“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein The genius in this quote is not just that it came from Albert Einstein who we all know is well, an actual smarticle particle. – Its real impact is in its simplicity and its ability to divine the essence of success. We like to think that people who are uber successful, are just freaks of nature; that they possess a superior intellect or extraordinary talent that results in their being “discovered” while the
I Fail. Therefore, I Succeed. As kids we’re taught that the key to academic achievement is to avoid being wrong. As adults we work in companies that stigmatize mistakes. In fact, we live in a society focused on mitigating risks. So then, is it really any wonder that we have a tendency to avoid failure at all costs? To me, the irony in all this is that in order for us to be successful we need to take chances. We need to be prepared to be wrong and, harder still
“More money is rarely the answer to innovation. The best innovations come from a world of scarce resources.” — John Donahue, Ebay CEO
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned about success, I learned from a fish. I was recently chatting with a friend about her job at a company at which she’s been employed for many years. I asked how things were going, to which the friend replied that things were fine. “You know, it’s a job.” She confessed that she really didn’t love the job, but she said, “it’s a good company, I make a decent salary and I know what’s expected of me. It’s comfortable.” I’ve replayed that conversation
A little inspiration to get us through the day! Every once in a while — often when we least expect it — we encounter someone more courageous, someone who choose to strive for that which (to us) seemed unrealistically unattainable, even elusive. And we marvel. We swoon. We gape. Often , we are in awe. I think we look at these people as lucky, when in fact, luck has nothing to do with it. It is really about the strength of their imagination; it is about how they constructed
Don’t ask what the world needs. Rather ask–what makes you come alive? Then go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman