I’d go as far as saying that you should not expect any traction until you have put out (published, shipped) at least three hundred great pieces of work.

It is this level of quantity that leads to:

Refinement and mastery of your skills;
Being faster, more efficient and better at flow;
A growing sense of momentum and energy;
Getting a better sense of what people WANT;
More ‘nodes’ through which to attract attention online and elsewhere;
More ideas and more ‘aha’ moments that lead to more electric, more emotional output;
Others believing in you because you believe in yourself, by showing up often or every day.

1. The grass is never greener.
2. There are mediocre people everywhere we go.
3. The need for a side hustle.
4. Once we understand people, we’re set.
   People go through a range of emotions every day. Once we understand that what’s happening in business could be entirely down to the fact they’re human, and nothing to do with business, we see the business landscape differently.

Becoming evolved means:
You no longer major in minor things — As Jim Rohn said, “A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things.”

You value your time — and how that time is spent. When you’re at work, you’re 100% at work. When you’re at home, you’re 100% at home. You begin living in the “results-economy,” where you’re less worried about how long something takes you, and you’re more concerned about achieving the your desired results more effectively and efficiently.

There’s no area of your life that’s separate from the others. Your health will impact your work. Your work will impact your relationships. Your relationships will impact your happiness. Your happiness will impact your performance. It’s an interconnected system. And if one of the systems is out whack, the others are inevitably impacted by it. The investment with highest ROI is the one you make in yourself, and the way you get that ROI is by making the following five essential investments.

In his letter to shareholders back in 2016, Jeff Bezos gave the best advice I’ve ever heard on how to stop procrastinating:

“Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases, you’re probably being slow. Plus, either way, you need to be good at quickly recognizing and correcting bad decisions. If you’re good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure.”

What Bezos is saying is that you should think like a C student. When you’re about 70% sure, you take a guess and see what happens.

Why Being A Modern Polymath Is The New Normal
Polymath Advantage 1: Combining two or more skills can make you world-class.
Polymath Advantage 2: Most creative breakthroughs come via making atypical combinations of skills.
Polymath Advantage 3: It’s easier and faster than ever to become competent in a new skill.
Polymath Advantage 4: It’s easier than ever to pioneer a new field, industry, or skill set.
Polymath Advantage 5: It Future-proofs Your Career
Polymath Advantage 6: It Sets You Up To Solve More Complex Problems
Polymath Advantage 7: Being a polymath helps you stand out and compete in the global economy.

I want to clarify my priorities
by defining my goals and the path to reach them.

The DIY Toolkit has been especially designed for development practitioners to invent, adopt or adapt ideas that can deliver better results.

Nagging is the dispiriting, unpleasant, counter-productive but wholly understandable and poignant version of a hugely noble ambition: the desire to change other people.

Here are some ways people ask questions the wrong way -- and how you can ask the right way:

1. Don't Lead the Witness
   "What do you think we should do about that order?"

2. Don't Stick to Either/Or Questions
   "There are defects throughout the whole order. What do you think we should do?"

3. Look for Clarification
   "That sounds really good. Let me make sure I don't miss anything, though. Can you walk me through it one more time?"

Talk as little as possible. You already know what you know.

• Breathe
• Focus on your body
• Try saying a mantra
• Acknowledge and label your feelings
• Take a break

Imagine my surprise when he called me into his office that day and admonished me for being too efficient. My zeal to do everything on my to-do list—along with my reserved, even shy nature—made me come across as abrupt and cold. I started every meeting by jumping right in and left with every action under control.

"You have to wallow in it," he said. "Take time to get to know people. Understand where they are coming from, what is important to them. Make sure they are with you."

Stop using this, it, that in your writing — next time you write, try to remove the words “this”, “it” and “that” your writing will be easier to understand and read.

Punch above your weight class

Say People not Users

Save time, use patterns 

You are not Aaron Draplin. find your own Futura Bold

Always talk to the person next to you

Design one for the stakeholder and one for you 

Sidework leads to your next job

Be impeccable with your word 

Success = 80% Sell, 20% Design 

15 Minute Meetings

Follow Up

Everyone’s job is hard 

One big thing each day 

Drink water — you will feel more alert, kind and patient.

“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly."

Writing intrinsically champions and improves creativity, critical thinking, and clarity.

1. "If" -- improves performance when describing a hypothetical positive.
   "What would you say if you did know?"

2. "Could" -- boosts creativity when used instead of "should."

3. "Together" -- makes teams work harder and smarter

4. "Choose to" -- reframing from "have to" makes a big difference.

5. "And" -- the best way to state a contrary opinion.
   "Here's what I'm thinking."
   "My perspective is based on the following assumptions... "
   "I came to this conclusion because... "
   "I'd love to hear your reaction to what I just said."
   "Do you see any flaws in my reasoning?"
   "Do you see the situation differently?"

6. "Because" -- makes whatever you ask sound objective and rational.

7. "(Your name)" -- we prefer things connected to ourselves.

8. "Willing" -- can turn a "no" into a "yes."

7 Words to Avoid:
Need Must Can't Easy Just Only Fast

Creativity: A Systems Approach

First, an individual must master her craft in a given domain (art, science, mathematics). Then, this person must offer the creative work to a field of influencers in that domain who are trusted experts. Finally, the gatekeepers decide if the work is worth being accepted as authoritative into the domain.

1. "It's not fair."
2. "This is the way it's always been done."
3. "No problem."
4. "I think ... /This may be a silly idea ... /I'm going to ask a stupid question."
5. "This will only take a minute."
6. "I'll try."
7. "He's lazy/incompetent/a jerk."
   (There is no upside to making a disparaging remark about a colleague.)
8. "That's not in my job description."
9. "It's not my fault."
10. "I can't."
    (If you really can't do something because you truly lack the necessary skills, you need to offer an alternative solution.)
11. "I hate this job."

The first step is always the hardest.
Good things take time.
Being busy does not equal being productive.
You will always have less control than you want.
You're only as good as those you associate with.
Your biggest problems are mental.
Your self-worth must come from within.
Not everyone will support you.
Perfection doesn’t exist.
Fear is the number one source of regret.

Whereas the main ideas in the book revolve around the fact that people will like you if you offer them attention (“Become genuinely interested in other people”, or “Make the other person feel important — and do it sincerely” are good examples of this approach), there are other instances where the author’s advice doesn’t feel as authentic. For example, the tip “Let the other person feel like the idea is his or hers” 

Writing intrinsically champions and improves creativity, critical thinking, and clarity.

I came in from my 10-foot commute once and my 3-year-old looked up from his snack and said, “What did you make today, papa?”

It took me by surprise, as I had always assumed that when I was out of sight I was out of mind. (I now know that children seem to be most interested in you when you’re not around. When you’re actually around, they love to ignore you.) “No, he asks about you all the time,” my wife said. “He always wants to know what you’re doing. I tell him, ‘Papa’s out in his studio making things.’”