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The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World's Most Successful People Launched Their Careers Hardcover – Illustrated, June 5, 2018
Alex Banayan
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Print length320 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherCurrency
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Publication dateJune 5, 2018
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Dimensions5.79 x 1.07 x 8.54 inches
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ISBN-109780804136662
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ISBN-13978-0804136662
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Editorial Reviews
Review
—TONY ROBBINS, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, philanthropist, and the nation’s #1 life and business strategist
“From redefining success with Steve Wozniak to staring death in the eyes with Jessica Alba, this book is packed with adventure, drama, and remarkable lessons the whole way through. Whether you‘re an executive or a recent college graduate, you’ll find inspiration and wisdom in The Third Door.”
—ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, founder of The Huffington Post and New York Times bestselling author of Thrive
"The Third Door is at once a spirited coming-of-age story and a hard-headed examination of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. Alex Banayan has cracked the code of the world’s most successful people and shown he will soon join their ranks.”
—DANIEL H. PINK, New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind
“An emotional roller coaster . . . I laughed. I cried. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time . . . Once every few decades a book comes along that defines a generation. The Third Door is it.”
—ELIANA MURILLO, head of multicultural marketing at Google
“A treasure chest of wisdom . . . knowledge that can be used by anyone, anywhere, who wants to take their journey further . . . Banayan has become one of the most equipped guides to help you climb higher mountains in your life.”
—SHAWN ACHOR, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential
“Unlike any business book I've read. The Third Door is a thrill ride of hope, joy, ambition, and self-discovery. I cheered out loud, and at different points, tears trickled down my face . . . The Third Door motivated me turn up the volume in my life . . . A triumph.”
—MAYA WATSON BANKS, director of marketing at Netflix
“A cinematic story full of drama, betrayal, and heartbreak. The Third Door takes you on a narrative adventure packed with life-changing lessons. Once you start reading, you can’t stop.”
—JONAH BERGER, New York Times bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On
“Powerful . . . One of the best books of the year . . . After reading The Third Door, an uncontrollable shift happened in my life—I started to see the challenges in front of me as fun. This book not only gave me new tools to achieve my goals, but it also showed me how exciting it can be to tackle seemingly impossible obstacles. If you want to take your life to the next level, you have to read The Third Door.”
—MIKE POSNER, Grammy Award-nominated and multiplatinum musician
“Banayan’s heart is poured into every page of this book. The Third Door is not only a guide to how the world’s most remarkable pioneers succeeded, but it’s also a magnificent story of one boy’s journey to achieve his dream. The Third Door drips with passion and emotion—and it’s a must-read for anyone wanting to turn their vision into a reality.”
—ADAM BRAUN, New York Times nestselling author of The Promise of a Pencil
“A wild ride . . . Inspiring, hilarious, and insightful. Whenever you start to believe there’s no other way to solve your problem, let Alex Banayan inspire you to think bigger.”
—DAVID EAGLEMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Incognito, host of PBS’ The Brain, and adjunct professor at Stanford University
“As a Jewish mother, I don’t want my teenage kids to read this book and get any ideas about dropping out of school. However, as someone who has served as a senior diplomat, tech executive, and social innovation entrepreneur, I want to put it at the top of their reading list! The Third Door is required reading for anyone in today’s dynamic society who wants to learn success from the best.”
—SUZI LEVINE, United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Ret.)
“In just a few hours of reading this book, Alex Banayan taught how to meet billionaires, leapfrog my associates, and achieve my dreams in record time. I’ve never read anything quite like this! Whether you are an entrepreneur or trying to jumpstart your career, The Third Door will open up your world of possibilities.”
—TIM SANDERS, New York Times bestselling author of Love is the Killer App
“My grandfather used to tell me: ‘If a problem has a solution, why worry?’ And it’s precisely that attitude of optimism and possibility that has so inspired me about Banayan’s The Third Door. He wasted little time worrying: ‘What if?’ He went for it. And that made all the difference.”
