Learning is not the same as education, and busy is not the same as productive.

It’s all a risk. Always. That’s not true, actually. The only exception: it’s a certainty that there’s risk. The safer you play your plans for the future, the riskier it actually is. That’s because the...

Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.

Do extremely difficult work.That seems obvious, right? If you do something that’s valued but scarce because it’s difficult, you’re more likely to be in demand and to be compensated fairly for what you do.The implication...

If you’re remarkable it’s likely that some people won’t like you.

Every single important thing we do is something we didn’t use to be good at, and in fact, might be something we used to fear.

All great programmers learn the same way. They poke the box. They code something and see what the computer does. They change it and see what the computer does. They repeat the process again and...

Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t,

The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there.People will follow.

Success comes from doing the hard part. When the hard part is all you’ve got, you’re more likely to do it.And this is precisely why it’s difficult to focus. Because focusing means acknowledging that you...

That’s your opportunity–to approach your work in a way that generates unique learning and interactions that are worth sharing.

How dare you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to...

The job is what you do when you are told what to do. The job is showing up at the factory, following instructions, meeting spec, and being managed.Someone can always do your job a little...

Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself.

Give up control and give it away, … The more you give your idea away, the more your company is going to be worth.

In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.

The secret to being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.

Yes, I think it’s okay to abandon the big, established, stuck tribe. It’s okay to say to them, “You’re not going where I need to go, and there’s no way I’m going to persuade all...

The ability to change fast is the single most important asset in a world that’s changing fast.

Art is what we call…the thing an artist does.It’s not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art,...

People have come to the erroneous conclusion that if they’re not willing to start something separate, world-changing, and risky, they have no business starting anything. Somehow, we’ve fooled ourselves into believing that the project has...

You don’t have to settle for the status quo, for being good enough, for getting by, for working all night.

Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.

Difference between TV and the internet was how far you sat from the screen. TV was an 8 foot activity, and you were a consumer. The internet was a 16 inch activity, and you participated....

The only way to get what you’re worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about.

Anonymity is the enemy of civility.

Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.What makes someone an artist? I don’t think is has anything...

It’s okay. Let your ego push you to be the initiator. But tell your ego that the best way to get something shipped is to let other people take the credit. The real win for...

Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do...

How was your day? If your answer was “fine,” then I don’t think you were leading.

You need editors, not brand managers,who will push the envelope to make [a brand media property] go forward.

We have little choice but to move beyond quality and seek remarkable, connected, and new. Remarkable, as you’ve already figured out, demands initiative.

No offense intended…Most people online are gorillas. When a gorilla walks into an experiment, what they say is ‘What do I do now? Where’s the banana?’

You cannot create a piece of art merely for money. Doing it as part of commerce so denudes art of wonder that it ceases to be art.

This is an addictive pastime. You take no real risk, touch the world, and it responds. Repeat.

Don’t wait for the right answer and the golden path to present themselves.This is precisely why you’re stuck. Starting without seeing the end is difficult, so we often wait until we see the end, scanning...

Leaders lead when they take positions, when they connect with their tribes, and when they help the tribe connect to itself.

How we respond to the opportunities and challenges of the outside world now determines how much the outside world values us.

People don’t believe what you tell them.They rarely believe what you show them.They often believe what their friends tell them.They always believe what they tell themselves.

When you work under the cloud of anxiety, the best strategy is to play it safe, because if (when!) it fails, you’ll be blameless.

We’ve had people who were yoga instructors. … We have a former marine, and we have everything in between,

Art isn’t only a painting; it’s anything that changes someone for the better, any nonanonymous interaction that leads to a human (not simply a commercial) conclusion.

The challenge, it turns out, isn’t in perfecting your ability to know when to start and when to stand by. The challenge is getting into the habit of

A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck.So the question is: Have you ever done that?

A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A...

Librarians who are arguing and lobbying for clever e-book lending solutions are completely missing the point. They are defending the library-as-warehouse concept, as opposed to fighting for the future, which is librarian as producer, concierge,...

Soon is not as good as now.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt

The most popular TV show in America is a game show, … People have been playing our games for years and are playing more and more games. The relationship they build is similar to a...

Art changes posture and posture changes innocent bystanders.