If someone wants to do something nice for you, what do you say?
Notice nowhere in there are there open-ended follow-up questions assessing how much of a burden it will be for them to complete said nice thing.
Why?
They want to do it.
So let ’em or don’t.
Interviews. Lectures. Sales pitches. Projects. Games. Customers. Products. Lessons. Calls. Updates. Visits. Days off. Blog posts. Songs. Batches. Parties. Drinks. All the things you do, create, consume.
Take heed of Jay-Z (amongst a gazillion others).
Treat your first like your last and your last like your first.
How else can you be sure you did your best?
Control what you can control.
Accept what you cannot.
Laugh at it all.
Some write carelessly. Some write without spelling or punctuation or grammar.
Some make zero sense at all.
Those trolls are easy to ignore.
Other trolls are careful. Thoughtful, even.
They write in perfect grammar. And they appear worthy of your time.
The sophisticated trolls.
Then there are the non-trolls. The people who ARE worth of your time.
It’s tough to tell the difference between the sophisticated trolls and the non-trolls.
When in doubt, though, they’re probably just a sophisticated troll. And thus, not worth your time.
He’s a business legend. He’s worth gazillions.
When asked about his secret to success, he keeps it simple: happiness.
Many assume my business success has brought me happiness. But the way I see it, I am successful because I am happy.
Of course, success is not just defined by money. It’s so much more than that.
And so when I say my #1 goal right now is to keep living this happy life, it’s nice knowing I’m in good company.
If you can sell your art, great.
But always make it for yourself.
Because if it’s not for you, you’ll lose interest. And once you lose interest, you become completely uninteresting.
Then nobody wants to buy your art.
Do it for you.
It’s fun to go find new business.
It’s exciting. It’s challenging.
It’s gonna grow your business.
But what about finding new business in your old business? Your customers and clients with whom you already have a relationship.
No, focusing on old business is not exciting. Nor is it challenging.
But don’t you want to grow your business?
You can spend your time dissecting people’s actions.
Why are they doing that? What are they up to? What are they gonna do next?
Should I be doing that, too?
But, c’mon.
Do the thing you set out to do.
Dissecting people’s actions, I’d imagine, is not it.
What are you seeking in life?
Fame? Fortune? Recognition? Revenge? Remembrance?
You might get them.
But eventually, inevitably, they all fade away.
The truth, knowledge, and understanding, however, do not.
Seek those.
You know, sometimes there are so many reasons to hate a day.
You can’t believe THIS is how you’re gonna spend it.
The day is gonna be gone forever.
You’re never gonna get it back.
But what about the three or four lovely things that happened?
A laugh with a coworker?
A good meal?
How about recognizing that most days of yours are hardly like this?
On those hateable days, the tiny, sweet things are extra special.
Perhaps they make the hateable days actually wonderful?