Part of the beauty of an annual cycle is the opportunity to try again. To revisit your existing strategy or to create a new strategy. To shift your mindset from “this is inevitable” to “having hope for a different outcome.” Now – if you only have hope, but no strategy, you won’t make any progress. But if you have a strategy, but no hope, you are dooming yourself to failure before you begin.

So take advantage of this time of year. Do whatever you need to do to hit reset. Purge your brain of all the angry, negative, cynical, defeatist crap. Accept that context in which we are living. Then, create a new strategy for yourself – for work, for yourself personally, for your relationship, for whatever, and inject a good dose of hope into the mix.

Do something new. And be extraordinary at it.

See also my review of Feld’s latest book, “Startup Communities,” on GovFresh.

(HT: VentureBeat)

Favorite quote:

Don’t try to be everyman. Don’t pretend you’re a member of every community you visit. Don’t try to be citizens of some artificial globalized community. Go deeper into your own tradition. Call more upon the geography of your own past. Be distinct and credible. People will come.

(HT kottke.org)

Excerpt:

“My training has been in doing things that take a long time … I’m a long term kind of person. I have been trained to think in units of time that are measured in several years, because what I’ve chosen to do with my life. Even a small thing takes a few years. To do anything of magnitude takes at least five, more likely seven or eight. So, rightfully or wrongfully, that’s how I think.”

Paul Graham’s “Writing and Speaking” essay hits home my sentiments on writers versus speakers.

Favorite line:

“Being a really good speaker is not merely orthogonal to having good ideas, but in many ways pushes you in the opposite direction.”

“Shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just going to live in it versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.”

In today’s world, we’re so focused on instant gratification and what’s up or down. After reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, what was so profound about his legacy was his ability to not get caught up in the daily hype. With both Apple and Pixar, he patiently let both grow in their own sustained ways. His style was simple and consistent.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the noise of the moment and get frustrated about the seemingly tedious work you’re doing today, building towards tomorrow’s great achievement. People may misunderstand you, think you’re contrarian or crazy, but, remember, “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

From the eulogy:

He didn’t favor trends or gimmicks. He liked people his own age.

His philosophy of aesthetics reminds me of a quote that went something like this: “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”

Steve always aspired to make beautiful later.

He was willing to be misunderstood.

“Today, we are the creators. We each have our own unique skills and talents to contribute to creating the kingdom of god. We serve god best when we do what we love for the greatest cause we can imagine. What the people in this room do is spiritual. It is profound. We are the leaders of this new religion. We have faith that people connected can create a new world. Each one of use is a creator, but together, we are the Creator.”