By my definition, most art has nothing to do with oil paint or marble. Art is what we’re doing when we do our best work.
The person who fails the most wins.
You can’t control other people, and giving them the power to decide if you will continue to produce good work is foolish.
Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map-these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.
The world doesn’t owe you a living, but just when you needed it, a door was opened for you to make a difference.
Self sufficiency appears to be a worthy goal, but it’s now impossible if you want to actually get anything done. All our productivity, leverage and insight comes from being part of a community, not apart from it. The goal, I think, is to figure out how to become more dependent, not less.
The real power of tribes has nothing to do with the Internet and everything to do with people.
Some people read business books looking for confirmation. I read them in search of disquiet. Confirmation is cheap, easy and ineffective. Restlessness and the scientific method, on the other hand, create a culture of testing and inquiry that can’t help but push you forward.
There are always limits, and opportunities. The ones we rehearse and focus on are the ones that shape our future.
If you’re not the best in the world at what you do, then you have to get better.
More than anything else, I think prospects, customers and citizens watch what you do more than they listen to what you say.
The way to get unstuck is to start down the wrong path, right now.
Speak up. Not just tomorrow, but every day.
We don’t become mediocre all at once, and we rarely do it on purpose.
You’re competing against people in a state of flow, people who are truly committed, people who care deeply about the outcome.
Don’t wait to be picked. Pick yourself.
It’s far easier to put your future into someone else’s hands than it is to slog your way forward, owning the results as you go.
Embracing the fear of freedom, deciding to determine your own path, this is the work of a grownup.
Here’s conventional wisdom: Success makes you happy. Happiness permits you to be generous. In fact, it actually works like this: Generosity makes you happy. Happy people are more likely to be successful.
Saying ‘no’ or even ‘stop’ is the hallmark of the professional you want on your team.