Perhaps rather than applying your ethics and morals filter it might help to consider his advice on its own (i.e. separate from the person). Does it stand up - are there examples in your own life that prove that? * A Colombian Cocaine Warlord might figure out the same strategic magic that Jack Welch does (perhaps something like - If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete). It's still great strategy.

nupark2 15y ago
I tend to ignore advice from people who I consider unethical because I generally find that their advice runs counter to my personal goals, my approach to work, and (obviously) my ethics. Take your advice, for example: One of my sites got closed down by a hosting company. Some stupid reason. I was thinking about closing down the other site hosted by that hosting company too - Didn't, Stuck with it and that site has ended up making me $440K over the last two years. I've never had a site closed down by a hosting company. I don't even know why I would have a site closed down by a hosting company. I also don't know why I'd walk away from a product I'd developed if it was shut down by a hosting company. To me, it appears that you (and Bob Parsons) have VERY different ideas about personal fulfillment, and as such, your advice (and his) don't really seem to apply to me, outside of the fortune cookies style generalisms ("don't quit", "push yourself").

dlo 15y ago

The original post by Parsons, which contains 6 items in addition to the 10 reproduced in the WSJ article, expresses the following as a term of reproduction: "You must reproduce the Rules in their entirety, with no changes or alterations."

dfischer 15y ago

This is actually a really good list of rules. Despite what you may or may not think about Bob, this truly is a solid set of ways to structure success.

primitur 15y ago

sigh I miss the InterNIC.

schiptsov 15y ago

Remarkable, someone still pay money for copy-pasting from "Think And Grow Rich" and "How To Win Friends..". ^_^

aw3c2 15y ago

Even if it is the Wallstreet Journal, you better directly visit the source: http://www.bobparsons.me/bp_16_rules.php?ci=21428 http://www.bobparsons.me/bp_16_rules.php?ci=21428 WSJ picked 10 of those 16 rules to make a fancy "top 10 list". Bah!