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Ever since I read Ray Dalio's Principles, I've wanted to be much more intentional about developing, internalizing and documenting the principles that guide my personal and professional life.  [1]   Mark Twain once said that, "The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."  But the man (or woman!) who reads, and yet takes no action, still has no advantage over the man who cannot read.  And it dawned on me that, although I've read a lot of great books with tons of great ideas, I usually don't remember much about the ideas I've read.  And I put even [...]

  It's often said that Steve Jobs possessed a "reality distortion field" that allowed him to ignore detractors, problems and roadblocks.  This "distortion field" allowed him to continue pursuing projects relentlessly even in the face of extreme obstacles.  This method of working brought us the Mac, OSX, Pixar movies, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.   Nearly 20 years ago, I created FASO as a simple, yet powerful tool for artists to build their own websites.   I recall showing the early versions of it to friends in the technology space.  Several times the response was something like, "that's pretty cool, but nobody will purchase [...]

  Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on.  It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work many hours. Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter.  Once you have figured out what to do, be unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly. I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful. - Sam Altman, How to Be SuccessfulI read this a while back and I can't shake the feeling that this is an extremely [...]

  We've all heard stories about Wall Street CEOs who put quarterly earnings ahead of the long term health of the companies that they run.  This typically adds rocket fuel to the stock price....for a while.  But, eventually, neglecting the long term health of a business catches up with you and, if you constantly prioritize the short term, you'll eventually run out of gas.  Then the stock price plummets.Here's another way to look at this idea:  You can maximize for a local maximum.  Or you can optimize for a global maximum.  Optimizing for a local maximum often involves a strong focus on metrics.  You either [...]

  Creativity is a consequence of productivity.   I read this phrase recently and, although it's not a new idea, it's a good concept to revisit regularly.   We (myself included) tend to think of creativity as something magical and unique.  We like to wait until we have the time to "be creative."  We like to wait for inspiration.     And while inspiration does grace us with her melody from time to time, the real thing that separates the pros from the amateurs, the successful from the wishful, and the workers from the weekend warriors is doing the work, plain and simple.  Doing the work and doing it [...]

On Companies and Leadership: No idea is big unless it can work for 30 yearsCommittees can criticize but they can’t create, "search the parks in all your cities you’ll find no statues of committees"Empower lieutenants - the more centers of leadership you create the stronger your company will be.Never allow two people to do a job one person could do.Never summon people to your office, it frightens them.  Go to their office unannounced.  Wander around.If you want to get action communicate verbally.     Advertising and Copywriting:Recommends John Caple’s book: Tested Advertising Methods When you use a photograph of a woman, men ignore your advertisement - [...]