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What I Learned From the Top 1% - Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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What I Learned From the Top 1%

Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa

Tue Feb 24 2026

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What I Learned From the Top 1%"

Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa – February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Sharran Srivatsaa distills decades of hard-earned wisdom gleaned from billionaires, world-class entrepreneurs, and top performers—including personal experiences with figures like Elon Musk and Alex & Leila Hormozi. Sharran shares the "Seven Fundamental Rules of Success" that the top 0.01% operate by, blending real-life anecdotes, tactical frameworks, and actionable strategies. If you want to unpack the mindset and habits separating elite achievers from others, this episode delivers a deep dive in Sharran’s clear, direct style.

Key Lessons & Discussion Points

1. Effort Is Your Only Guaranteed Lever

(01:15 – 03:58)

Origin: Sharran’s father taught him that, within India’s caste system, merit alone might not guarantee outcomes—effort was the only controllable factor.
Focus and unreasonable effort became the differentiator. For Sharran, this meant “tennis and academics, and nothing else mattered.”
Memorable Quote:

“Unreasonable effort is doing something so many times that the rest of the world thinks that you’re crazy for doing it that way.” (03:03)
Takeaway: Identify what you’re good at, and pair it with relentless effort.

2. Don’t Play by the Rules—Challenge the Frame

(03:58 – 07:09)

Dave Matthews Band Encounter: Instead of writing lyrics first, Dave Matthews reversed the process: melody came before lyrics.
The top 0.01% question assumptions, reframing problems rather than just solutions.
Memorable Quote:

“If you can’t solve a problem, it’s because you’re probably playing by the rules…you just have to break one assumption and everything changes.” (05:15)
Practical Tip: For any problem, list unspoken assumptions and challenge them.

3. Decision Reversibility (Elon Musk Advice)

(07:09 – 11:12)

Personal Story: Torn between continuing at Stanford and building a startup, Sharran sought Musk’s advice.
Elon’s Wisdom:

“Stanford will always be there. The startup won’t. Go build the startup.” (08:53)
If a decision can be reversed, act fast; take your time only when the choice is irreversible.
Sharran quit Stanford and built his first startup, changing his life trajectory.

4. Be ‘Yes-Hinged’ — The Power of Defaulting to Yes

(11:12 – 14:42)

Issy Sharp (Four Seasons) Lesson:

“The answer is always yes. Now, what’s the question?” (11:44)
Context: Successful people say “yes” to opportunities, creating luck through positive momentum.
Action: For one week, make “yes” your default response to opportunities and observe the shifts.

5. Curate Your Environment — Surround Yourself with the Best

(14:42 – 18:10)

Goldman Sachs Experience:
- Highest density of “A-players”—top MBAs, athletes, military, musicians.
- All shared two qualities: “an insane sense of superiority” and “crippling insecurity.”
- The result? A magic cocktail compelling everyone to work harder than ever.
Quote:

“I was never the last one in or the first one out—even when I came at 3am or left at 2am.” (16:42)
Takeaway: Place yourself in rooms where you feel both entitled and intimidated—it supercharges your work ethic.

6. Choose the Right Seat — Don’t Get Good at Something You Hate

(18:10 – 20:53)

Pivotal Moment: After helping a client sell for $100 million and earning a fraction, Sharran realized the vital importance of aligning role and personal drive.
"Some are born advisors, some are born entrepreneurs. Find your path and be honest with yourself."
Red Flag: If you feel jealous watching others win, it’s a signal you’re likely in the wrong seat.
Actionable Advice: Don’t stay in roles just because you’re good at them—seek roles you love.