—JASON SILVA, Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic’s Brain Games
“Equal parts badass and wise, The Third Door ushers you inside an epic journey of invention and determination. Banayan’s quest to discover the keys to the world’s most impossible doors unlocks the hidden power in each of us.”
—BRAD DELSON, lead guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Linkin Park
“Wild adventures. Incredible stories. Immensely practical advice. The Third Door has it all—and it’s exactly what our generation has been waiting for.”
—BEN NEMTIN, star of MTV’s The Buried Life and New York Times bestselling author of What Do You Want To Do Before You Die
“Alex Banayan was intent on creating his ‘dream university’—Bill Gates would teach business; Lady Gaga, music; Steven Spielberg, film; Jane Goodall, science—and that vision became a reality. This book proves that education is one of the most powerful forces in the world, and it’s made even more powerful when you take charge of your own learning.“
—KAREN CATOR, former director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education
“Gripping stories . . . The Third Door is that rare book where the author lives the advice he’s sharing. Alex Banayan redefines the meaning of entrepreneurial hustle and hard work. Prepare to be humbled—and inspired.”
—BEN CASNOCHA, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Start-Up of You
“The Third Door draws upon lessons from some of today’s most inspiring figures in business and popular culture, and by doing so provides a masterclass in innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving across generations. It is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs and corporate leaders alike.”
—LEXIE KOMISAR, global program director for growth and strategic partnerships at IBM
“Banayan personifies creativity, hustle, and passion. He’s the embodiment of the next generation of entrepreneurial leader and The Third Door beautifully brings this mindset to life.”
—JOSH LINKNER, New York Times bestselling author of Disciplined Dreaming and Hacking Innovation
“Alex Banayan’s approach to solving problems is as hilarious as it is brilliant. Whether you’re an accomplished entrepreneur, an aspiring one, or an executive trying to get your employees to think outside the box, The Third Door is the way forward.”
—MEREDITH PERRY, founder of uBeam
"A surprising combination of bildungsroman, spiritual journey, and caper comedy, The Third Door creates an opportunity for all of us to inspect what success means, what's inspires us, and how we think about our paths through the world.”
—MICHAEL SLABY, chief innovation officer of the Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign and executive director of Chicago Ideas
“Alex Banayan’s The Third Door was absolutely worth the wait! He perfectly captures amazing insights, while being funny and approachable. Banayan’s journey leaves you not only inspired, but also excited to pursue your dreams and define success in your own way.”
—KAMAURI YEH, director of west coast brand experience at Nike
“Banayan’s hustle is insane. He crouched in bathrooms, chased people through grocery stores—he did whatever it took to make his dream happen. The extents he went through will inspire you to keep grinding on your path. If you are hungry to succeed, trust me: read The Third Door.”
—JERMAINE DUPRI, Grammy-award winning rapper and music producer
“Engrossing . . . Brilliantly insightful. Applicable and useful. I found myself nodding in places and re-reading passages . . . Banayan demystifies the hardest and scariest thing many of us have to do to succeed.”
—DR. M SANJAYAN, CEO of Conservation International and host of PBS’ EARTH: A New Wild
“Whether you are just beginning your first act, or setting off on your twentieth, this may be the best and most thoroughly enjoyable career advice book you will ever read: fast moving, funny, big-hearted, and constantly insightful.”
—MATTHEW BISHOP, author of Philanthrocapitalism and former business editor of The Economist
“Banayan’s incredible journey, told with wit, warmth, and wisdom, explores his own search for meaning through the personal stories of his heroes. An inspiring read for anyone looking to find their purpose.”
—RUMA BOSE, author of Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership
“I wish I had The Third Door when I was starting my first business. Thankfully, Banayan has delivered the book we’ve all been waiting for.”
—MICHAEL LAZEROW, former chief strategy officer of Salesforce and founder of Buddy Media
“A brilliant writer . . . I couldn’t stop reading once I started. The Third Door is a must-read for entrepreneurs.”
