Start Something That Matters

One day, when I own a house, I'll keep a library full of books. Books are different from other possessions-they're more like friends.

When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know. A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices.

Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.… If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way.

No matter how convenient it is for us to reach out to people remotely, sometimes the most important task is to show up in person.

If you’re not sure about your passion, here are three questions I sometimes ask people: • If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time? • What kind of work would you want to do? • What cause would you serve? Once you answer these questions, you’ll have a good idea of what your passion is.

When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know.

Conscious capitalism is about more than simply making money—although it’s about that too. It’s about creating a successful business that also connects supporters to something that matters to them and that has great impact in the world.

(One day, when I own a house, I’ll keep a full library of books. Books are different from other possessions—they’re more like friends.)

Learning how someone else is already doing the thing you want to do, or a version of it, can eliminate fear—every path is easier to follow when you see someone else’s footprints already on it.

You don’t always need to talk with experts; sometimes the consumer, who just might be a friend or acquaintance, is your best consultant.

The lesson: The power of your story isn’t just a way to connect to your ultimate consumer but is also a means of making you attractive to potential partners who want to attach themselves to something deeper than buying and selling.

you must play by a new set of rules—because, increasingly, the tried-and-true tenets of success are just tried, not true.

People are hungry for success—that’s nothing new. What’s changed is the definition of that success. Increasingly, the quest for success is not the same as the quest for status and money. The definition has broadened to include contributing something to the world and living and working on one’s own terms.

They teach that having a story may be the most important part of your new venture; that fear can be useful; that having vast resources is not as critical as you might think; that simplicity is a core goal in successful enterprises; that trust is the most important quality you bring to your company; and, finally, that giving may be the best investment you’ll ever make.

Everyone belongs to some community, whether it’s based on your background, your home state, your college, or your favorite sports team. By identifying all the possible communities to which you belong, you may well find an affinity group—and a story—that helps get your business off the ground, secures your dream job, or lets you achieve whatever goal you are pursuing.

Complicated lives and heaps of possessions don’t necessarily bring happiness; in fact, they can bring the opposite.

When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know. A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices. A

When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know. A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices. A story evokes emotion, and emotion forges a connection.

A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices. A

I would also write down my fears and look at them. When fears stay stuck inside your head, your imagination can go wild, torturing you with all the various negative possibilities and outcomes. But when you write them down, you clarify exactly what you are afraid of, and soon the power they hold over you will fade.

Remember, once you become successful, life can become a little dry—the adventure and danger are reduced. So when a younger version of an entrepreneur comes along, his or her mentor gets to live vicariously through that person’s start-up phase—and play a role in the success of a new project.

Facts are neutral until human beings add their own meaning to those facts. People make their decisions based on what the facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves. The meaning they add to facts depends on their current story … facts are not terribly useful to influencing others. People don’t need new facts—they need a new story.

Books are different from other possessions—they’re more like friends.)

Facts are important, but the story matters. Poorly presented facts can even get in the way of the story’s impact.

The most enduring and galvanizing ideas and values of our civilization are embedded in our stories, from those of Homer, […] and Virgil, […] and to Jesus. It seems to be in our genetic makeup to capture our best ideas in stories, to enjoy them, to learn form them, and to pass them on to others (25)

A story evokes emotion and emotion forges a connection.

Simplicity is a core goal in successful enterprises, trust is the most important quality you bring to your company, and, finally giving may be the best investment you’ll ever make.

If you organize your life around your passion, you can turn your passion into your story and then turn your story into something bigger - something that matters.

It seems to be in our genetic makeup to capture our best ideas in stories, to enjoy them, to learn from them, and to pass them on to others.