While everyone’s favorite “Shark Tank” star celebrated his birthday with a personal concert by none other than Stevie Wonder over the weekend, Mark Cuban officially turns 60 on Tuesday. I’ve asked him a few dozen questions via his app “Cyber Dust” over the last several years. In honor of his birthday, here are some of the pieces of wisdom Cuban has offered in interviews with me and others.
Be humble and kind
Cuban’s net worth is an estimated $ 3.7 billion. He owns the Dallas Mavericks, is a host on ABC’s popular “Shark Tank” series, and played the president in “Sharknado 3.” Yet all this success hasn’t gone to his head. He remains accessible to reporters and fans (he always “dusts” back within a day or less) and remains pretty humble about his accomplishments (sarcastic remarks notwithstanding).
When Cuban has changed his mind about something (he used to waffle about investing in bitcoin, for instance, before deciding to invest in it), he has no problem admitting it and explaining why. When he started to engage in the debate about healthcare, he wrote on his blog, “shoot holes in this please,” admitting he wasn’t an expert, just a guy with ideas about how to make healthcare better.
Sure, Cuban’s got that alpha swagger, and he sports a brand that humblebrags about his success, but there’s an underlying humility in his actions that manifests in a willingness to learn and help other people. He often invests in entrepreneurs who have created companies where the idea of giving back is already built in.
Be willing to work hard
Cuban’s Instagram and Twitter are chock-full of advice for would-be entrepreneurs, but the piece of wisdom he repeats most often? Work hard. His financial success didn’t come quickly, easily, or through any form of nepotism. Instead, Cuban worked as a bartender and salesman before starting MicroSolutions, which he later sold for $6 million.
He’s fond of telling folks if he lost everything today he would simply start back over, working jobs that utilize his strengths, like being a salesman by day and, of course, working the bar by night. He’s often answered my questions when he starts his day at the crack of dawn — would you expect anything less from a billionaire?
Be ready to learn and keep an open mind
Cuban often discusses his love for artificial intelligence bolstered by a love for knowledge, reading, and the next best idea. He spends a lot of time reading and learning about A.I. or bitcoin, and anything else that catches his interest. He aims to be an expert in a few things, rather than grasping at superficial knowledge about a lot of unimportant things.
As a businessman, Cuban doesn’t think the government is as efficient as it should be — and has told me how he would fix it. As someone interested in politics who is fairly independent ideologically, he has spent his own time and funds researching ways to improve healthcare, including utilizing his favorite thing: technology. Not bad for a guy celebrating his 60th birthday.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