—VIVEK WADHWA, columnist for the Washington Post and distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon University
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One
Staring at the Ceiling
Right this way . . .”
I stepped across the marble floor and turned a corner, entering a room with glistening floor-to-ceiling windows. Sailboats drifted down below, gentle waves lapped onto the shore, and the afternoon sun bounced off a marina and filled the lobby with a bright, heavenly glow. I followed an assistant down a hallway. The office had couches with the most plush cushions I’d ever seen. The coffee spoons sparkled in a way I’d never seen spoons sparkle before. The conference room table looked like it had been carved by Michelangelo himself. We entered a long corridor lined with hundreds of books.
“He’s read every one,” she said.
Macroeconomics. Computer science. Artificial intelligence. Polio eradication. The assistant pulled out a book on feces recycling and placed it in my hands. I flipped through it with sweaty palms. Nearly every page was underlined and highlighted with scribbles in the margins. I couldn’t help but smile--the scribbles had the penmanship of a fifth grader.
We continued down the hallway until the assistant asked me to stay where I was. I stood there, motionless, looking at a towering frosted glass door. I had to stop myself from touching it to feel how thick it was. As I waited, I thought of all the things that led me here--the red scarf, the toilet in San Francisco, the shoe in Omaha, the cockroach in the Motel 6, the--
And then, the door opened.
“Alex, Bill is ready for you.”
He was standing right in front of me, hair uncombed, shirt loosely tucked in, sipping a can of Diet Coke. I waited for something to come out of my mouth, but nothing did.
“Hey, there,” Bill Gates said, his smile lifting his eyebrows. “Come on in . . .”
Three Years Earlier, My Freshman Dorm Room
I flipped over in bed. A stack of biology books sat on my desk, staring back at me. I knew I should study, but the more I looked at the books, the more I wanted to pull the covers over my head.
I tossed to my right. A University of Southern California football poster hung above me. When I’d first taped it on my wall, the colors were so vibrant. Now the poster seemed to blend in with the wall.
I turned onto my back and stared at the silent white ceiling.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Ever since I could remember, the plan was for me to be a doctor. That’s what happens when you’re the son of Persian Jewish immigrants. I practically came out of the womb with “MD” stamped on my behind. In third grade, I wore scrubs to school for Halloween. I was “that kid.”
I was never the smartest kid in school, but I was consistent. Like, I consistently got B minuses and consistently read CliffsNotes. To make up for my lack of straight As, I always had a sense of direction. In high school I “checked the boxes”--volunteer at a hospital, take extra science classes, obsess over the SATs. But I was too busy trying to survive to stop and wonder whose boxes I was checking. When I’d started college, I couldn’t have imagined that a month later I would be hitting the snooze button four or five times each morning, not because I was tired, but because I was bored. Yet I continued dragging myself to class anyway, checking the premed boxes, feeling like a sheep following the herd.
That’s how I found myself here: lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I’d come to college looking for answers, but all I got were more questions. What am I actually interested in? What do I want to major in? What do I want to do with my life?
I flipped over again. The biology books were like dementors, sucking the life out of me. The more I dreaded opening them, the more I thought about my parents--running through the Tehran airport, fleeing to America as refugees, sacrificing everything to give me an education.
When I received my admissions letter from USC, my mom told me I couldn’t attend because we couldn’t afford it. Although my family wasn’t poor and I grew up in Beverly Hills, like many families, we lived a double life. While we lived in a nice neighborhood, my parents had to take out a second mortgage to cover the bills. We went on vacations, yet there were times when I’d see notices on our front door saying our gas was going to be cut off. The only reason my mom allowed me to attend USC was because the day before the enrollment deadline, my dad stayed up all night, talking to my mom with tears in his eyes, saying he’d do whatever it took to make ends meet.