7. Elite Performance Means World-Class Prep and Follow-Through

(20:53 – 25:43)

Working with Alex & Layla Hormozi:
- Sharran shared a complex money framework; the Hormozis completed all the prep work in under a weekend—total commitment, no shortcuts.
- Example: Their massive book launch ($106 million in 72 hours) succeeded due to extensive unseen preparation.
Quote:

“If you don’t prepare, you just don’t care.” (24:20)
Over-prepare for at least one upcoming meeting or call—show up with more research than anyone else.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

On effort:

“You have to commit to outworking everyone else, otherwise they will outwork you.” (02:12)
On breaking assumptions:

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is how you think about the problem.” (05:48)
On environment:

“Your environment dramatically influences your success—but it’s not just any environment…it forces you to level up.” (15:52)
On choosing your path:

“There’s no point in getting good at something you hate.” (20:05)
On preparation:

“Practice versus game day—it’s the hours and hours before that make you ready.” (25:02)

Timestamps for Important Segments

01:15 — Introduction to the 7 rules of success
03:58 — Challenging the rules with Dave Matthews’ story
07:09 — Elon Musk on decision reversibility
11:12 — Issy Sharp and being “yes-hinged”
14:42 — Goldman Sachs and environment for high performance
18:10 — Realizing the need to choose the right seat
20:53 — The Hormozis and the example of world-class execution

Final Takeaway

Sharran encourages listeners to pick and implement at least one of these elite principles, master it, and then return to the list for their next growth edge. These rules, learned through decades of experience, can be absorbed and put into action today—for a chance to join the ranks of the top 0.01%.

Resource reminder: For more detailed playbooks and frameworks, visit My Next Billion.

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Transcript

A (0:00)

Hey, this is Sharan Srivatsa.

B (0:01)

Welcome back to the Business School podcast. In this episode I'm going to do something a little different for you. If you didn't know, I have launched a YouTube channel and my first video in over a year completely took off and it's called the Lessons that I Learned from the top 01%. And it's still taking off. So two things. Number one, if you are on YouTube and you would like can you go and check it out, hit subscribe. That way you get all the new videos. I got some amazing stuff planned for you. And number two, I took that entire video and I'm giving you the key audio components of that here. But the team did an awesome job with the edit as well. So I think you will like that. So listen to the audio here. Just subscribe on YouTube. That way you as and when you see it, you'll get that too. I hope you like it. I'd love to hear your comments because I'm going to be doing more like this for you. So enjoy.

A (0:51)

One thing is for certain, just because it's tried and true doesn't mean it's working right now. So the big question is this. Where can you learn what is working right now? The strategy, the tactics, the psychology and the exact how to how to grow your business, how to blow up your personal brand and supercharge your personal growth.

B (1:13)

That is the question and this podcast

A (1:15)

