WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

"Life is largely a matter of expectation."

Horace (BC 65-8) Latin lyric poet.

Since we often don't expect things will turn out good we don't work hard to make them so, and as a result, guess what? 

Self-fulfilling prophecy, they don't.

However the reverse is true as well.

Put in the effort, work hard, and your expectations can be fulfilled. 

THE HEART (AND BRAIN) OF THE MATTER

"Where the heart lies, let the brain lie also."

Robert Browning (1812 -1889) British poet.

Very poetic but when it comes to business, also difficult to do.

It's not a matter of the heart or brain (our emotional and rational selves) being in charge; neither needs to always follow the other.

Better the right one leads when circumstance calls for what each do best.

ADVERSITY'S SILVER LINING

"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again -- and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist/writer/lecturer.

Very few consider what good might come from an otherwise bad experience.

It's not always obvious but it is most always there.

Look for it.

HOW CAN YOU NOT BE INTERESTED IN ME???

"Egotist. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me."

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) American newspaperman/short-story writer.

Be careful; taken one way the speaker is not an egotist while taken another s(he) is.

Which way would you take it?

YOU MIGHT WANT TO RETHINK WHAT YOU THINK IF THIS IS WHAT YOU YOU THINK

"Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; he thinks too much; such men are dangerous."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet/playwright.

This thought Shakespeare attributed to Julius Caesar, reflects the management style of far too many.

Good managers know the problem is not employees who think too much but rather those who think too little.

THE PERILS OF PARTIAL ENTRENEURISM

"Definition of an entrepreneur: One who is willing to live a few years like most people won't, so they can live the rest of their life like most people can't."

Unknown

One of the best partial descriptions of an entrepreneur I've ever come across.

However if you're contemplating doing something on your own or with others, with none of you having attempted a startup before, beware!

It is only a partial description alluding to the good stuff.

There's good reason most people won't try what you're thinking of doing.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try; only admonishment to get experienced help before you begin.

WHAT IS YOUR DUTY?

"Without duty, life is sort of boneless; it cannot hold itself together."

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist.

We all need to be responsible for something and what that is changes over time.

Identify what is and will be for you.

HOW YOU WILL GET IT ALL DONE

"Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer."

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) British historian/essayist.

Good advice when you have much to do.

NOT SO SURE ABOUT "LUST", HOWEVER . . .

"Curiosity is the lust of the mind."

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) British philosopher.

Lust may be going a bit too far but the underlying point is still valid.

Curiosity is generally a good thing of which you can't have too much.

WE'LL FIND OUT

"Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him."

James Allen (1864-1912) British-born American essayist.

It is very difficult, often impossible, to forever hide what we really are, particularly during adversity.

Once tested our true selves become known.

NOT WHO, WHAT

"Examine what is said, not him who speaks."

Arabian proverb

If only this were done in every single aspect of our lives.

FAIL ONLY WHEN SUCCESS IS NO LONGER AN OPTION

"Beauty is a short-lived tyranny."

Socrates (BC 469-BC 399) Greek philosopher of Athens

A better description of how most initially feel about their start-up I can't imagine.

We wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think it worthy.

But then reality sets in at which point many efforts stop.

Balance.

The fact that what you're attempting is probably not as good as you think doesn't mean it isn't worth the effort.

YOU ARE THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

"Most men are individuals no longer so far as their business, its activities, or its moralities are concerned. They are not units but fractions.

Woodrow T. Wilson (1856-1924) Twenty-eighth President of the USA.

When wrongdoing is discovered very few employees can truthfully say they didn't know what their company was doing.

Indications of dishonesty will be plentiful and obvious.

Being quiet about it is being a part of it.

I'M CERTAIN OF THIS

"To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous."

Chinese proverb

And at no time is this more true than when doing a start-up.

Most everything you believe to be true is in reality an assumption.

One by one prove or discard them.

IT'S YOUR TIME; HOW YOU SPEND IT IS LARGELY UP TO YOU

"To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom: it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do."

Heraclitus (c. 535 BCE-c. 475 BCE) Greek philosopher.

We all must endure a certain amount of boredom and how much that will be is largely up to us.

If what you're doing bores you devise a plan that will lead to something else.

Easier said than done?

No more than also being worth the effort.

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

"There can be no doubt that the average man blames much more than he praises."

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) English novelist.

Increasingly more so today.

People, if you did it and you shouldn't have, if you didn't and you should have, say so.

BETTER TO BE COLOR BLIND

"Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance."

Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) French poet.

How many times must we be reminded of this, particularly when the outward appearance used to judge is not one of choice.

Such as skin color.

Black, white, brown, yellow, red and all in between; none of it tells you anything about the person who wears that skin.

ONE TRICK PONY SYNDROME

"People with great gifts are easy to find, but symmetrical and balanced ones never."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet/essayist/lecturer.

"Never" seems a little absolute, however the overriding sentiment is valid.

Being really good at one or two things does often come at the expense of much else of importance.

Strive for balance.

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU KNOW IT

"The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an immediate knowledge of its ugly side."

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American writer.

Because there is downside to everything even that with tremendous upside.

Look for both before you choose your career.

MULTI-TASK THIS

"The waste of life occasioned by trying to do too many things at once is appalling."

Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924) American author/founder of Success magazine.

We live our lives much faster today than was true when Mr. Marden made this statement.

Multi-tasking is a fact of life.

But there is a point when supposed increased productivity gives way to shoddy work and some unquantifiable price on our quality of life.

IF YOU LOOK REALLY HARD . . .

"Nimble thought can jump both sea and land."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet and playwright.

Whether he intended it to be or not, Shakespeare's take on visualization; a most important element in business and our personal lives.

To accomplish great things you must first envision them and the greater they are the more difficult that is to do.

You must see what others cannot.