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It’s been a while. I go through bouts of inspiration like anyone else, and sometimes there just isn’t anything there. I try not to mail unless there is something worthwhile to say.

I have this whiteboard at home (I work from home) where I recently started writing all my favourite quotes. I’ve made it part of my daily routine. Right before I get to work, I read over each of them, and consider if what I am about to start doing aligns with these quotes on the wall. Here are some of my faves that I am sure you’ve heard of, but if not, you’re in for a treat I think. Sorry, I don’t recall who said all of these, so I just didn’t bother to note it.

 

“It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.”

As a manager of myself, and other humans this is a really great one. It’s what you tolerate for yourself (and thus the example you set), and how you hold the line. A soft line is one that gets taken advantage of. It’s human nature.

 

“Your body has no reason to change so long as you’re working within its capacity.”

Also self-explanatory, but it’s important to me when I find myself getting complacent or sluggish. I heard it first in the context of bodybuilding, but it applies nicely to self-development too doesn’t it?

 

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

I have a tendency to revert to an “if you want it done right, do it yourself” mentality. So, this one reminds me that this sort of thinking will only get me so far. That it isn’t scalable. That I am not scalable. If I want to go the distance, I need my team.

 

“Rule #1: Don’t lose money. Rule # 2: See rule #1.”

‘Nough said?

 

“Everything worthwhile takes a long time.”

Patience young Padawan. Take a breath. Stop looking at those around you. You’re seeing them on their best day. You don’t know what they did to get there. Focus on you. Focus on your people. Keep moving.

 

“One of the things that limit our learning is the belief that we already know something.”

Crippling. My antidote? Surround yourself with smarter, more successful people. Listen (podcasts) to the same. Get humbled. Take up something like Jiu Jitsu. You’ll get humbled real quick. The more you retreat into yourself, the more ignorant you become.

 

“Truth is like poetry and people hate poetry”

I’ve talked about this in past newsletters. Don’t avoid the tough stuff. Put the tough stuff at the top of your list. Tackling the tough stuff is where you’re going to make your gains. Refer to quote #2.

 

“If it’s not a F*CK YES, it’s a HELL NO.”

Eventually, you are going to have the luxury of choice. You won’t need to say YES to everything that comes across your desk. So use this as a guide to choosing work that is a right fit for you.

 

“Figure out what is important before you figure out what is next.”

In addition to reading over some of these quotes, I will pull up a document that I created at the beginning of this year, where I asked myself the following:

  1. How you want your biz to look like in a year?
  2. How is it right now?
  3. What obstacles are holding me back?

This helps me refocus, and navigate all the demands on my time.

 

Do you have any quotes that help you? I’d love to hear them. Fire me an email, and let me know.

Good luck out there!

Adam

 

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