Take the long way. Do the hard work, consistently and with generosity and transparency. And then you won’t waste time doing it over.
If you take action, you will be judged. There’s no way around it. The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored. Up to you.
If I fail more than you do, I win.
At the heart of art is learning to see.
Being a leader gives you charisma. If you look and study the leaders who have succeeded, that’s where charisma comes from, from the leading.
If you want to be a leader, go lead.
Make a decision. It doesn’t have to be a wise decision or a perfect one. Just make one.
It’s clearly more fun to make the rules than to follow them.
You don’t make art after you become an artist. You become an artist by ceaselessly making art.
The first rule of doing work that matters: Go to work on a regular basis.
By definition, remarkable things get remarked upon.
Anxiety is practising failure in advance. Anxiety is needless and imaginary. It’s fear about fear, fear that means nothing.
Connect, create meaning, make a difference, matter, be missed.
There’s no life-work balance. I think you have to have the discipline to have the life you want to have. And if you are stealing from one part of your life in order to make the other part work, you are going to pay for it.
That’s why there’s lots and lots and lots of kinds of hot sauces and not so many kinds of mustard. Not ’cause it’s hard to make interesting mustard – you can make interesting mustard. But people don’t because no one’s obsessed with it, and thus no one tells their friends.
The edge is a great place to be. Inside the box is too dark. Outside the box, there’s no leverage. But on the edge of the box, you can get things done!
If you’re passionate, be passionate enough to fail. Fail small, accept responsibility, repeat. The people who make change are the survivors of serial failure.
The only long-term motivation is self motivation. So hire people who are self motivated and get out of their way.
Gifts are not favors. If you expect something in return, it’s not a gift.
Will you succeed because you are more well-rounded than others? Because you fit in better than everyone else? Bloody unlikely. We succeed when we are trusted to be the best at what we do.