And this is how I paid him back? By lying in bed, pulling the covers over my head?
I glanced at the other side of the room. My roommate, Ricky, was at a small wooden desk doing his homework, spitting out numbers like an accounting machine. The squeak of his pencil mocked me. He had a path. I wish I had that. All I had was a ceiling that wouldn’t talk back to me.
Then I thought about the guy I’d met the prior weekend. He’d graduated from USC a year earlier with a math degree. He used to sit at a desk just like Ricky’s, spitting out numbers just like him, and now he was scooping ice cream a few miles from campus. I was beginning to realize that a college degree no longer came with guarantees.
I turned over to the textbooks. Studying is the last thing I want to do.
I rolled onto my back. But my parents sacrificed everything so that studying would be the only thing I have to do.
The ceiling remained silent.
I flipped over and planted my face in my pillow.
I trudged to the library the following morning, my biology books under my arm. But as much as I tried to study, my internal battery remained depleted. I needed a jump start, something to inspire me. So I pushed my chair back from the study tables, wandered to the aisles of the biography section, and pulled out a book on Bill Gates. I figured reading about someone as successful as Gates might spark something within me. And it did--just not what I’d expected.
Here was a guy who started his company when he was my age, grew it into the most valuable corporation in the world, revolutionized an industry, became the richest man alive, and then stepped down as the CEO of Microsoft to become the most generous philanthropist on earth. Thinking about what Bill Gates accomplished felt like standing at the base of Mount Everest and staring up at the peak. All I could wonder was: How did he take his first steps up the mountain?
Before I knew it I was flipping through the biographies of one successful person after another. Steven Spielberg climbed the Mount Everest of directing, so how did he do it? How did a kid who’d been rejected from film school become the youngest major studio director in Hollywood history? How did Lady Gaga, when she was nineteen years old and waiting tables in New York City, get her first record deal?
I kept returning to the library, searching for a book that held the answers. But after a few weeks, I was left empty-handed. There wasn’t a single book that focused on the stage of life I was in. When no one knew their names, when no one would take their meetings, how did these people find a way to launch their careers? That’s when my naive eighteen-year-old thinking kicked in: Well, if no one has written the book I’m dreaming of reading, why not just write it myself?
It was a dumb idea. I couldn’t even write a term paper without half the page coming back covered in red ink. I decided not to do it.
But as the days pressed on, the idea wouldn’t let me go. What interested me wasn’t writing a book so much as embarking on “a mission”--a journey to uncover these answers. I figured if I could just talk to Bill Gates myself, he had to have the Holy Grail of advice.
I ran the idea by my friends and found out I wasn’t the only one staring at the ceiling. They were dying for answers too. What if I go on this mission on behalf of all of us? Why not just call up Bill Gates, interview him, track down some other icons, put what I discover in a book, and share it with my generation?
The hard part, I figured, would be paying for it. Traveling to interview all these people would cost money, money I didn’t have. I was buried in tuition payments and all out of Bar Mitzvah cash. There had to be another way.
Two nights before fall semester final exams, I was back in the library when I took a break to scroll through Facebook. That’s when I saw a friend’s post about free tickets to The Price Is Right. The game show was filmed a few miles from campus. It’s one of those shows I watched as a kid when I stayed home sick from school. Audience members would get called down to become contestants, they’d be shown a prize, and if they guessed closest to the actual price without going over, they’d win. I’d never seen a full episode before, but how hard could it be?
What if . . . what if I go on the show to win some money to fund the mission?
It was absurd. The show was taping the next morning. I had to study for finals. But the thought kept crawling back into my mind. To prove to myself it was a horrible idea, I opened my notebook and wrote a list of the best- and worst-case scenarios.
Worst-Case Scenarios
1. Fail my finals
2. Ruin my chances of going to med school
3. Mom will hate me
4. No . . . Mom will kill me
5. Look fat on TV
6. Everyone will make fun of me
7. Not even make it onto the show
Best-Case Scenario
1. Win enough money to fund the mission
I searched online to calculate the odds of winning. Out of three hundred people in the audience, one wins. I used my cellphone to do the math: a 0.3 percent chance.
