#99 Carroll Shelby (My name is Carroll Shelby and performance is my business)
What I learned from reading Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography by Rinsey Mills.
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[3:27] I love everything about this person. I like the way he thought. I like the way he lived his life.
[3:38] It is almost unbelievable all the different events that could happen in one human lifetime.
[3:52] He lived to 89 years old and he used every single year that he was alive.
[5:22] He could talk his way out of anything.
[6:40] He knew what he wanted. He didn't want anybody else telling him what to do.
[7:41] He had a love for anything that would go fast.
[10:48] He didn’t know what to do with his life.
[15:54] Follow your natural drift. —Charlie Munger
[17:00] I can't work for anybody.
[18:42] He has fun his entire life. As soon as they stop being fun he runs away.
[22:20] A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. (Founders #93 and #222)
[24:17] Money only solves money problems.
[26:32] Scratching around doing insignificant races with inferior machinery wasn't an option in which he could see any future.
[27:26] Whatever setbacks he encountered he was invariably able to bounce back through a combination of self-belief and an aptitude for making other people believe in him.
[27:45] Enthusiasm and passion are universal attractive traits.
[28:05] Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A.J. Baime. (Founders #97) and Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automobile Empire by Luca Dal Monte. (Founders #98)
[30:29] The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
[32:22] Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It by Dr. George Roberts. (Founders #110)
[32:38] Having extreme focus in the information age is a superpower.
[36:13] Racing was a means to an end. He wanted to build his own car. That was his main goal.
[42:34] He still didn't know quite how he was going to do it but if he was finally going to produce his own sports car.
[53:48] All big things start small.
[58:31] 12 months after Shelby was deeply depressed his life is completely different and the Shelby Cobra starts to take shape.
[1:00:06] A summary of the early days of Shelby Automotive: Everything had to be done tomorrow and by the cheapest method possible.
[1:01:12] It wasn't uncommon for them to work until two or three in the morning and be back down there at 7:30 the next morning.
[1:02:22] There's just something special about a group of highly talented, smart people working together for a common goal.
[1:03:48] Shelby hates company politics. That is why he wanted to run a smaller company.
[1:17:30] My name is Carroll Shelby and performance is my business.
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