YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE UNACHIEVABLE.
FIRSTLY you need to aim beyond what you are capable of. You must develop a complete dis- regard for where your abilities end. Try to do the things that you’re incapable of. If you think you’re unable to work for the best company in its sphere, make that your aim. If you think you’re incapable of running a company, make that your aim. If you think you’re unable to be on the cover of Time magazine, make it your business to be there. Make your vision of where you want to be a reality. Nothing is impossible.
GIVE AWAY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW, AND MORE WILL COME BACK TO YOU.
The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish.
DON’T LOOK FOR THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY THE ONE YOU HAVE IN HAND IS THE OPPORTUNITY
You’re probably working on a job or project right now and saying, ‘This is boring, let’s just deal with it and get it over with. We’ll make the next one good. Whatever is on your desk right now, that’s the one. Make it the best you possibly can.
IT’S RIGHT TO BE WRONG.
START being wrong and suddenly anything is possible. You’re no longer trying to be infallible. You’re in the unknown. There’s no way of knowing what can happen, but there’s more chance of it being amazing than if you try to be right. Risks are a measure of people. People who won’t take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up by having more.
DON’T GVIE SPEECH. PUT ON A SHOW.
WHEN we attend a lecture, we generally go to see the speaker not to hear what they have to say. We know what they have to say. That’s why we go to see them. How many speeches have you heard? How many of them can you remember? Words, words, words. In a song, we remember firstly the melody and then we learn the words. Instead of giving people the benefit of your wit and wisdom (words), try painting them a picture.
ROUGH LAYOUTS SELL THE IDEA BETTER THAN POLISHED ONES.
IF YOU show a client a highly polished computer layout, he will probably reject it. There is either too much to worry about or not enough to worry about. They are equally bad. There is nothing for him to do. It’s not his work, it’s your work. He doesn’t feel involved. It is very difficult for him to imagine anything else if what you show him has such detail. Show the client a scribble. Explain it to him, talk him through it, let him use his imagination. Get him involved.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO WORK WITH THE BEST.
THE best people can be difficult. They are single-minded, they have tunnel vision. That’s what makes them good. They are reluctant to compromise. They can be intimidating, espec- ially to the young, but if you approach them with an attitude that you want to do something well, they will respond positively.
HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR COMPANY GREAT.
The majority of us want to work for companies with glamorous reputations. If you work for one of these companies, you are probably working for them for what they can do for you. But not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to work for the outfit that is currently favoured. So, given t h a t not everyone in your company is an idiot, what are you personally going to do to make it company of the year? Start by talking it up. Begin thinking and behaving like a winner.