'Shark' Mark Cuban shares his success mantra, says these two simple things would help people to be successful

If Mark Cuban were a kid today, he’d focus on two simple strategies to set himself up for future success.

"When I talk to kids today and they ask me what I would do if I were 12, my answer is always the same: read books and learn how to use (artificial intelligence) in every way possible," the 66-year-old billionaire entrepreneur shared on BlueSky last week. "AI is a living library that provides responses and assistance, no matter who you are or where you live."

According to Cuban, all it takes is "a smartphone, curiosity to experiment, and a mindset to learn," he wrote in a follow-up post.


His emphasis on reading isn't new—Cuban has long advocated for the power of continuous learning. "I read everything I can. I don’t care what the source is," he told CNBC Make It in 2018, adding that he dedicates "four to five hours a day" to reading. This habit is something he shares with other highly successful entrepreneurs, including fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Mark Cuban founded video portal Broadcast.com with fellow Indiana University alum Todd Wagner in 1995 and sold it to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999. Today he owns a minority stake in the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and is cofounder of Cost Plus Drugs, which he launched in January 2022 with the aim of lowering prescription drug prices.

Cuban sold 58% of the Dallas Mavericks in December 2023 for an estimated $2 billion (pre-tax). Previously, the billionaire sold stamps door-to-door as a kid and gave disco lessons to help pay his way through Indiana University.

As per Forbes, Cuban has appeared as a judge on the popular ABC show "Shark Tank" for 13 of the show's 15 seasons and invested more than $22 million during that time.