# 43 The Venn Diagram of Success *Week 8, Day 4 of [[00 The Wealthy Stoic Course]]* #source/course << [[42 Does It Make You Better Or Worse|Back]] | [[44 The Definition of Wealth Is Working On What You Want To Work On|Next]] >> ⁠ ## Content > “Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.” — Naval Ravikant [[Marcus Aurelius]] was a philosopher _and_ a king. Seneca was a philosopher _and_ a popular playwright and a political advisor. They are examples of what the billionaire Dharmesh Shah calls “The Venn Diagram of Success.”  If you look at successful people, companies, products, and so on, Shah observes, they are usually a combination of intersecting valuable skills or ideas. Those are the two key features: intersecting _and_ valuable. For instance, elite basketball knowledge and being a great violinist don’t reinforce each other. Let’s look at few other examples: - Steve Jobs: skilled entrepreneur with great design sense _and_ elite marketing abilities. - Ben Franklin: an author _and_ a publisher _and_ a postmaster.  - Amazon: an online retail store with good prices _and_ fast delivery. - Stoicism: a philosophy full of ancient wisdom _and_ real-world application. ⁠ Credit: [@visualizevalue](https://twitter.com/visualizevalue)⁠ ⁠“Basic economic theory tells us,” Cal Newport writes in _So Good They Can’t Ignore You_, “you need something rare and valuable to offer in return—this is Supply and Demand 101.”  In classic economic terms, to get valuable traits in your working life (money, autonomy, and so on), you must offer something valuable in return. You must find the overlap in your Venn Diagram of Success. - - - ## Activity **What is your Venn Diagram of Success?** Take a moment to jot a few things down and see where your Venn Diagram of Success appears.