One of the best activities I added in 2021 was a weekly review. It took a few iterations to get to the best questions for me – I’ll share my outline next week.
I looked back at the reviews from 2021 and I’m excited to share some of my favorite things I found last year.
And before you ask – no, the mug that says “you’re on mute” didn’t make the cut.
Most Impactful Quotes I found in 2021
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
— Ernest Hemingway
“Without a good question a good answer has no place to go.”
— Clayton Christensen
“Curiosity will take you further than talent.”
— Shane Parish
“Marketing gets easier when you think of it as a search function for people who already agree with you, they just haven’t met you yet.”
— Jack Butcher
The more darts you have in the air the higher your chance of hitting the target.
— Adam Grant (paraphrased)
Bonus – My Favorite Actionable Ideas
#1 The enemy of entrepreneurship is over-preparing.
Don’t get overly distracted by “learning” from books, articles, or podcasts.
Invest time in building real stuff and you’ll learn from the real world.
#2 Focus on things that are both fun for you and useful for others.
When you figure out a way to do that and earn money from it you have found the recipe for long-term success.
#3 Make the time to generate lots and lots of ideas.
With a big enough list you can cut out anything that doesn’t make you say “hell yeah, I should do that!”
#4 What would you outsource tomorrow?
One tech company gave employees $500 per month to spend on contractors. They were told to pay for support with whatever tasks they could outsource.
Could you delegate that work today or at least reduce the time you spend on it?
#5 Forget about perfection. Focus on consistent output instead.
Instead of thinking of a project as a heavy lift, think of the long-term weekly slow burn.
If you start to lose motivation ask yourself “what am I treating as a heavy lift that doesn’t really need to be?”
Into 2022
And I will keep collecting quotes and reviewing my weekly notes into the next year. I hope to find even more resonant lines from people far smarter than myself.
