…to enforce your opinion?
…to make the customer happy?
…to understand a different point of view?
…to get a promotion or a raise?
…to satisfy the stakeholders?
…to delight your customers?
…to be with your family every evening?
…to get that idea off the ground?
…to make a sale?
And finally, how far are you prepared to go to learn what you need to learn to answer these questions better?
Firsts steps (whether you’re studying a new language, mastering a new art, changing your profession, or simply learning to walk) are always the hardest.
They’re scary and dangerous; you might fall, you might fail, and even scarier, you might succeed, which could change everything.
But your first steps don’t have to be perfect. If you fall, you’ll pick yourself up again. Just like when you learned to walk.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t get discouraged. Keep trying, keep failing, and eventually, you’ll be confident to take one step at the time.
And each step will take you closer to your goals.
I wish I could push myself harder, and I wish I could work smarter (not longer).
I wish I could read more (not faster) and I wish I could write more.
I wish I had more time for learning, but I also wish I had more time for teaching.
Some of these goals are more important than others, but this doesn’t mean that I can’t work towards all of them.
As always, balance is the key.
Being predictable is not always a bad thing.
A predictable product that works well is much better than an unpredictable one that has no function.
Predictable story plot with much emotional substance and strong, interesting characters is much better than an unpredictable story with weak characters you can’t relate to.
Predictable move that gives great results is much better than unpredictable one executed on a whim.
But predictable has one drawback. It quickly becomes boring. And people tend to ignore boring.
The way around it? Every now and then do something unpredictable and risky. Even if it doesn’t work out, it will make your audience more invested, and your next predictable move more bearable.
The best way to prosper in terms of your professional and personal life, both offline and online, is to build relationships.
One follower that listens and interacts is worth much more than thousand followers that don’t.
Make sure you don’t let down the one who cares, not even for the aforementioned thousands.
Your ideas should be dismissable. Test them, discard them, review them, and recycle them often.
But but every once in a while you should stick with your idea—it’s the only way you’ll ever get anything done.
…put in the hard work, and show up consistently week after week.
It’s as simple as that.
Saying yes is not always the smartest or wisest thing to do. But once you do say it, make sure you follow it through.
No is a perfectly valid answer (you should use it often), but not after you made a commitment.
Saying something is sometimes better than saying nothing, even if you don’t have anything smart or relevant to say.
However, most of the time it’s just better to be quiet.
Great leaders take the fault themselves when things don’t go well and give credit to others when things are going great.
And that right there is the point of leadership.