Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

Years ago on my last day of work at a startup, my boss sent me one final memo. Scott, you’re the only employee who ever consistently emailed the company leaders with a thank you about your bonuses. We really appreciate it. I was both touched and shocked. How could that be possible? You’re telling me that when forty employees get a bonus check for a thousand dollars apiece, simply for…

Going from zero to one is significantly different than going from one to two. Because the first time you have an experience, you’re just a rookie. You don’t have the benefit of context, comparison, data, precedent and perspective. And so, the event makes you feel blindsided. Disoriented. Like somebody pulled the rug out from under you. Here’s an example of a zero to one experience from my own career….

Starting with why is a fine idea. But what about starting with who? As in, who you are? If it’s true that you are the most important person in your life, then it stands to reason that your true self should be the baseline from which all actions are taken. Because when you know who you are, every moment isn’t a moral challenge, it’s just a checklist. Motivation is…

Everybody want everything both ways. It’s the law of unreasonable incompatibility. Westerners use the idiom, you want to have their cake and eat it too. But this principle has its own quirky expression in just about every culture. Albania says, to take a swim and not get wet. Bulgaria says, to have the wolf fed and the lamb in tact. Italy says, to keep the barrel of wine with…

Decisiveness is a universal quality of successful people. The ability to make choices quickly and confidently, and not hastily and arrogantly, is precisely what gives us the ability to take action and move our story forward. However, when it comes to the deeply complicated issue of our identities, making a decision isn’t always necessary or even useful. Because we’re not supposed to be one thing in life. Part of…