will give you the answer. My name is Sharan Srivatha and welcome to Business school. I spent hundreds of hours with billionaires, world class entrepreneurs and top performers. I've sat in rooms with Elon Musk, managed billions of dollars at Goldman Sachs and currently build businesses with Alex and Le Hormozi. And what I've discovered is that the top performers operate on seven specific principles that most people are just never taught. These principles are what allowed me to go from an average kid in India to building and running multiple successful businesses here in the United States. So today I'm walking you through the seven fundamental rules of success I learned from the top 01%. Now, although most of this video is going to focus on what I learned from the top 0.01%, the first lesson didn't come from someone with loads of money. It actually came from my parents growing up in India. But the funny thing is that years later I realized that this, the very first lesson, is something that the top 1% practice as well. So let's dive in. The first lesson is that the 0.01% know that effort is Your only guaranteed lever. When I was in ninth grade, my father said to me that no matter how good I was, I probably wouldn't get into college. India is built on the historical caste system where some groups of people were given advantages and the others weren't. Over time, the modernization reversed it in different parts of the country to reverse the luck of different people. This unintended consequences had a similar effect. It actually just eliminated a majority of the meritocracy. Let me give you a crazy story. My friend, who was the valedictorian in my high school, he hit the top grades and the top scores, and he was the number one GPA in my high school, didn't even get into college. He went to college by correspondence, meaning he couldn't even go to school. He had to get his GED equivalent of a college degree. That's when my dad told me, it doesn't matter how good you are, you. You have to work like everything is against you. My friend, who was extremely talented, realized that talent was not enough. You have to commit to outworking everyone else, otherwise they will outwork you. And the interesting part in all of this is that my father, who had never left India, understood this important thing. That when the odds are stacked against you, effort is the only lever that you can control. Everything revolved around just two things for me. He gave me the focus, and he said that tennis and academics were the only things I cared about. Because to do great things, we must do fewer things. But what was this effort? The effort was having us. Unreasonable effort in academics and in tennis and nothing else matter. That was the biggest lesson that I learned around the most successful people is this respect for unreasonable effort. My father figured out something and taught it to me, and I learned it decades later myself. Unreasonable effort is doing something so many times that the rest of the world thinks that you're crazy for doing it that way. If you remember early on in life, you're not great at many things. You've just not had the time to learn those things yet. The lessons that I learned was trying to find something that you're pretty good at and then put all your effort to outwork everyone else on that topic. The magic formula is to combine what you're pretty good at with unreasonable effort. The second lesson I learned was don't play by the rules. And this completely flipped how I approach problems. Dave Matthews told me this backstage at one of his concerts, and it unlocked how I think about every challenge that I face. I left India as a teenager to come to college in the Us. And within my first month, I got a chance to go watch Dave Matthews from the Dave Matthews Band, who've sold over 30 million albums. And because I was part of the team that actually got to put on this concert on the college campus, we got a chance to be backstage with Dave Matthews. While everybody asked questions about his travel, his work, and his successes, I had a more unique question for him. I asked him about his songwriting. I asked him about how he actually made music. And there's something that Dave told me that completely changed the way I think about the world.

A (4:58)

