“Because a true sense of purpose is deeply emotional, it serves as a compass to guide us to act in a way completely consistent with our values and beliefs. Purpose does not need to involve calculations or numbers. Purpose is about the quality of life. Purpose is human, not economic.”
- Simon Sinek
Purpose can not be rationalized, by Simon Sinek.
“The thing that doesn’t fit is the thing that is most interesting.”
- Richard Feynman
(via Brain Pickings)
“An entrepreneur is someone who, almost artistically, designs a living entity which embodies the values, beliefs, and ambitions of the creator. It’s impossible for a larger entity to swallow a smaller one without completely reshaping it. When this process begins, a wild visionary – the entrepreneur type – is the most toxic, indigestible actor imaginable. And this is why I roll my eyes when a new acquisition is announced: Because I don’t see it as a triumphant graduation but a sacrifice to an industry that is afraid to dream big.”
- Jake Lodwick
An acquisition is always a failure, by Jake Lodwick
(via Michael)
“Why don’t we decide to look at the choices we make in our lives not as sources of anxiety, but as enormous opportunities for inspiration, both to and from our children? That connection, that authentic reflection of one another, the flow between the mother and the child, each inspiring the other to lead a beautiful, full life — that’s where our focus should be. It’s a gift like none other.”
Kathryn Tucker, CEO and founder of RedRover wrote this beautiful personal story about her personal struggle of starting a company and at the same being a great mom. Moving and encouraging at the same time.
(Thank you Michael)
“There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted.”
- Washington Irving, born 4-3-1783
(thank you Nate)
“I believe that every designer has to have personal projects—it’s the only way to grow and find a unique voice. At any given point in time, I’m working on an independent project in the studio and that’s very important to me—it’s what defines me as a designer.”
- Louise Fili
Wonderful quote from a recent The Great Discontent interview with Louise Fili.
“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!”
― Jay-Z
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
— Jim Rohn
“I started the Do Lectures, which I don’t get paid by, but it helps me meet lots of amazing people, which is brilliant. It is good to do something for no return sometimes. It has given back to me many, many times.”
- David Hieatt
Quote by David Hieatt, Do Lectures co-founder, taken from the book Mash-up!: How to Use Your Multiple Skills to Give You an Edge, Make Money and Be Happier
“Working hard is a skill you have to nurture!”
- Chris Shiflett
My studiomate Chris just dropped this nugget here at the studio.
“When children have nothing to do now, they immediately switch on the TV, the computer, the phone or some kind of screen. The time they spend on these things has increased.
But children need to have stand-and-stare time, time imagining and pursuing their own thinking processes or assimilating their experiences through play or just observing the world around them.”
(via Kottke)
“An exceptional company is the one that gets all the little details right.”
- Richard Branson
Business Lessons by Richard Branson
“When a free option is available in a market of paid alternatives, far more people will choose the free product, often by an order of magnitude or more. Asking people to pay unnecessarily is asking them to behave irrationally and against their own immediate best interests, even if it’s probably worse long-term.”
- Marco Arment
Free Works, by Marco Arment
(thank you Nate)
“If you spend your life doing what you love, the speed at which the world goes on and changes around you is irrelevant.”
- Milton Glaser
From conversation between Cool Hunting and the iconic Milton Glaser
“Learning to design is, first of all, learning to see. Designers see more, and more precisely. This is a blessing and a curse — once we have learned to see design, both good and bad, we cannot un-see. The downside is that the more you learn to see, the more you lose your ‘common’ eye, the eye you design for. This can be frustrating for us designers when we work for a customer with a bad eye and strong opinions. But this is no justification for designer arrogance or eye-rolling. Part of our job is to make the invisible visible, to clearly express what we see, feel and do. You can‘t expect to sell what you can’t explain.”
Learning to See, by Oliver Reichenstein
“We danced all night; it was divine.” describes one case in point. The first and second halves of which each other do anoint. “We danced all night. It was divine.” How choppy and how stilted! Without the semicolon how the narrative gets wilted!
Ode to the Semicolon, by Tony Noland
(via Chris)
“The Big Bore lurks inside us all. It’s dying to be set loose to lecture on Quentin Tarantino or what makes good ice cream. Fight it! Fight the urge to speak without listening, to tell a bad story, to stay inside your comfortable nest of back-patting pals. As you move away from boring, you will never be bored.”
- Scott Simpson
You are Boring, by Scott Simpson
(via Kevin)
“Every woman I know who feels like she “has it all”—and there are many—has done it in a unique way.”
- Sarah Lacy
Fantastic (and passionate) article by Sarah Lacy over on Pandodaily: In this corner there’s Sheryl Sandberg. In this corner there’s Anne-Marie Slaughter. And then there’s reality
(Thanks Jen)
“If my idea isn’t worth copying then it’s not a very good idea. If my product or business can’t handle a new competitor, then it’s not a very good product.”
- Nathan Kontny
From this interesting post on competition: Group email address. Did 37Signals Copy my idea?
(thanks Nate)
“If you perceive the universe as being a universe of abundance, then it will be. If you think of the universe as one of scarcity, then it will be. … I always thought there was enough of everything to go around-that there are enough ideas in the universe and enough nourishment.”
— Milton Glaser
(via Maira Popova’s TOC Keynote, very end)
“Enthusiasm is the element of success in every thing. It is the light that leads, and the strength that lifts men on and up in the great struggles of scientific pursuits and of professional labor. It robs endurance of difficulty, and makes a pleasure of duty.”
- Bishop Doane
(via Wiki Quotes)
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(via Zach)
“Invest your life in what you love!”
- Jessica Jackley
