Anything You Want

Key Concepts

Ideas are worth nothing unless they are executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. For an idea to get big big big, it has to be useful. And being useful doesn't need funding.
We all have lots of ideas, creations, and projects. When you present one to the world, and it's not a hit, don't keep pushing it as-is. Instead, get back to improving and inventing. Present each new idea or improvement to the world. If multiple people are saying, “Wow! Yes! I need this! I'd be happy to pay you to do this!” then you should probably do it. But if the response is anything less, don't pursue it.

Some people want to be billionaires with thousands of employees. Some people want to work alone. Some want as much profit as possible. Some want as little profit as possible. Some want to be in Silicon Valley with Fortune 500 customers. Some want to be anonymous. No matter which goal you choose, there will be lots of people telling you you're wrong.
Just pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you're being the real you and when you're trying to impress an invisible jury.

Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what's not working.
No plan survives first contact with customers. So, whenever you see something is not working, try to improve it or reinvent it or press the reboot button.
When you sign up to run a marathon, you don't want a taxi to take you to the finish line.

Please don't think you need a huge vision. Just stay focused on helping people today.
Necessity is a great teacher.
Want to start a new airline? Next time you're at the airport when a flight cancelled, offer to everyone at the gate that you'll lease a small plane to fly to their destination if they will split the costs. (This is how Richard Branson started Virgin Airlines).
When someone's doing something for the money, people can sense it, like a desperate lover. It's a turnoff. When someone's doing something for love, being generous instead of stingy, trusting instead of fearful, it triggers this law: We want to give to those who give back.

Your measure of success is completely different than mine.
In New York City, there are dozens of buildings that say “TRUMP” on them. As I was driving about an hour into the rural countryside, I even saw a “Donald J. Trump park.” It made me wonder if he grades himself by how many valuable properties bear his name. Plenty of real estate tycoons have made billions without putting their names on everything, but maybe that's his measure. We all grade ourselves by different measures.
Never forget why you're really doing what you're doing.
What's the point of getting bigger and making millions? To be happy, right? In the end, it's about what you want to be, not what you want to have.
Happiness is the real reason you're doing anything, right? Even if you say it's for the money, the money is just a means to happiness, right? But what if it's proven that after a certain point, money doesn't create any happiness at al.

Business is as creative as the fine arts. You can be as unconventional, unique, and quirky as you want. A business is a reflection of the creator.
There's a big difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. Being self-employed feels like freedom until you realize that if you take time off, your business crumbles. To be a true business owner, make sure you could leave for a year, and when you came back, your business would be doing better than when you left.
For me, I loved sitting alone and programming, writing, planning, and inventing. Thinking of ideas and making them happen. This makes me happy, not business deals or management. So I found someone who liked doing business deals and put him in charge of al that.