If I think of things that interest me, a long list of items quickly fills my head: LEGOS, tube-driven audio equipment, having a sandwich in the park with my wife, and surfing YouTube for videos of kittens chasing lasers, just to name a few.
But there is one element that cuts through all of this, and is at the heart of everything in my life. The one thing I really love is being inspired.
Business 2.0 has a great feature this week called “How to Succeed in 2007.” It features successful people sharing bits of inspiration about how to succeed. Here are some excerpts:
Sergey Brin, Co-founder, Google
“Success will come from simplicity… We are focused on features, not products.”
Chris DeWolfe, Co-founder, Myspace
”…be true to your community’s norms and values.”
Rachael Ray, Chef, Author, and Entrepreneur
“Take advantage of [opportunities], whether they’re going to make you a lot of money or not.”
Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman, Virgin Group
”… it’s extremely important to respond to people, and to give them encouragement…”
Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks
”…consumers now seek an enduring emotional connection with the companies they patronize.”
Chad Hurley, Co-founder, YouTube
”… don’t assume that you know all the answers. Listen to the community and adapt.”
Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO, Xerox
”… I became enthralled by a culture that broadly defined "citizenship" to include how you treat your people, your customers, your suppliers, and the communities where we work and live.”
Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co.
”I find chocolate and/or chocolate-based snacks to be great motivators. Everyone loves chocolate. If someone has a lot of work to do, put a piece of fudge in a glass container (so they can see it) and let them know that if they accomplish their tasks, they can eat the fudge.”
Andre Agassi, Co-founder, Agassi Graf Development
“You have to understand who you are and figure out a way to communicate it.”
There are 40 more of these, check them out.