We each have a unique vision of success. So why do we all follow the same path to get there?
That’s the question that kicked off the enviable success story of Matt Higgins, author of Burn the Boats.
His journey began with the simple desire to build a career as quickly as possible so he could care for his disabled mother. Today, it’s all about helping us reach our destination…
Assuming we’re brave enough to follow his example.
In Burn the Boats, you’ll learn how he broke the rules to fast-track his own journey. You’ll also get his unconventional and often uncomfortable ideas around what it takes to reach your full potential.
About Matt Higgins
A high school dropout from Queens, Higgins was an unlikely success. But he was also smart. He realized his needs were too pressing. He didn’t have time to finish high school, go to college, and wait in line for promotions at a dead-end job.
So he jumped the line, broke the rules, and forged his own path.
Today, Higgins is a guest shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, an executive fellow teaching at Harvard Business School, and cofounder of RSE Ventures, the private investment firm behind some of America’s most beloved brands.
By leaving the traditional path, he didn’t close the doors of opportunity. He opened them.
He earned a law degree from Fordham University School of Law, only to pass on a career in law. He realized it would take years to become a partner, and he wanted a race track, not a walking path, to success.
He was the youngest press secretary to the mayor’s office in New York City history and helped lead the effort to rebuild the World Trade Center site after 9/11. Again, he found himself on a high-powered success track that couldn’t give him the future he wanted.
So he joined the New York Jets’ executive team and, later, the Miami Dolphins as Executive Chairman, driving unprecedented growth for both franchises.
Each stage of his journey opened new doors. At every stage, he was warned he was making mistakes. But it was his journey. His risks. And he was willing to take them.
Reading Higgins’ story, it becomes clear that “unlikely success” is actually uncommon courage. The courage to dream big, to trust your instincts, and to dare to do things others can’t or won’t.
And it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from. As Higgins says, “The circumstances of your life do not make your journey inevitable.” He trusted his instincts and followed the opportunities that opened for him.
In Burn the Boats, he encourages you to do the same.
My Takeaways
Burn the Boats begins and ends with one thought: you are the key to your own success. Not your pedigree. Not your degree. Not your years of experience. You.
You don’t need a Plan B. You need only to know yourself and what you really want from life.
“The key to unlocking potential is to embrace your highest competitive advantage: you are the only one who has the full story of your life…. You need to know where you want to go; only then can you come up with a plan to get there.”
Reading his story, I assumed Higgins was encouraging us to chase power, position, and money. But he shares his heart in the closing chapter. And I have to admit, I was moved.
Higgins wasn’t able to lift his mother out of poverty before she passed, and he’s never forgotten it. So now, he’s helping others achieve their goals. He funds scholarships for single mothers through the Linda Higgins Empowerment Scholarship at Queens College. He runs a venture fund for entrepreneurs. And he wrote Burn the Boats for the rest of us.
Make no mistake, this isn’t just another success book. It’s actually a beautiful tribute to Higgins’ late mother, who had been confined to a wheelchair for years yet dreamed of a better future to her dying day.
He wants you to focus on your vision of success. It may be about money. It may also be about serving your community or paying tribute to a loved one. Regardless, you can get there by burning the boats.
So much of this book was validating for me. I’ve also had to break some rules and clear my own path to success.
I was born at a time when girls were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, but we were still expected to be moms and teachers and secretaries.
When I became the top student in school, I was beating out the boys — and that was a no-no. So no one congratulated me. They didn’t even look at my report card.
When I entered the Business School at my university to talk about a degree in economics, the professors laughed at me. So I majored in English and Psychology.
And when I started my business, I didn’t get the mentoring my brother or male peers got. I wasn’t staying in my lane, and no one wanted to reward that.
I didn’t grow up in poverty like Higgins, but I’ve had to overcome other obstacles. My gender, my age, and my health have been constant battlegrounds. I once had to fire a business coach because he couldn’t keep up with my vision. He was trying to hold me back and keep me small.
What I would have given to have Higgins as my coach!
Higgins thinks BIG. He’ll tell you straight, if you see an opportunity, don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Then, to make sure you don’t back down, burn the boats.
“Burning the boats is a recipe to leave no dream unfulfilled, no ambition denied. We all need to give ourselves a chance to realize the ceiling of our talents, to find the limits that we’ll never quite reach, to know ourselves and to appreciate our power to make things happen.”
The destination is yours to choose. You don’t have to pursue wealth. You might want to follow a calling or bake cupcakes.
The point is to stop making excuses and start finding a way to turn your vision into a reality.
There are so many inspiring takeaways in this book. My favorite is this: stop worrying about whether you have the right answers and focus instead on asking the right questions.
We want a definitive path, a step-by-step guide to achieve our goals. But Higgins is telling us that there isn’t a “right” path. You create the path, and you do that by asking the right questions:
- What are you uniquely positioned to do that no one else can do?
- What do you see that no one else sees?
- What special talents and abilities do you have that you can leverage?
- And most importantly, what do you want?
I was inspired by Burn the Boats. It helped me create a bigger vision for my business — and gave me renewed confidence that I can achieve it. It also reminded me that it isn’t the destination that matters most, but the journey itself.
If you’re struggling to achieve your goals, whether because you’re following the traditional path or because no one seems to believe in you, Burn the Boats is a must-read. It’s full of inspiring stories, practical tips, and challenging questions.
And it will help you find the courage to burn your boats and write your own ticket to success.
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