See, this is why I didn’t like math.
I looked at the 0.3 percent on my phone, then at the stack of biology books on my desk. But all I could think was, What if . . . ? It felt as if someone had tied a rope around my gut and was slowly pulling.
I decided to do the logical thing and study.
But I didn’t study for finals. I studied how to hack The Price Is Right.
Chapter Two
The Price Is Right
Anyone who’s watched The Price Is Right for even thirty seconds and has heard the announcer say “COME ON DOWN!” knows the contestants are colorfully dressed and have wild personalities that fill the television screen. The show makes it seem like the contestants are randomly selected from the audience--but at around 4:00 a.m., as I’d Googled “how to get on The Price Is Right,” I discovered it was far from random. A producer interviews each audience member and picks the wildest ones. If the producer likes you, he puts your name on a list that’s given to an undercover producer who observes you from afar. If the undercover producer puts a check mark by your name, you’re called on stage. It wasn’t luck: there was a system.
The next morning, I swung open my closet and threw on my brightest red shirt, a big puffy jacket, and neon-yellow sunglasses. I pretty much looked like a chubby toucan. Perfect. After driving to the CBS studio, I pulled into the parking lot and approached the check‑in table. Because I couldn’t tell who the undercover producer was, I assumed it could be anyone. I hugged security guards, danced with janitors, flirted with old ladies--I break-danced, and I don’t know how to break-dance.
I got in line with the other audience members in a maze of railings outside the studio doors. The line moved forward, until finally, it was almost my turn to be interviewed. There’s my guy. I’d spent hours researching him the night before. His name was Stan and he was the producer in charge of casting contestants. I knew where he was from, where he went to school--and that he relied on a clipboard, but it was never in his hands. His assistant, who sat in a chair behind him, held it. When Stan selected a contestant, he would turn to her, wink, and she’d write the name down.
An usher motioned for ten of us to step forward. Stan stood ten feet away, walking from one person to the next. “What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?” There was a rhythm to his moves. Officially, Stan was a producer; but in my eyes, he was the bouncer. If I didn’t get my name on his clipboard, I wouldn’t get on the show. And now the bouncer was right in front of me.
“Hey, my name’s Alex, I’m from LA and I’m a premed at USC!”
“Premed? You’re probably always studying. How do you have time to watch The Price Is Right?”
“The . . . what? Oh! Is that where I am?”
He didn’t even give a pity laugh.
I needed to redeem myself. In one of the business books I’d read, the author said that physical contact speeds up a relationship. I had an idea.
I had to touch Stan.
“Stan, Stan, come over here! I want to make a secret handshake with you!”
He rolled his eyes.
“Stan! Come on!”
He stepped forward and we slapped hands. “Dude, you’re doing it all wrong,” I said. “How old are you?”
Stan chuckled and I showed him how to pound it and blow it up. He laughed some more, wished me luck, and walked away. He didn’t wink to his assistant. She didn’t write anything on the clipboard. Just like that, it was over.
This was one of those moments when you see your dream in front of you, you can almost touch it, and then just like that, it’s gone, slipping through your fingers like sand. And the worst part is you know you could’ve seized it if you just had another chance. I don’t know what got into me, but I started shouting, at the top of my lungs.
“STAN! STAAAAN!”
The entire audience whipped their heads around.
“STAAAAAAAAAN! Come back!”
Stan ran over and nodded slowly, giving me that “all right, kid, what now?” look.
“Uh . . . uh . . .”
