Category: Expectations
-
Tell people what you want to do, and it just might happen
Tom Critchlow recently published his list of dream clients, and how he believed he could add value to them. (The post started as a thread, which itself was a response to this prompt.) It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of these came to fruition. (In fact, I’m expecting that to happen.) Tom’s thoughtfulness,…
-
Zen longcutting
A Zen student went to a temple and asked how long it would take him to gain enlightenment if he joined the temple. “10 years,” said the Zen master. “Well, how about if I really work hard and double my effort?” “In that case, 20 years.” See also “Why trying too hard can backfire.”
-
Intelligence, energy, and integrity
In Working Together, Michael Eisner and Aaron Cohen share the traits that Warren Buffett looks for in a partner: “You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person,” says Buffett. “Intelligence, energy, and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two. I tell them, ‘Everyone here has…
-
Just write
“I don’t get inspired to write. I just write.” Salman Rushdie (via Backable by Suneel Gupta)
-
To earn an opportunity, steer into the concerns
In Backable, Suneel Gupta recalls a time when he was seeking funding for his startup Rise. He’d recently met Reid Hoffman and sought his advice: When Rise was being rejected by investors, Hoffman shared one of the keys to his success in the pitch room. “There will be one to three issues that are potentially…
-
5 minutes
In Springfield Confidential Mike Reiss and Mathew Klickstein write: Matt Groening definitely created the Simpsons, and the story of how he did it is truly unbelievable. Matt was a Los Angeles underground cartoonist when he was called in for a meeting at The Tracey Ullman Show. The series had one-minute animated bumpers (as well as…
-
To find a good position, list out every possible criticism and craft the narrative
I was discussing a recent draft of my next manuscript with my friend and colleague Rahul, and he mentioned Nikita Bier’s tweet: You could replace “your product,” with your work, or your career path, or anything really, and this statement still holds true. When it comes to repositioning, an emotion like doubt comes in extremely…
-
Audio and alter egos
When you want to change the way you talk to yourself—your self-talk—one interesting step is to listen to someone else talk, on repeat. For example, Seth Godin talks about how he changed his own negative self-talk by listening to Zig Ziglar tapes, for three hours a day, for three years. Similarly—but slightly different—Cathy Park Hong…
-
On why people around you stop you from changing
The people closest to you serve as your anchors. The benefit is that they keep you steady and provide support. The drawback is they also hold you back from making changes that you may want to explore. If they’re not suited in a similar worldview to where you want to go, this force feels practically…
-
The right season
A fruit is nothing picked out of season. Even a brute’s praise won’t stand to reason. Border of a Dream: Selected Poems of Antonio Machado, translated by Willis Barnstone