Pocket Full of Do
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Who are your customers? Can you pick them out from a crowd? What are their beliefs, opinions, attitudes, activities, hobbies, interests? What do they dream of becoming? What are their hopes and fears? What are their pains and gains? What do they need? How does that make them feel? What problem are they trying to solve in their personal and professional life? What’s getting in their way? What brands do they have a deep, personal connection to, and what does that say about them?
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Know me. Anticipate my needs. This is the secret to delivering an amazing customer/user experience, and the core principle behind UX design.
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A carefully phrased question will often be more effective, meaningful, and persuasive than any argument you could make.
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Never underestimate the power of influence. Whether we like it or not, we are influenced by those closest to us. They affect our way of thinking, self-esteem, behavior, goals, attitude, language, fashion sense, and worldview.
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Holding onto hate is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.
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Grudges, bitterness, hate, and resentment have no positive attributes or benefits. The more you focus onthese negative feelings, the more you harm your own well-being. Often, the person against whom you hold a grudge is completely unaware of your feelings toward them. If you’re not careful, you’ll become consumed by your own resentment as it festers and spreads to other facets of your life.
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If you want to be a more effective communicator, pay attention to your audience. Fail to understand and respect them, and you will surely be misunderstood, dismissed, or ignored.
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If we really want to master our life, first of all, we really want to master communicating with ourselves.
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To be interesting, be interested.
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You can’t read the label when you’re inside the bottle. That’s why we need others to help us see what’s right in front of us.
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The best way to learn Is to teach.
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In the learning pyramid, the progression of retention from lowest to highest is: lecture, reading, audio/visual, demonstration, discussion, practice, and teaching. The highest form of retention is to teach others.
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Teach what you know. Teach while you learn.
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If you’re not sure if you are following the right career path, ask yourself: What do you love? What gives you pure joy? Think back to the time when you were 7 years old: What couldn’t you wait to do? What made your heart race faster? What do you do today that you lose track of time doing? Those are good indicators.
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Failure is tuition you pay for future success. Each failure brings you closer towards a breakthrough.
Whoever fails the most, wins. If you fail too big, you don’t get to play anymore. - Seth Godin
- Wolves don’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep.
What you think of me is none of my business.—Terry Cole Whittaker
A man, in order to be well thought of, must think nothing, say nothing, do nothing.—Elbert Hubbard
Those that say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those doing it.—Chinese Proverb
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The journey toward self-discovery, then, is to learn to listen to your heart’s desires. It will not betray you. In pursuing what makes you happy, you’ll be happier, healthier, and wealthier than you ever thought possible.
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Wealth is not about financial reward, possessions, or material things. Wealth means being able to spend your days the way you choose, rather than working to earn more money or worrying about how much you already have. Don’t waste your precious life. Don’t die living someone else’s dream.
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Realize that no one starts perfect, and the talent you perceive in the people you admire on social media is just the tip of an iceberg. Underneath all of that are many years of hard work, failures, and false starts.
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It’s unhealthy to compare your beginning to someone else’s ending. Rather than measure your worth by what you produce, measure your happiness by the progress that you’ve made. Look at how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.The only comparison you should make is between the old you and the new you. Rejoice!
Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right. —Henry Ford
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It’s only when we learn to love ourselves for who we are, both the good and the bad parts, that we can truly be whole.
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Pain is necessary. Pain is good. Pain is the period prior to any significant growth. Pain is prior to anything incredibly notable. That’s why they’re called growing pains.
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You experience pain because you’re causing micro trauma to your body. It responds by growing stronger, harder, and more capable. Reinterpret pain as the transformation of an old state to a new state.
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Go ahead, love yourself. Love the good. Love the bad. Love your history. Love your story. Love the weird parts that make you—unique. You might be surprised at how attractive you become when you do so.
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Charge more if you want better clients.
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Lowering your price is a sign that you need to raise yourquality. Anyone can win a job by being the cheapest option. Don’t be anyone. Be someone. Lowering your price is a temporary solution to a long-term problem.
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If clients keep saying “Yes” to your bids, it’s a sign that you are undercharging. The market value for your work is higher than the price you are asking. The lack of resistance or friction from the prospective buyer means that they were prepared to pay more. The solution: Raise your rates until they push back.
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Small increments in price seem petty and not worth the discussion. When it’s time to raise your rates, increase your prices by 1.5 to 2 times your current rate.
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Be objective. Be neutral. Be unemotional. Better yet, be of service. If you can truly master this concept and conduct yourself this way, you will see a remarkable difference and outcome in your sales efforts.
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Every transaction is an exchange of value. An agreement is made when both parties feel that they get more than they give.
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A transaction only happens when both parties see greater value in what they get than what they give. Therefore, it’s not possible for it be unfair.
When value exceeds price, people buy. — Grant Cardone
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It’s not a dream project if the client isn’t willing to pay you a dream price. A dream project is one in which you have creative autonomy; work for a brand, product, or client you admire; and are valued for your ideas, experience, and time.
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All companies have customers. Lucky companies have fans. But the most fortunate companies have audiences. —Jason Fried and David Hansson, Rework
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What’s the difference between having customers and an audience? In order to get customers to pay attention, you have to pay for their attention, whereas an audience happily gives you their time and attention.
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Audience > Customers
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Get known. Share your gifts. Grow your influence. You will be rewarded.
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Generalize internally, and specialize externally.
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Successful people don’t let setbacks, failures, and pessimism define who they are. They run toward change and embrace ideas that scare them.
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Some read just to complete a checklist. Some read so that they can complete an assignment or to boast to others that they read such-and-such book. How you read will largely determine what you get from what you read. Read with the intention not to remember, but to understand. Read to teach. It will transform how much you retain and what you’re able to apply to your life. Even if you don’t teach, pretend that you do.
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Reading is not about speed. It’s about absorption.
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Design is not fast food. Creativity isn’t something that can be dropped in a deep fryer and be ready in five minutes. Your thinking and creative process require time: to examine the design brief, consume and process new information, and find connections between seemingly disconnected ideas. When a client approaches you with an impossible deadline, remind them that good design takes time.
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You are in the business of making other businesses look good, appear more valuable, and communicate more clearly. Apply some of that magic to yourself. Never forget: Work hard on your job, but work harder on your personal development. It’s the best use of your time, with the highest return on investment.
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In making something, you will create many other things. All inventions are made from smaller components. Sell the byproducts of your creation. You could turn your “waste” into a secondary business.
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Avoid the stress. Say what you think. Then do what you say.
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Expectations can distort reality and skew your perception.
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It’s only when we are repeatedly exposed to the same type of problems that we can spot patterns, gain valuable insights, and develop deep expertise.
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A 1,000-watt lightbulb will illuminate a room, whereas a 1,000-watt laser will cut a hole through steel. Same energy. Different results. — Allan Dib
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When you say yes to something, you’re also saying no to something else.
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Execution is where ideas live and die, because it’s where fluffy, abstract thought meets cold, hard reality. It’s why many people are afraid to do something.
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Stop waiting. Better to act on a poor idea than to never act on a great idea. Shut up and start!
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Forget New Year’s resolutions—make New Day’s goals instead. Setting daily, instead of annual, goals is much more rewarding, attainable, and productive. It builds a positive habit and holds you accountable.
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Travel fast, but travel in the right direction. Otherwise, it’s all wasted energy.
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“No” just means “Next Opportunity.”
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Creativity expands and contracts to the time allotted.
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Goals magnetize you. Goals attract people, ideas, and things toward you. The clearer the goal, the more powerful the magnet.