Product details
- ASIN : 0804136661
- Publisher : Currency; Illustrated edition (June 5, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780804136662
- ISBN-13 : 978-0804136662
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.79 x 1.07 x 8.54 inches
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#28,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #49 in Business Mentoring & Coaching (Books)
- #821 in Personal Finance (Books)
- #874 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Case in point: How do you separate yourself from thousands of other candidates applying online for a job? How do you gain mentors and find allies in business? How do you develop a network when you are just starting off and do not know anyone? How does one approach someone (either in person or online) and appear ambitious as opposed to simply unprofessional? How do you write a proper email? Is there a such thing as being over-persistent? If so, what is the line? How do you bounce back from rejection? Or create momentum for a project you are passionate about? What is the difference between a linear life and an exponential life? How can you create the latter? How do you "find your passion" or "follow your bliss?" Infiltrate echelons of business where you may be able to make an impact?
If the internet has produced a new wave of teachers, authors, and influencers, then Alex is the guru for us all - not just millennials, but ALL people seeking to achieve their dreams. The reason? What the Third Door provides more than anything is INFORMATION & ACCESS. Access to the personal anecdotes of some of the greatest leaders and innovators of our time, and sheer information - details about their path, past failures, practical (seriously practical) pieces of advice that anyone may apply in their own journey respective. These skills are transferrable no matter what you seek to do and will help you work smarter, not harder- giving you tools to achieve your wildest dream in a shorter span of time. In fact, it is a book you will need to read many times over to fully absorb its wisdom and one which I am so grateful to have found as early as I did. Thank you Alex for undertaking this journey to help us all succeed in greater and more meaningful ways. Your persistent emailing, crouching in bathrooms, chasing after some of the most brilliant people of our time is to have been well worth it.

By Sara C on June 9, 2018
Case in point: How do you separate yourself from thousands of other candidates applying online for a job? How do you gain mentors and find allies in business? How do you develop a network when you are just starting off and do not know anyone? How does one approach someone (either in person or online) and appear ambitious as opposed to simply unprofessional? How do you write a proper email? Is there a such thing as being over-persistent? If so, what is the line? How do you bounce back from rejection? Or create momentum for a project you are passionate about? What is the difference between a linear life and an exponential life? How can you create the latter? How do you "find your passion" or "follow your bliss?" Infiltrate echelons of business where you may be able to make an impact?
If the internet has produced a new wave of teachers, authors, and influencers, then Alex is the guru for us all - not just millennials, but ALL people seeking to achieve their dreams. The reason? What the Third Door provides more than anything is INFORMATION & ACCESS. Access to the personal anecdotes of some of the greatest leaders and innovators of our time, and sheer information - details about their path, past failures, practical (seriously practical) pieces of advice that anyone may apply in their own journey respective. These skills are transferrable no matter what you seek to do and will help you work smarter, not harder- giving you tools to achieve your wildest dream in a shorter span of time. In fact, it is a book you will need to read many times over to fully absorb its wisdom and one which I am so grateful to have found as early as I did. Thank you Alex for undertaking this journey to help us all succeed in greater and more meaningful ways. Your persistent emailing, crouching in bathrooms, chasing after some of the most brilliant people of our time is to have been well worth it.

Showcasing The Price is Right as a vehicle to success.
Adding in amazing adventures across the globe.
In Alex Banahan’s first book, The Third Door, he attempts to find out how successful people got their start. He calls it the “third door,” through which these successful folks became successful. He says there is always a first door, where most people wait to get in. Then, there is the second door — the VIP door — where celebrities get in. Finally, there is the third door, be it through an alley, window, or some other unique way, where other people can gain access to an event.
The story reads almost like a novel and is hard to put down. Cameos are made by Tim Ferriss, Cal Fussman, and Larry King. They are all a part of his mission to discover the secrets to getting started. As you piece things together, you see his friend Kevin throughout the book. Kevin, of course, is Kevin The Manager on Cal Fussman’s podcast. Knowing some of the backstory helps with the real story that Banayan tells.
