Playing the game is a form of winning the game. In those competitions, we win by being resilient.

If you're different somehow and have made yourself unique, people will find you and pay you more.

What makes someone an artist? I don't think is has anything to do with a paintbrush. There are painters who follow the numbers, or paint billboards, or work in a small village in China, painting reproductions. These folks, while swell people, aren't artists. On the other hand, Charlie Chaplin was an artist, beyond a doubt. So is Jonathan Ive, who designed the iPod. You can be an artist who works with oil paints or marble, sure. But there are artists who work with numbers, business models, and customer conversations. Art is about intent and communication, not substances.

Perhaps marketing is about to transition to a new kind of profession, one that requires insight, dedication and smarts.

The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you're with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.

Embracing the fear of freedom, deciding to determine your own path, this is the work of a grownup.

Competence is no longer a scarce commodity.