February - 2016

Less motivation often results from inaction

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. - Dale Carnegie There is a power that comes with action. Whether or not you feel like you're ready or smart enough or have enough time, start and you'll feel the momentum come up behind you like a gentle wave. It is one of the best feelings in the world to roll up your sleeves and get to work. If you feel momentum on a pro

Don't wait on the voices in your head

Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you - whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. Dieter F. Uchtdorf Every project, dream, business, or goal I begin triggers an onslaught of thoughts. While some of the thoughts are positive and enthusiastic, most of the thoughts are analyzing the chances of me failing in this endeavor. I used to assume that people who tackle every challenge in life were those without negative voic

Start Making Stuff

If I'd waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started "being creative," well, I'd still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it's in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are. You're ready. Start making stuff. - Austin Kleon Steal Like an Artist I've always been a dreamer. It wasn't until recently that I realized that unless I actually TRY to build things and make mistakes, I w

2 Myths of Procrastination

Myth One: Procrastinators are lazy. Reality: Procrastinators can be workaholics. Myth Two: Procrastinators live in the future. Reality: Procrastinators live in the now. Procrastinators are addicted to immediacy, and that makes it difficult to engage in tasks that don't produce the satisfaction of immediate results. When we procrastinate, we fill our lives with the tasks that are right in front of us rather than make the concerted effort to leave enough room in our schedules t

Trust Customer's Intent = Permission Marketing

The goal [of permission marketing] is to motivate the consumer to give more and more permission over time. Over time, the marketer uses the permission he's obtained to change consumer behavior - that is, get them to say "I do". [These companies are] building an asset that has nothing to do with brand and everything to do with their relationship with you. - Seth Godin Permission Marketing The other day, I used what was advertised to be a "free" service online. The name of the

Just surviving looks awfully good.

Start-ups are like extreme-skiing runs. The person who wins is the one who screws up the least and doesn't die. Success in a start-up is being around tomorrow, a lot of days in a row. The wisest thing my colleague Dick Sabot ever said to me was that "if we survive, we succeed." Why? Because like the first run down an uncharted Alaskan peak... just surviving was going to look awfully good. - Bo Peabody Lucky or Smart? DREAM BIG to inspire you to take the next step. DREAM OF SU

To-Stop-Doing List

The best way to stop spending time on unnecessary distractions is to make a "to-stop-doing list". This is better than a to-do-list, because it helps you see what's bringing you down. Think about the tasks that drain your energy without contributing to anything worthwhile. To be able to devote most of your time to projects and activities you enjoy, you'll need to be forceful about dropping a lot of other activities. - Chris Guillebeau The Art of Non-Conformity Once we turn our

Proud to Produce

There are two fundamental ways not to be ignored at work. One is to make noise. The other is to make progress, to do exceptional work. When we hired our first full-time remote programmer back in 2005, we were blown away by the progress he made. He lived in Utah, nearly 1,400 miles away from our headquarters in Chicago. Even though we never saw his face, and rarely heard his voice, his work spoke loud and clear. He produced, so he couldn't be ignored. - Jason Fried & David Han

Is every element serving the theme?

Paddy Chayefsky famously said, "As soon as I figure out the theme of my play, I write it down on a thin strip of paper and Scotch-tape it to the front of my typewriter. After that, nothing goes into the play that isn't on-theme." Pause and reflect. "What is this project about?" "What is its theme?" "Is every element serving that theme?" - Steven Pressfield Do the Work We've all been there. On a writer's high, inspiration coming, words flowing, we feel unstoppable. The next da

The Backspace Treatment

The computer is...not really good for generating ideas. There are too many opportunities to hit the delete key. The computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us - we start editing ideas before we have them. The cartoonist Tom Gauld says he stays away from the computer until he's done most of the thinking for his strips, because once the computer is involved, "things are on an inevitable path to being finished. Whereas in my sketchbook the possibilities are endless." -