Guy Kawasaki

I hate to tell you, but I'm so old that Silicon Valley wasn't Silicon Valley yet. I mean, I came to Silicon Valley in 1972, and it was like Intel and HP, but it certainly wasn't this kind of phenomenon yet. And yet, coming from Hawaii, the scales were removed from my eyes when I landed at SFO because here was a place that... Fortunes, true fortunes were made.

I hate to tell you, but I'm so old that Silicon Valley wasn't Silicon Valley yet. I mean, I came to Silicon Valley in 1972, and it was like Intel and HP, but it certainly wasn't this kind of phenomenon yet. And yet, coming from Hawaii, the scales were removed from my eyes when I landed at SFO because here was a place that... Fortunes, true fortunes were made.

If you're from Hawaii and from Clay Valley, you know, you think you're successful if you run a drugstore or run a hotel or work in agriculture. Not that anything is wrong with those three things, but your horizons are limited by what's in Hawaii. And I come to California and it's like, oh my God, there's like Italian cars, German cars, blonde women, you know, I have found myself.

If you're from Hawaii and from Clay Valley, you know, you think you're successful if you run a drugstore or run a hotel or work in agriculture. Not that anything is wrong with those three things, but your horizons are limited by what's in Hawaii. And I come to California and it's like, oh my God, there's like Italian cars, German cars, blonde women, you know, I have found myself.

This is the promised land.

This is the promised land.

Well, there's a deeper story there. So if you were Asian American back then in the 70s, your parents wanted you to be a doctor, dentist, or lawyer.

Well, there's a deeper story there. So if you were Asian American back then in the 70s, your parents wanted you to be a doctor, dentist, or lawyer.

And marry a nice Jewish girl, yeah.

And marry a nice Jewish girl, yeah.

And so I took this course where you went on staff rounds at the Stanford Medical Center. I swear to God, in the first class, I fainted. So I figured, okay, that takes out medicine. And then I thought, well, maybe dentistry. But then I read an article that dentists have the highest rate of suicides. I said, no, there goes dentistry. So all that was left was law.

And so I took this course where you went on staff rounds at the Stanford Medical Center. I swear to God, in the first class, I fainted. So I figured, okay, that takes out medicine. And then I thought, well, maybe dentistry. But then I read an article that dentists have the highest rate of suicides. I said, no, there goes dentistry. So all that was left was law.

And my father was a state senator in Hawaii. So he would have loved if I had a law degree. He never went to college. So I went to law school and, oh, wait, we're backing up, backing up. How did I get a psych major? I got a psych major because at the time at Stanford, psych major was the easiest major you could find. I had a very rigorous selection process. I'm like, what is the easiest major?

And my father was a state senator in Hawaii. So he would have loved if I had a law degree. He never went to college. So I went to law school and, oh, wait, we're backing up, backing up. How did I get a psych major? I got a psych major because at the time at Stanford, psych major was the easiest major you could find. I had a very rigorous selection process. I'm like, what is the easiest major?

Psychology. Sign me up. I went to law school for about two weeks and I quit and I just couldn't stand it. I mean, it was like too tough on my fragile ego. So or the way I look at it now is that many lawyers take 20, 30 years to figure out they're miserable. I did it in 20 days. So that's how much smarter I am.

Psychology. Sign me up. I went to law school for about two weeks and I quit and I just couldn't stand it. I mean, it was like too tough on my fragile ego. So or the way I look at it now is that many lawyers take 20, 30 years to figure out they're miserable. I did it in 20 days. So that's how much smarter I am.

Well, I mean, listen, I'll tell you something about Silicon Valley. The way it works in Silicon Valley is you throw a lot of shit up against the wall. Some of it sticks. You go up to the wall, you paint the bullseye around it and you declare victories. I hit the bullseye. I hit the bullseye because I am so freaking smart. I hit the bullseye. So you're wondering why this story applies to my career.

Well, I mean, listen, I'll tell you something about Silicon Valley. The way it works in Silicon Valley is you throw a lot of shit up against the wall. Some of it sticks. You go up to the wall, you paint the bullseye around it and you declare victories. I hit the bullseye. I hit the bullseye because I am so freaking smart. I hit the bullseye. So you're wondering why this story applies to my career.

So yeah, I guess I look back and I said, yeah, I decided I wanted to be in sales and marketing. So I majored in psychology because I knew psychology, social psychology, behavioral psychology would help me in the rest of my career. And if you want to believe that, God bless you. But I'm telling you, the reason why I picked psychology... Psychology was the easiest measure. It is that simple.

So yeah, I guess I look back and I said, yeah, I decided I wanted to be in sales and marketing. So I majored in psychology because I knew psychology, social psychology, behavioral psychology would help me in the rest of my career. And if you want to believe that, God bless you. But I'm telling you, the reason why I picked psychology... Psychology was the easiest measure. It is that simple.