Today we’re excited to introduce you to Shaun Gold. Shaun is an Entrepreneur, connector, community builder, and storyteller and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Shaun below.
Hi Shaun , thank you so much for sitting down with us again. For folks who might have missed our initial interview, can you start by briefly introducing yourself?
I am the true definition of a polymath. A lifelong entrepreneur, 2x best-selling author, international speaker, advisor and super connector to start-ups and standouts, Jeopardy contestant, and screenwriter.
How do you constantly keep reinventing yourself?
I have always been a constant learner and naturally curious. I have also been naturally stubborn. When someone tells me that I can’t do something or that I should stick to one path, it fuels me to prove them wrong. I have always followed what has interested me, regardless of what others may think. Many people can’t do this. They are so afraid of the opinions of others that they won’t risk rocking the boat of their own status quo. I never liked the status quo. It never suited me. As a result, reinvention is something that I never feared. For me, if I am the same person I was last year, I would be embarrassed.
When I find something that truly excites me and that I can monetize in some way or form, I fearlessly go after it and everyone reading this should do so as well. We have to constantly reinvent ourselves to grow and evolve. It is a lifelong process. Most want instant transformation, which doesn’t exist. Those who never grow and evolve fail to realize their own potential. They reach the end of their personal evolution. In an age of constantly shifting innovations and technology, we must not go with life, but grow with life.
You have a lot of accomplishments, but what about your failures?
Everywhere you look, everyone seems to be boasting of their accomplishments and successes, parading them while concealing their failures and poverty. Yet failure is so important to life. It humbles us. It provides us with life lessons that aren’t easily obtained. Failures ultimately change us for the better. I have failed at a variety of different tasks and I am not ashamed of any single one of them. I have failed at classes, obtaining Ws (withdrawn on my transcript), which is worse than an F.
I have failed at relationships.
I have failed at throwing and promoting my parties during my party promotion period.
I have failed at Jeopardy in front of millions of people.
I have failed at business, losing limited resources and time.
But these failures have shaped me. I don’t fear them or hide them. In the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky, “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.”
Getting into nightlife seems difficult, but what about getting out?
It was extremely difficult but necessary. Everything runs its course, sooner or later. You want to quit and move on while you are still ahead. This was lost on a lot of my contemporaries. Most people who leave nightlife either end up as a realtor or in rehab. I didn’t want to find myself in either position. Instead, I wanted to be me. One thing about nightlife was that it gave me a lot of down time to experiment with other interests. Once I left nightlife, I already had a good sense of what I wanted to pursue. This included startups, entertainment, community building, and venture capital.
I still dabble in some VIP events here and there, but for all intents and purposes, I am the former nightlife ninja and that is the way I want it to stay.
You’ve been so great at building community, what would you say is the most important advice you could give to someone interested in building an authentic, engaged community?
If you are interested in building a truly authentic and engaged community, you need to realize that it will take time. So many people think that a community is creating a Slack channel, or a Discord, or a Facebook Group.
It isn’t.
Communities need a leader and you need to be that leader. You need to be the face of the community, the chieftain, the person who everyone can count on. This takes time as you will need to build your community one person at a time. But it is worth it, provided you are invested in the community and each and every one of its members.
Out of all of your projects, what excites you the most?
This is a difficult question for me to answer but I would have to say my feature film project. Not only did I write the screenplay, but I am also executive producing it. This is by far one of the most difficult projects I have ever undertaken, yet the difficulties do not deter me. Instead, they embolden me. I hope that everyone reading this is emboldened by the difficulties they may face in their own personal projects.
What advice can you give readers on taking action and going after their goals?
Don’t hesitate and certainly don’t wait. There will never be a right time to take action. This is one of the most important lessons in life but so few realize it. Instead, they hide behind excuses. Each of us hoping that today will be the day.
The students who can’t begin until they’ve graduated, whether it be from high school or college. They need that degree, that PhD, that piece of paper that gives them permission and authority.
The single people among us who can’t begin until they have found that perfect soul mate, the one who will complete them and give them the strength to start.
The employees who can’t take a chance on themselves until they have risen high enough in the organization so they can leave it.
The entrepreneurs who can’t make an impact without an investor backing them.
The writers who can’t begin until they have an agent and a publishing deal before committing their great work to paper.
The unhealthy people who can’t begin until they are well enough, fit enough, and physically strong enough to try, yet make no attempt to become healthy in the first place.
The failures who have given up too soon and too easily and who won’t take another risk, even though this may be the success that has long eluded them.
And the majority of people who pay no attention to beginning anything at all.
Thank you so much again for sharing all of this with us. Before we go, can you share with our readers how they can connect with you, learn more or show support?
I write a motivational and inspirational newsletter, YouTopian Journey, that is read in all 50 states and 120 countries. Readers can subscribe at the following link. https://youtopianjourney.substack.com/
Feel free to drop me a connection request on LinkedIn, but please include a message as I tend to get a lot of spam and ignore random requests.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaungold/
I always have new content dropping on OpenVC. For those who want to learn and be entertained, you can cramp your cranium at the following link.
https://openvc.app/blog/author/shaun-gold
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shaungold.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaungold/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamshaungold
- Other: https://www.openvc.app/
https://youtopianjourney.substack.com/
