I Am What I Am
[Sunday Times, 23 April 2006]
- Don’t waste mental energy asking yourself if you CAN do something. Just do it. You’ll surprise yourself. I did.
- Be clear about your objectives. Ignore others, stay true to yourself and measure success only against your own criteria. I was last to finish the race – big deal. I went out there to learn about myself, and I did.
- The only constant in life is change. So don’t get depressed by the bad times, and don’t get over-excited by good ones. Accept that things are exactly as they are, and even bad times have something to teach us.
- Life can be magical, but magic only gets you so far. Then you need discipline, determination and dedication to see it through.
- Hope can hurt. The danger is that you hope for too much and set yourself up for disappointment. Be optimistic but realistic. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you expect it to be.
- Be mindful of the link between present action and desired future outcome. Ask yourself: if I repeat today’s actions 365 times, will I be where I want to be in a year?
- Decision-making: act in faith, not fear, and don’t worry about making a ‘wrong’ decision – the way you implement it is more important than the decision itself.
- Be your own best friend. The more you rely on other people, the less control you have over your destiny.
- Be proud of your own obituary: a few years ago I wrote two versions of my obituary, the one I wanted and the one I was heading for. They were very different. I realized I needed to make some big changes if I was going to look back and be proud of my life. I am making those changes, and now I have a life worth living.
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I believe that if you don’t keep pushing the boundaries, keep expanding your comfort zone, your comfort zone actually gets smaller and smaller, until you’re shrink-wrapped in such a tiny comfort zone that you can’t move, you can’t achieve anything, you can’t grow. And so I keep pushing, keep developing, keep evolving. I keep showing what an ordinary person can do when they put their hearts and minds and souls into it.
May. 28, 2012 with 55 notes
Reblogged from brycedotvc
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Life changes for the better when we realize that we don’t have to know everything and we don’t have to pretend we do.
9 Deadliest Startup Sins
9 Deadliest Startup Sins
swissmiss
1. Assuming you know what the customer wants
2. The “I know what features to build” flaw
3. Focusing on the launch date
4. Emphasizing execution instead of testing, learning, and iteration
5. Writing a business plan that doesn’t allow for trial and error
6. Confusing traditional job titles with a startup’s needs
7. Executing on a sales and marketing plan
8. Prematurely scaling your company based on a presumption of success
9. Management by crisis, which leads to a death spiral
9 Deadliest Startup Sins, by Steve Blank
(via collaborative fund)
Sent with Reeder
May. 24, 2012 with 6 notes
Reblogged from sabbatical
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Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Are you settling for mediocrity?
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If you aren’t dying for it, it’s bullshit. If you die with any life left in you, you’ve wasted it. You should die entirely empty and spent. That’s my view.
May. 7, 2012 with 107 notes
Reblogged from brycedotvc
Apple’s welcome letter for new hires.
Can the same be said of the company you’re building?
via @m
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Weak companies hire the right experience to do the job. Strong companies hire the right person to join their team.
