“One of the most common narratives on the internet is that you have to ‘go all in’ and ‘have no backup plan’ in order to be successful. People will cite the success of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs to further drive home their point. But this is simply survivorship bias. Instead of looking at Musk, Bezos, and Jobs, ask yourself this question instead: ‘How many people have tried to do what these three did, and failed?’ If 3 out of a million make it, it’s probably not the right choice for you. Instead, think about how you can start small and don’t flush years of your productive time down the drain on one ‘big’ idea.”
Justin Welsh
29 Must-Read Seth Godin Quotes from The Practice For All Creators
Excerpt: If you’re a creator of any kind (current or future) this list of quotes from The Practice should be required reading—they’re THAT good.
Read More »29 Must-Read Seth Godin Quotes from The Practice For All Creators
“If the only measure of your worth is in the outcome of a transaction, not in the practice to which you’ve committed, then of course it makes sense to cut corners and to hustle.”
Seth Godin, The Practice (Page 85)
“Selling can feel selfish. We want to avoid hustling people, and so it’s easy to hold back in fear of manipulating someone. Here’s an easy test for manipulation: if the people you’re interacting with discover what you already know, will they be glad that they did what you asked them to?”
Seth Godin, The Practice (Page 46)
Gerhard Richter Quote on Ideas and How They Won’t Come to You—You Have To Find Them
“It is a danger to wait around for an idea to occur to you. You have to find the idea.”
Gerhard Richter, via Daily Rituals
Beyond the Quote (Day 413)
Ideas are the treasure of your mind. They represent pockets of overlapping information that have the potential to yield a valuable return. And like treasure, they’re revealed only through motion, activity, disruption—never the opposite. Treasure is buried. It’s hidden away. It’s off the beaten path. It doesn’t just lay itself on the front door of your mind. It’s only discovered in the depths of your consciousness. It doesn’t come to you; you go to it.
Read More »Gerhard Richter Quote on Ideas and How They Won’t Come to You—You Have To Find ThemEventually, ‘Someday’ has to be today.
(Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)
Quote on Starting Where You Are With What You Have—Even With Fear, Pain, and Doubt.
“Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling, but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have. Just… Start.”
Unknown
Beyond the Quote (292/365)
What makes you think starting later is going to be any better than starting now? What makes you think the fear or pain or doubt or trembling won’t be there later just as much (if not more) than it is now? What makes you think starting is ever going to be easier? How about we call your desire to do later that which you could do now what it actually is: procrastination.
Read More »Quote on Starting Where You Are With What You Have—Even With Fear, Pain, and Doubt.Kevin Kelly Quote on Creating and How To Take Creations from Being “Good” to “Great”
“To make something good, just do it. To make something great, just re-do it, re-do it, re-do it. The secret to making fine things is in remaking them.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog
Beyond the Quote (210/365)
The rough draft is never as good as the final copy. The first rendition is never as smooth as the final production. The initial prototype never functions as well as the end-stage product. In each of these cases, what’s the difference between the former and the latter? The re-doing. Re-doing doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch with each of your creations either—although it could be that. Rather, it’s more of an emphasis on constant and never-ending refinement.
Read More »Kevin Kelly Quote on Creating and How To Take Creations from Being “Good” to “Great”“You can obsess about serving your customers/audience/clients, or you can obsess about beating the competition. Both work, but of the two, obsessing about your customers will take you further.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog
12 Motivational Michael Gerber Quotes from The E-Myth Revisited
Excerpt: Small business guru Michael Gerber will help you become a successful entrepreneur. These quotes from The E-Myth Revisited will get you going.
Read More »12 Motivational Michael Gerber Quotes from The E-Myth Revisited
The E-Myth Revisited [Book]
Book Overview: E-Myth \ ‘e-,’mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.
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Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
“Nobody is interested in the commodity. People buy feelings. And as the world becomes more and more complex, and the commodities more varied, the feelings we want become more urgent, less rational, more unconscious. How your business anticipates those feelings and satisfies them is your product.”
Michael Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited (Page 155)
“There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done. In fact, it is a curse to have everything go right on your first attempt. You will fail to question the element of luck, making you think that you have the golden touch. When you do inevitably fail, it will confuse and demoralize you past the point of learning. You have everything to gain.” ~ Robert Greene, Mastery
Talk Like TED [Book]
Book Overview: Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. TED―which stands for technology, entertainment, and design―brings together the world’s leading thinkers. These are the presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use will make any presentation more dynamic, fire up any team, and give anyone the confidence to overcome their fear of public speaking.
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Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
- Richard Branson Quote on Living In Every Moment—Not A Select Few Moments (Beyond the Quote 139/365)
“If you can’t explain your big idea in 140 characters or less, keep working your message.” ~ Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED
“If you can’t inspire anyone else with your ideas, it won’t matter how great those ideas are. Ideas are only as good as the actions that follow the communication of those ideas.” ~ Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED
Do Nothing! [Book]
Book Overview: According to J. Keith Murnighan, Great leaders don’t do anything—except think, make key decisions, help people do their jobs better, and add a touch of organizational control to make sure the final recipes come out okay. In sharp contrast, most leaders are too busy actually working to do these things—and their teams suffer as a result. Do Nothing!’s practical strategies and true stories will show you how to set high expectations for your team and watch it rise to the challenge. It will help you establish a healthier culture by trusting people more than they expect to be trusted. And it will help you overcome your natural tendencies toward micromanagement so you can let people do their jobs—even when you know you could do their jobs better.
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Not enough time to read entire books? Check out Blinkist and get the key insights from popular nonfiction books in a fraction of the time. ‘Busy’ isn’t an excuse.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
“You shouldn’t focus on outcomes so much. Focus instead on doing things right, on the best possible process, and on paying attention to what you can do rather than to what you can’t control.”
J. Keith Murnighan, Do Nothing!
“Doing too much is far worse than doing too little. When leaders do too much, they cannot be as effective or as thoughtful or as strategic as they might otherwise be. Even worse, their team members are underutilized and underchallenged. Better team members are also likely to be increasingly angry – because their leader is doing what they could and should and want to be doing. By not letting good performers do their jobs, on their own, leaders don’t allow their team members to feel proud of what they can do. The end result is the development of dislike or even hate for a leader who butts in, as well as earning him a reputation for being a control freak and a micromanager.”
J. Keith Murnighan, Do Nothing!
“Only action determines my value in the market place and to multiply my value I will multiply my actions. I will walk where the failure fears to walk. I will work when the failure seeks to rest. I will talk when the failure remains silent. I will call on ten who can buy my goods while the failure makes grand plans to call on one. I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late. I will act now.” ~ Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World
