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Scott Berkun

Scott Berkun Biography

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“It's only through effort that we learn what an idea actually is, and if our passion for it will last or fade. There is no shame in failure - all makers fail. But it's hard to respect someone who never tries, even once, to do something good that's always on their mind. If you're worried about how good your idea is, you're worrying about the wrong thing.”

IfsTryingMindIdeasHardLastsPassionEffortWorryFailingShameWorriedMakersFadesWrong ThingsRespect Someone
Author:Scott Berkun
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“For centuries before Google, MIT, and IDEO, modern hotbeds of innovation, we struggled to explain any kind of creation, from the universe itself to the multitudes of ideas around us. While we can make atomic bombs, and dry-clean silk ties, we still don't have satisfying answers for simple questions like: Where do songs come from? Are there an infinite variety of possible kinds of cheese? How did Shakespeare and Stephen King invent so much, while we're satisfied watching sitcom reruns? Our popular answers have been unconvincing, enabling misleading, fantasy-laden myths to grow strong.”

KindHas BeensStillsIdeasSongUniverseStrongGrowsSimpleAnswersFantasyModernCenturyCreationKingsInnovationInfiniteCleanMythSatisfiedVarietyTiesDryBombsSatisfyingCheeseGoogleMultitudesMisleadSilkSitcomEnablingAtomic BombMitReruns
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“All great tasks test our motivation. It's easy to court ideas over beers and change the world with napkin sketches, but like most things taken home from bars, new challenges arise the next day. It's in the morning light when work begins, and grand ideas (or barroom conquests) lose their luster. To do interesting things requires work and it's no surprise we abandon demanding passions for simpler, easier, more predictable things.”

WorldIdeasHomeLightMotivationPassionNextEasyLosesChallengesInterestingMorningTakenEasierTasksTestsCourtSurpriseBarsAriseBeerChanging The WorldAbandonNext DayConquestPredictableInteresting ThingsNew ChallengesNapkinsLusterMorning Light
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“People who truly have control over time always have some in their pocket to give to someone in need. A sense of priorities drives their use of time and it can shift away from the ordinary work that’s easy to justify, in favor of the more ethereal, deeper things that are harder to justify. They protect their time from trivia and idiocy; these people are time rich. They provide themselves with a surplus of time. They might seem to idle, or relax more often than the rest, but that just might be a sign of their mastery, not their incompetence.”

PeopleNeedsGivingUseSeemsMightEasyRichProtectOrdinaryHarderDeeperFavorsPrioritiesRelaxPocketsJustifyMasteryIdleIncompetenceSurplusIdiocyEtherealTriviaUse Of Time
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“When I'm the speaker, I know that special moment [just before speaking] is the only time I will have the entire audience's full attention. Unless an alien spaceship crash-lands on stage midway through the talk, the silence before I begin is the most powerful moment I have. What defines how well I'll do starts with how I use the power of that moment.”

KnowsWellsMomentsUsePowerfulAttentionSilenceAudienceLandSpecialStageAliensMost PowerfulThat MomentSpeakersCrashSilence IsOnly TimeSpaceshipsMidwaySpecial Moments
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“The temptation many creative people I know have is to strive for popularity. To make, do, and say things that other people like in the hopes of pleasing them. This motivation is nice. And sometimes the end result is good. But often what happens in trying so hard to please other people, especially many other people, the result is mediocre.”

PeopleKnowsTryingEndsSometimesHardHappensMotivationResultsCreativeNicePleaseStriveTemptationPopularityMediocreCreative PeopleEnd ResultsTrying So Hard
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“Innovative ideas are rarely rejected on their merits; they’re rejected because of how they make people feel. If you forget people’s concerns and feelings when you present an innovation, or neglect to understand their perspectives in your design, you’re setting yourself up to fail.”

PeopleIfsFeelsIdeasFeelingsForgetFailingDesignPerspectiveConcernInnovationSettingSettingsMeritNeglectRejectedInnovativeInnovative Ideas
Book:The Myths of Innovation
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