Chris Pirillo » success

How to Succeed in Life and Business

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:15:22 +0000

Reading over questions and answers on Lockergnome just now, I came across the beginning of a very interesting discussion started by TheRedGoldFish. Like many teenagers these days, he hopes to achieve big things as an adult. He wants to be recognized and have the good life. Most adults I know are still working towards those goals. One thing he asks, though, spoke volumes to me. It is indicative of everything that goes wrong in the minds of young adults. He says: “what are the key things to remember and are there any cheats to it?”

Forget about cheating. Will you really be satisfied with your achievements if you cheat to get there? Too often these days, people want the easy way out. They want to skyrocket straight to the top without having to work to get there. The sense of entitlement I often come across boggles my mind. “I deserve this!” WHY do you feel you deserve anything? What have you done, exactly, to deserve a damn thing?

I’m not saying that none of you work hard. Quite the contrary – we have many talented, hard-working people in our community. We all sadly know of the ones I’m referring to. They want the easy way out. They want the glory with none of the blood, sweat or tears that lead up to it. I’m here to tell you young grasshoppers… it simply doesn’t work that way.

There are no secrets to success. There is nothing that you need to know other than the fact that you have to earn your way to the top of the heap. That’s it, I promise. HARD WORK PAYS OFF. You will need to earn trust. You have to earn respect. You start at the bottom of whatever it is you want to do, and you work your proverbial ass off. With that will come the recognition you crave so badly. Without it, you will never be taken seriously.

Never stop learning. Don’t wait for the knowledge and opportunities to find their way to you. Go get them! You can literally turn any and all situations in your life into a learning experience. Learning new things and making your mind grow will expand your horizons far more than cheating your way through life and work.

If you are one of those people who cheat their way through life, can you honestly look yourself in the mirror and say you are proud of what you have done? In my mind, being able to do so is a sad state of existence. If you can be proud of yourself at the end of the day, you know you are doing something right.

How to Succeed in Life and Business

Achieve More by Letting Your Ideas Have Sex

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:35:52 +0000

Achieve More by Letting Your Ideas Have Sex

Where do great ideas come from? When one idea loves another idea in a very special way, the two ideas get together and make little ideas. I’m serious. It’s all a matter of idea sex.

So what does it mean for ideas to have sex? The answer lies in Matt Ridley’s recent TED2010 talk. “The engine of human progress,” Ridley explains, “has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas.”

When people get together and share ideas, those ideas mesh, combine, and ultimately evolve into new ideas. Say you have an idea for a great WordPress plug-in, and your friend has a different idea. If you talk to each other, you can ultimately come up with new ideas that are even better than the original. That’s ultimately how the world has developed, according to Ridley. When people freely share and trade ideas, their ideas become better and stronger. They evolve in the form of new ideas.

Ridley’s talk reminded me of something Bre Pettis, of Makerbot, said at the 2009 Gnomedex. Bre urged folks to “liberate the digital designs you have” to make sure you “don’t let them suffocate on your hard drive.”

What’s the take-away advice here? If you keep the things to yourself, you may not go very far. You’re stuck with just what you understand and what you can think of. Get out there and collaborate, let your ideas have sex, and you can take it to the next level. To achieve more, no matter what you’re doing, you have to let your ideas have sex.

Achieve More by Letting Your Ideas Have Sex

Success

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:38:59 +0000

Success

Reflections for the New Year

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 02:43:43 +0000

Reflections for the New Year

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My friend Renee sent me a list of questions, designed to help me reflect on the past year, and set some clear goals for the coming one. I’m including the questions, so that all of you can answer them for yourselves, as well. Unfortunately, I cannot answer all of these on a video, or it would be a few hours long. But these really made me think, and I’m very glad Renee sent them. I’m definitely interested in hearing your answers, as well.
Completing 2007:

What was your biggest triumph in 2007?
What was the smartest decision you made in 2007?
What one word best sums up and describes your 2007 experience?
What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2007?
What was the most loving service you performed in 2007?
What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2007?
What are you most happy about completing in 2007?
Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2007?
What was the biggest risk you took in 2007?
What was the biggest surprise in 2007?
What important relationship improved the most in 2007?
What compliment would you liked to have received in 2007?
What compliment would you liked to have given in 2007?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2007?

Creating 2008:

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2008?
What advice would you like to give yourself in 2008?
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2008?
What would you be most happy about completing in 2008?
What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2008?
What would you most like to change about yourself in 2008?
What are you looking forward to learning in 2008?
What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2008?
What about your work are you most committed to changing and improving in 2008?
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2008?
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2008?
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2008?
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2008?

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Reflections for the New Year