Lessons from Scott Dinsmore
I never met Scott Dinsmore. Yet, I am deeply saddened to hear the news of his passing.
For those who have not heard of him, Scott is the founder of Live Your Legend, a community of over 100,000 ambitious people with the goal of changing the world by doing the work you love. He also gave a TEDx talk on "How to Find & Do Work You Love", which has been viewed over 2 million times.
Scott passed away over the weekend due to a climbing accident on Mt. Kilimanjaro. He was 33 years old, and eight months into his Year Around the World trip with his wife.
I stumbled upon Scott’s community by chance. it was late 2011, and I was in my third year of university. I was struggling in school, in a crumbling relationship, and was unsure of my future. I had a vision of what success could look like, but felt too paralyzed to take action. The roadblocks seemed too daunting.
During this time, I started reading more personal development books. Scott shared this habit, and would write about books he was reading.
A search for book recommendations led me to Live Your Legend. In one blog post, he shared lessons learnt from a weekend with the Keith Ferrazzi, the author of “Never Eat Alone”. In that post, he asked readers to reflect on the 5-10 people they spent the most time with.
His questions: “What are these people doing? How passionate are they? Do they inspire you?” This was followed by the statement: “If the answer is no, then it’s time to find new friends. The biggest single predictor of success is the people who surround you.”
This was the first lesson I learnt from Scott Dinsmore: Surround yourself with passionate people, ones who inspire and motivate you to be better and do better.
Over the years, I immersed myself in Scott's writing and advice on personal and professional growth. As I reread my favourite articles he has written, here are 5 other lessons I’ve learnt from him.
1) Become obsessed with learning
“Become obsessed with learning. Learn to love it. Do it every day in some way. One day it might be reading or watching a TED talk, listening to a podcast, having lunch with a new person, interviewing a business owner or sitting down and being completely still for 30 minutes… ideas exist in learning.”
– "Follow this Process & I Guarantee You'll Do Work That Lights You on Fire", April 26, 2011
2) Let yourself be seen
“Be human. No one gets it right all the time. No one gets through life totally unharmed. The people you meet want to see you. They want to know you. They don’t only want to know who you are when you’re performing at your top 10%. Sure they want to experience that too, but not at the loss of who you really are. Share your challenges with those around you. The things that terrify you, the hardest parts of life. Watch what happens.”
– "Vulnerability 101: How to Build Rapport with Absolutely Anyone", June 29, 2011
3) The most powerful investment is the one you spend on yourself
“As Charlie [Munger] puts it “Berkshire’s record would have been terrible if Warren [Buffett] didn’t keep learning.” These guys are crazy about going to bed slightly smarter than when they woke up. Read everything you can get your hands on. Learn from those around you. Be a sponge. Everything is a lesson. Despite all kinds of advanced formal education, Warren’s #1 diploma in his office is the one he got from completing a week-long Dale Carnegie Public Speaking course. You never know where you’re going to find the best nuggets. Just keep learning.”
– "20 Uncommon Lessons from My Weekend with Warren Buffett (career & life advice most don't talk about)", May 7, 2012
4) See friends not strangers
“When you walk into a room, see the new faces not as strangers but as friends you have yet to meet. You see the world in a more similar way to others than you probably realize – especially if you’re at the same event or a part of the same communities. Approach accordingly.”
– "The 30 Habits of the World's Best Connectors", September 25, 2012
5) Be unique
“...That’s the beauty of taking and leaving things. You don’t want to be a clone of anyone. It won’t be interesting to the world and it certainly won’t be that much fun for you. Piece together your modeling strategy and go about it in your own way. The world will appreciate it much more and the results will show. Plus, you’re never going to be able to model any human exactly anyway – nor should you want to.”
– "On Modelling the Impossible and How to Do Anything", January 25, 2011
It's an odd feeling to have never met someone, and yet, had made such an impact on shaping my philosophies. And now, he is gone.
Thank you, Scott Dinsmore. The community you've built will make sure your legacy lives on.