One thing he learned from the person who became his mentor, Elliott Bisnow, is that you should never take your phone out in a meeting. Bisnow became Banayan’s mentor and ends up featured prominently in the book. Bisnow is an entrepreneur who also started the Summit Leadership Conferences, which are held at various places at various times but feature prominent leaders and entrepreneurs. Banayan gets an offer from Bisnow that could change his life … and leads to a moment of choice.
Bill Gates, founder of Windows, is Banayan’s white whale for much of the story. During his conversation with Gates, Banayan figures out some things, but not necessarily from the context of what Gates shares. It’s a great interview and an eye-opening experience for Banayan on his mission.
As it goes on, you find that the pursuit is about much more than the pursuit of money. This is the passionate pursuit to find the meaning of why people become successful. This is the story of a seven-year process, one that was supposed to last a few months. If you like your nonfiction to read like fiction, Banayan’s story is worth your time. It’s a page turner and one that is tough to put down. You’ll learn about passion, pursuit, and personality as you read this book. You also gain some tidbits throughout that can help you with your passion project, as well.
And remember, there is always -- ALWAYS -- a Third Door.
Top reviews from other countries

One element of the book I found particularly annoying. When Banayan does eventually manage to meet some interesting people, he is completely incapable of interviewing them in a way which elicits anything of interest. He proves this repeatedly. Talking to Tim Ferriss, he completely missed the point that Ferriss was trying to save him from himself by telling him not to be so annoying. Talking to Bill Gates, he asks terrible questions which don't really elicit the interesting insights he was hoping for. Asking Warren Buffett questions at a shareholder meeting, he gets them completely wrong to the point that people are actually laughing at him.
This, in reality, is the story of some bro who has no idea what he is doing, and is being carried along on a wave of self-confidence, nothing more. He's an idiot. Indeed about 75% of this book is tales of someone who doesn't know how to secure an interview, trying to secure an interview. The other 25% is someone who doesn't know how to conduct an interview, conducting an interview.

I preordered the book and offered to capture the book as a one page summary to which Alex agreed. The book is simply sensational. For such an honest and courage account of going search of the secrets to being successful, Alex’s journey is inspirational, moving and full of lessons. I’ve bought the book for many people since I read it. I call Alex my friend now and I couldn’t be prouder and a bigger supporter.
You won’t be able to put it down once you start reading!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2018
I preordered the book and offered to capture the book as a one page summary to which Alex agreed. The book is simply sensational. For such an honest and courage account of going search of the secrets to being successful, Alex’s journey is inspirational, moving and full of lessons. I’ve bought the book for many people since I read it. I call Alex my friend now and I couldn’t be prouder and a bigger supporter.
You won’t be able to put it down once you start reading!



Ever wondered who could be your mentor? In the book, Alex interviews 100s of people from different fields - all of them at the top of their fields. You will have an exhaustive repository of the living legends of our times. I cold contacted so many of them (including Alex himself, who now does mentor sessions).
If not for the non-fiction aspect, read it for how great the story is: You can't help but empathize with Alex, as he struggles for years chasing Warren Buffet, you jump and scream happily when he finally gets around meeting Bill Gates, you stare at your ceiling in disbelief reading about all the things he did to make this book a reality.
From the non-fiction side: let me tell you this - I LOVE NETWORKING and I try to cold contact people. Most of the time it doesn't work and usually, I give up. Except I read the Third Door and I am pretty sure I am not ever going to give up. This book shows you WHY you need mentors, how people make you (and break you sometimes), and the best of all it isn't written in a boring essay format!
Find your goal and do all manners of crazy stupid things to achieve it!

I loved this so much I genuinely went out & bought a hardcover version the very next day (I’m one of those weirdo’s who prefers physical books to digital/audio!) For anyone who has an interest in getting ahead or making something of themselves in life I’d say this is a great book to start with, or even like me if you’re already on the right path or want extra pointers. It was genuinely a great book & although I'm a little envious ;) i’m already making up for lost time! Love the ingenuity & I can’t wait to see what Alex does next...
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