Category Archives: Inspiration

The Point of the Internet

Posted on May 14, 2011 by AJ Kessler

The web is chock-full of information but what we are really after as people is not information but other interesting people. –Chatty’s About Page Is that really what people are after?  An awful lot of the internet has been built … Continue reading →

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Why Poker Is Like Business

Posted on May 12, 2011 by AJ Kessler

In Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness, he discusses life after being bought out of LinkExchange for $265 million, of which his share was around $20 million.  While searching for what he was going to do next, he became intensely focused on … Continue reading →

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We Are All Followers

Posted on May 11, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Obesity is spreading like a disease.  If a person becomes obese, the likelihood that his friend would also become obese increased by 57 percent.  If a person’s sibling became obese, the chance of another sibling becoming obese increased by 40%.  … Continue reading →

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What America Said

Posted on May 9, 2011 by AJ Kessler

“What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind . . . America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who … Continue reading →

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The Cult of Status Quo

Posted on May 4, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Bill Simmons, who’s nicknamed The Sports Guy and writes a comical column for ESPN, shares a very insightful response to a reader’s email about why soccer will never become popular in the U.S.: “Sometimes when people become die-hard fans of … Continue reading →

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Great Decision

Posted on May 4, 2011 by AJ Kessler

You know how you can tell when you’ve made a good decision? If you feel like you waited too long to make it, then it’s a good decision.  [If you say] we should have done this a long time ago. … Continue reading →

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Art Is Just A Story

Posted on May 3, 2011 by AJ Kessler

People make a big fucking deal about art.  They talk about provenance and historical relevance and cultural significance.  Those things can certainly make a piece of art more interesting, but why does that make someone want to own something?  There’s … Continue reading →

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Get Rich?

Posted on May 1, 2011 by AJ Kessler

A lot of people I know want to get rich.  The problem is, most of them probably couldn’t answer this very simple question: How do you define “rich”? Is it a sequence of numbers following a dollar sign? Is it … Continue reading →

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Deadlines Force Creativity

Posted on April 30, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Inspiration and work ethic, they ride right next to each other. When I was an upholsterer, sometimes you’re not inspired to reupholster and old chair. Sometimes it’s just work and you just do it because you’re supposed to. And maybe … Continue reading →

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Poke The Box

Posted on April 29, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Not only do I think Seth Godin’s new manifesto, Poke The Box, is worth reading, I think there’s some ideas in it that are so important I’m putting them down here so I don’t forget them.  The book is only … Continue reading →

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Change Is Good

Posted on April 28, 2011 by AJ Kessler

I know a lot of people who not only fear change, but hate it.  I had never really understood why.  To me, change is always good.  I’ve never gone through a change and said “I wish that never happened.”  Even … Continue reading →

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Anxiety

Posted on April 27, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Anxiety is experiencing failure in advance. – Seth Godin

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Failure Is Good

Posted on April 26, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Most people are afraid of failure.  I know I certainly am at times.  The problem is, failure is often the best way to learn.  When you succeed at something difficult or amorphous, you usually don’t know why: a lot of … Continue reading →

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Ego Is Good

Posted on April 25, 2011 by AJ Kessler

From Seth Godin’s Poke The Box: Somewhere along the way, ego became a nasty word.  It’s not. When our name is on a project, our ego pushes us over the hump and drives us to do even better work.  Ego … Continue reading →

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If You’re Not Curious, You’re Boring

Posted on April 24, 2011 by AJ Kessler

I have no special talent.  I am only passionately curious. -Albert Einstein I really believe curiosity is everything.  Those who aren’t curious about the world are boring and never accomplish anything great.  I can understand how people can go through … Continue reading →

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