Most people start as songwriters, they write the songs first. And after they've written the songs, they then set it to music. They package the music to the lyrics that they've written. And Dave Matthews told me that he started doing that early on in his career, and it just didn't work. That's when he flipped it. He didn't play by the rules. He started making the music first, the melody first, the packaging first. And then he put the lyrics to that. Dave Mazzi said to me that if you can't solve a problem is because your problem playing by the rules, for him, it was swapping the lyrics and the music. He did the music first and made the lyrics actually map into it. And this is what separates a lot of elite performers. They question the frame itself, not the solution within the frame. The problem is actually not the problem. The problem is how you think about the problem. Because there are assumptions in every single one of our problems. Sometimes you think you need more money or a college degree or good looks or a certain path in life, or you need a book or a celebrity endorsement. Maybe you're required to do certain things in a certain order. What if none of those assumptions were true? I want you to think of one problem that you're tackling right now. Figure out what the unspoken assumptions are. Is it money or connections or knowledge or skill or some random order that society expects you to follow? Maybe even ask AI to challenge those assumptions. We just have to break one assumption and everything changes. The top.01% question all the assumptions they don't accept because we've always done it that way as the answer, they ruthlessly ask why? Why? Every single time. And that's what allows them to break the rules. Now, understanding that the problem isn't the problem. The problem is just how you think about the problem. That was huge. But the third lesson I learned took this even further. And it came from one of the most unexpected conversations of my life. The third lesson came from one of the most important conversations I've ever had with Elon Musk. I asked Elon Musk for advice and what he said changed my life. Like almost every kid, I wanted to go to Stanford. I spent all my time, all my dreams thinking about how I would get into Stanford. I finally made it to the Silicon Valley and I was a young engineer at a new startup and I found a way to get into Stanford's Masters of Engineering program. I was hell bent on not giving up my Stanford dream. So I did both the startup world and Stanford at the same time. I was trying to juggle two things that I wanted the most. I thought that if I went to Stanford, it would change everything in my life. I remember this graduate class who was four year transforms. I was sitting there completely overwhelmed because I'd spent all night writing code at my startup. That's when my roommate invited me to the Mars project where Elon Musk was speaking. While everyone was asking Elon questions about what he did at PayPal, why he cares about Mars, I had a more selfish question. I told Elon that I was always dreamed of going to Stanford. It had been a goal for me for many years. But now that I was building a startup, I didn't know if I could do both. And I asked him, if you were me, what would you do? Elon said, stanford will always be there. The startup won't go build the startup. This is about decision reversibility. Reversing the decision is extremely important. Meaning if you can go and reverse the decision that you're making, then you should just go do it and you should do it fast. But if for some reason that decision is irreversible, that's when you take your time to think about it and that's when you plan. That week I dropped out of Stanford and built my first startup which changed the entire trajectory of my life. Lesson number four came from the founder of Four Seasons, the multi billion dollar hospitality empire. The founder of Four Seasons gave me this advice on how to get anything I want. And it was so simple, but so effective. After selling our first business, I took five years off to teach tennis at different resorts around the world. I went to the Caribbean, to Dubai and on Maui. But first I got into the Four Seasons training program. This was the most elite training program in the hospitality industry. And as a part of this program we got to spend half a day with Issy Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Resorts. And during that entire half a he repeated the same answer over and over. He said the answer is always yes. Now what's the question? You may think that that's some kind of customer service motto, but actually it was a major life unlock for me. Here's why. The average person is no hinged. They are skeptical of every opportunity that comes their way and they find fault in everything that they see. But successful people are yes hinged. They default to yes. They say yes to opportunities, yes to experiments, yes to challenges, yes creates momentum and this magical surface area for luck. It forces your brain. Instead of asking, can I do this? It switches it to how can I do this? Just by asking how can I do this? It unlocks massive possibility. Which is why when you're yes hinged, you can manufacture a life that you truly want. So how can you apply this to your life? Just for the next week? What if you could make your default answer to any opportunity that comes your way? Yes. Meaning instead of being skeptical about the opportunity, the challenge, or looking at it critically, can you say yes and see what doors it opens for you? Instead of saying can I do this? Can you think about how can I say yes to this? The fifth lesson hit me when I started working at Goldman Sachs. Surrounded by the best of the best at Goldman Sachs, I realized something about high performers that most people will never understand. So the most coveted job to get out of business school was to either go to Goldman Sachs or McKinsey. And that was for good reason, because it was the training ground. It was the gateway for massive learning. And it would unlock a whole new world of opportunities. In fact, I had 39 one on one interviews to get a job at Goldman Sachs. And I was the only person from my MBA class that got into Goldman that year. And here's what I found. Goldman had the highest density of a players, meaning every single person that I met was brilliant in some way. Working at Goldman meant that being surrounded by top MBAs, top athletes, top military professionals and top musicians, everyone there had been screened to the highest standards and had achieved something so special. But here's the crazy part. There were two things that were common to every single person that I met at Goldman. Number one, they had an insane sense of superiority. And number two, they had crippling