Try free for 30 days

  • The Third Door

  • The Mindset of Success
  • By: Alex Banayan
  • Narrated by: Alex Banayan
  • Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (270 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Third Door cover art

The Third Door

By: Alex Banayan
Narrated by: Alex Banayan
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Forbes #1 Career Book to Read in 2018

The National Best Seller

The larger-than-life journey of an 18-year-old college freshman who set out from his dorm room to track down Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, and dozens more of the world’s most successful people to uncover how they broke through and launched their careers.

The Third Door takes listeners on an unprecedented adventure—from hacking Warren Buffett’s shareholders meeting to chasing Larry King through a grocery store to celebrating in a nightclub with Lady Gaga—as Alex Banayan travels from icon to icon, decoding their success. After remarkable one-on-one interviews with Bill Gates, Maya Angelou, Steve Wozniak, Jane Goodall, Larry King, Jessica Alba, Pitbull, Tim Ferriss, Quincy Jones, and many more, Alex discovered the one key they have in common: they all took the Third Door.

Life, business, success...it’s just like a nightclub. There are always three ways in. There’s the First Door: the main entrance, where 99 percent of people wait in line, hoping to get in. The Second Door: the VIP entrance, where the billionaires and celebrities slip through. But what no one tells you is that there is always, always… the Third Door. It’s the entrance where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, bang on the door 100 times, climb over the dumpster, crack open the window, sneak through the kitchen—there’s always a way in. Whether it’s how Bill Gates sold his first piece of software or how Steven Spielberg became the youngest studio director in Hollywood history, they all took the Third Door.

©2018 Alex Banayan (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“Exhilarating and empowering... If you care about your success, you have to read The Third Door.” (Tony Robbins, entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, philanthropist, and the nation’s number one life and business strategist)

“From redefining success with Steve Wozniak to staring death in the eyes with Jessica Alba, this book is packed with adventure, drama, and remarkable lessons the whole way through. Whether you‘re an executive or a recent college graduate, you’ll find inspiration and wisdom in The Third Door.” (Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and New York Times best-selling author of Thrive)

"The Third Door is at once a spirited coming-of-age story and a hard-headed examination of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. Alex Banayan has cracked the code of the world’s most successful people and shown he will soon join their ranks.” (Daniel H. Pink, New York Times best-selling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Third Door

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    228
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    209
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    203
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great takeaways though overdid stories

I was really looking forward to listening to the third door after I listened to Alex’s interview with Shaman Durek.

The first part was repetitive and overdid the stories - I get Alex was trying to find emotion and really get point across with rejections etc, overdid it though. I also feel I’d you started listening and got a few hours in you’d think this is just for young men though Alex explains this point half way through.

Actual interviews were interesting with Gates and message with Gaga. Also the point of mentors and trust.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wow highly recommend

a must read for all those struggling to pursue their dreams...my favorite book of the year 2019

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Modern Moral Stories for the Young and Aspiring

Phenomenal hearing the journey narrated by the author! Captivating, inspiring and unbelievably thought provoking.
Quirky anecdotes, relatable life lessons and a charismatic knack for instilling perspective to the readers.
As someone who falls into the same generation as the author, I appreciate the value and the message this book shares, for young, ambitious adults.
Thank you Alex Banayan, for taking the wise and successful's hindset and making our generation's foresight.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!!

Touching, funny, inspiring, real, with a very valuable underling message. I would strongly recommend this to anyone looking for inspiration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant - lessons beyond expectation!

Insight from a mind that will expose many life lessons beyond his physical years of youth !!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A book for all ages

Although I turned 40 last month, this book really spoke to me. It is not just for people starting out their journey in college. While it is easy to tell someone to never give up and use persistence as your fuel, the stories in this book really brought it home. It usually takes me a few weeks to get through a book in between running a company and raising a family. I finished this book in two days. I look forward to hearing and learning more from Alex.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just wow!

This book was not at all what I thought it would be, and as I listened along to Alex talking I realised that I was probably searching for that same buzz feed list as he once was. The stories and knowledge that came from it were far more valuable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must Read

This book was incredible and so relatable. If you are considering giving up on anything read this first. Thank you Alex

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed

I enjoyed the book. At first I thought it stank of make privilege in our biased world. I was glad he addressed that.
Some nice lessons and motivations for the many choices we make.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

must read! thrilling adventure!

It feels like a fiction booked but it's packed with crazy true stories that reveal incredible lessons.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.