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1-Page Summary of The Third Door

Overview

Getting into a nightclub is like success in life. There are three ways to get in: the main entrance, where most people queue and hope they’ll be let inside; the VIP entrance for celebrities and billionaires who slip straight through; and then there’s the third door. Most people don’t even know it exists, but it does. You have to take a detour around back of the club or maybe sneak through a kitchen, but you can find your way if you’re determined enough.

Some of the most successful people in the world were able to get ahead because they took a different path than everyone else. They ignored what others were doing, and went for their goals with determination. In these key points, you’ll learn how Bill Gates got his career off to a great start by making an important phone call; how re-engineering your sleeping habits could give you an edge over your competitors; and why it’s sometimes good to bite off more than you can chew.

Big Idea #1: Bill Gates inspired the author to go on a quest for the secrets to success.

Alex Banayan was supposed to become a doctor, but he realized that wasn’t the path for him.

One day, Banayan was reading a biography of Bill Gates when he wondered how the richest man in the world became so successful. He looked into other successful people and learned that Spielberg didn’t even get into film school but ended up as one of the most successful directors in history. Lady Gaga started out by waiting tables before she got her first record deal.

The author, Banayan, couldn’t find a book that answered his questions about the secrets of success. So he decided to write one himself. He arranged interviews with Gates and other successful people, traveled around the US to meet them and wrote up his findings in a book for others to read.

Interviewing the speakers was easy, but getting to them wasn’t. The hard part was funding the travel for all of those interviews.

But it so happened that the game show The Price is Right was being filmed nearby. He won a spot on the show, which helped him fund his quest.

The author looked up some tips online about how to get selected for the show. He found that being weird and entertaining was encouraged, so he danced with security guards and hugged janitors during his appearance. It worked, as he got accepted on the show. However, he didn’t know much about the game itself and had to rely on advice from other people who were auditioning as well. One older lady advised him not to guess too high or else he would be disqualified right away in future rounds of play

The author won a sailboat for $31,188 on the game show. He sold it for $16,000 days later and used that money to buy an airplane ticket.

Big Idea #2: Meeting Tim Ferriss taught the author how to be persistent in the right way. Eventually.

After reading Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-Hour Work Week (2007), Banayan decided he wanted to meet the author. At a conference where Ferriss was speaking, Banayan hid in the bathroom during his speech so that he could ambush him when he came off stage. When Ferriss finished talking, Banayan sprang out and asked for an interview with him.

However, the author never got a response. The author then continued to email Ferriss’ assistant. He reminded himself that persistence is important in business books and asked for an interview with Ferriss, even though his request was rejected by the author’s assistant. Over time, he sent 31 emails to the author’s assistant and ended each one with “thanks in advance.”

The author had written to Tim Ferriss many times, but he never replied. One day, out of the blue, Ferriss agreed to talk with him about his book and his ideas.