insecurity because they were suddenly not the best. So these twin forces create a magic cocktail. Some people actually broke under pressure. Some people got aggressive and tried to game the system. But here's what happened to the vast majority. The vast majority responded by supercharging their work ethic. They realized that they had to outwork everyone else if they had the tiniest shot of being the middle of the pack. I felt the same exact way. I worked harder than I ever had before. I came in early, I stayed late. And the craziest part is sometimes I would come in as early as 4am or 3am Sometimes I would stay as late as 1am or 2am and never in my entire time there was I the last one in or the first one out. So how can you implement this lesson in your life? Your environment dramatically influences your success. But it's not any environment. You need the magic cocktail. You need to find a way to put yourself in rooms where you feel better. Both superior that you own being there and insecure simultaneously. Meaning you deserve to be there, but you're also slightly intimidated by everyone around you. This will show you work ethic like you have never seen before and can never manufacture on your own. So that's the magic of the right environment. It forces you to level up. But here's the thing. Even in the best environment, you can still be in the wrong seat. That's exactly what happened to me when I was at Goldman Sachs. Lesson number six was painful, but necessary. And it came from helping a client sell his company for $100 million. The moment I knew I needed to quit my job at Goldman Sachs was right after I helped a client make $100 million. I spent many years on Wall street at Goldman Sachs and at Credit Suisse. It was really exciting, but I felt unfulfilled and everything came to a head. One day at dinner, I was with a client who had built a healthcare company by taking a $5 million SBA loan. He had built it over a seven year period and then sold it for $100 million. The fee to Goldman Sachs at that time was just $1 million. And the client said to me, hey, Sharon, Goldman earned $1 million on that deal. And I know that you worked your tail off. You have to do that 100 times to make what I made. On one deal that hit me really hard. Not just for the money, but for building something special, I found this massive mismatch. I felt like an entrepreneur in an advisor's chair. From that dinner, I just could not shake the entrepreneurial spirit, the entrepreneurial bug in me. I realized that some are born advisors and some are just born to be entrepreneurs. And it's your job to find the path as soon as possible and be extremely honest with yourself. Just like when I was in India and my father said to me no matter how hard I was worked, I would not make it. I had a choice I had a choice to choose a path. And this is your time to choose a path. So how do you choose this path? If you watch other people win and you sometimes feel jealous, especially if you think you could have the same success, that may be a sign. Don't stay in the wrong role because you are good at it. There's no point in getting good at something you hate. Choosing the right seat changed everything for me. But once you're in the right seat, there's still one more thing that separates good performers from elite performers. And that brings me to the final lesson, the one I'm learning alongside Alex and Layla Hormozy. I gave Alex and Layla a framework that took me 10 years to create. What we did next showed me what elite performance really looks like. After Goldman Sachs, I worked with multiple influencers on business deals, helping them build and sell their companies. And during this time, I met Alex and Layla Hormozi while they were selling gym lunch. And in that process, I shared my money framework. I had built this framework on how to think and optimize everything related to money in your life. I put together this entire package. It was hours of material, pages of worksheets, questions that you needed to answer to get your framework right. And the crazy part is they did all the homework in one weekend. That is something amazing because the massive amount of prep showed the quality of their follow through. There were no shortcuts, there was no dabbling. They had full immersion and they fully executed everything that was presented to them. By the way, this is not isolated to high achievers. Let me give you an example. When we did our book launch where we beat the Guinness Book of World Records On Alex's book $100 million money models, we sold $106 million worth of books in 72 hours. I saw the massive prep that went into it. The massive team that was built, the prep was world class. What the world saw was just 72 hours. But what they didn't see was the world class prep that happened just like Alex and Layla had done in the same money framework. This is why if you don't prepare, you just don't care. It's not about capability. It's about showing respect and care. It's about believing that all the work is done before you actually get to the meeting, before you actually get to the, the sales call, before you actually get to that book launch. It's just like practice versus game day. It's the hours and hours of practice so that you can play in the game for that 30 or 60 minutes. Imagine you getting into a meeting with Layla Hermozi and she shows up and she's prepped more than the person actually leading the meeting. That's what real elite performance looks like. So how can you integrate something like this into your life right now? Try this one thing. Look at your calendar and pick one meeting or call or project that you have coming up this week. Imagine if that was your last call or last meeting and over prepare for it like your life depended on it. And you will end up showing up with more research and more notes and more analysis than anyone else in the meeting. And that's the difference between the top.01% and everyone else. These seven lessons took me decades to learn, but you just absorb them in minutes. The question is, which one are you going to apply first? Pick one, master it, and then maybe come back and pick another. And if you want to go even deeper, check out my next video. Hey, this is Sharon. I have an awesome free gift for you just for listening to the podcast. As you may know, I've got a chance to build $2 billion companies the hard way. So if you like this episode, you will love getting the exact playbooks from those wins. It's on my sub stack called My Next Billion. It has the exact frameworks I wish someone had given me when I was figuring it all out. Now you get the real lessons from the trenches as I go for a three peat and build the Next billion. So everything's free at my next billion dot com. Please check it out. My nextbillion dot com.