The challenge with being an initiator of projects is that you are never, ever done.

No more than six words on a slide. Ever. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.

A business owner is the boss, but it's a job, a place that is stable and profitable. An entrepreneur is an artist of sorts, throwing his/herself into impossible situations and seeking out problems that require heart and guts to solve. Both are fine, but choose.

It's not about you, it's about the next person. The single best use of a business book is to help someone else. Sharing what you read, handing the book to a person who needs it... pushing those around you to get in sync and to take action-that's the main reason it's a book, not a video or a seminar. A book is a souvenir and a container and a motivator and an easily leveraged tool. Hoarding books makes them worth less, not more.

The minute there's a map, there is no art. Paint by numbers is not art. Paint by numbers is a mechanical activity.

If there's time for an emergency, why isn't there time for brilliance, generosity or learning?

The first step to getting good is admitting that you aren't (yet).