It’s a great article where Mark Harrison gives his analysis on 10 quotes from Richard Branson. After reading pretty much all of Richard Bransons books this post caught my eye and it was too good not to share.

I’ve included the quotes but below but encourage you to visit the link at the bottom of the post and have a read of the post over on Dumb Little Man.

Richard Branson clearly knows a thing or two about success… the Virgin brand boasts dozens of companies and Branson’s net worth is estimated to be more than 3 billion pounds sterling…often witty, always insightful, here are some choice Branson quotes to ponder.

“I enjoy every single minute of my life.”

“But the majority of things that one could get stressed about, they’re not worth getting stressed about.”

“You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.”

“I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off doing nothing.”

“I made and learned from lots of mistakes.”

“If you can indulge in your passion, life will be far more interesting than if you’re just working.”

To read the other 4 quotes and read Mark Harrison’s thought provoking post click here

NOTE: There is also rumors that Richard Branson iPad Magazine is coming soon! So look out for that!

Even though his blog is better known to most of his readers as a wealth of social media marketing tips and utilizing tried and tested digital strategies to assist business and personal brands, this post inspired by Chris Guillebau’s ebook “How to Live A Remarkable Life In A Conventional World“ really hits the nail on the head when it comes to gaining success.

I will quote two of my favorite points in full then highlight the rest to wet your appetite and encourage you to join the other 10000 people that read Jeff’s blog along with me.

… If you want to be “remarkably average” then I would suggest you stop reading right now, if you still would like to consider being remarkable and dream of world domination then read on.

1. Relentless Passion
This is where you need to start, if you don’t have this as the foundation for your cause then you may as well stay in bed and pull down the blinds. You will need to be able to give it your all despite friends, family and critics telling you that it is impossible, or giving you multiple reasons why you will fail. The passion needs to be consuming and powerful enough for you to overcome obstacles and persist when all seems doom and gloom.
2. A Very Specific Goal
3. Compelling Story
4. Expert Status In Skills That Help Others
5. A Small Tribe
6. Friends of Friends
7. Enough Money
8. Enough Time
You might be able to achieve this by working after hours when you have finished your day job. It may mean having to work on your cause once the kids have gone to bed and work to 2.00am or it may mean getting up at 4.30am. You need to work out a way to find the time that will help you on your path to being remarkable and it may mean giving up the day job.
9.Discipline
10. A Pulpit

To read the rest of this great post written by Jeff Bullas click the link below.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/11/22/10-secrets-to-being-insanely-successful/

Best Quote:
“I have failed over and over and over again in my life, that is why I succeed.”

Related Article
Quote: Michael Jordan – Why I succeed

“Life is a series of experiments with learning as the goal.”

What a great way of removing fear from making mistakes if you look at everything as an experiment.

Unfortunately I cannot credit the person who said the quote as the person who  told me it did not know who originally said it. But it was too good not to publish.

If anyone knows let me know!

We all know that productivity goes out the window when we are having a bad day and its safe to say that in order to succeed in anything you do it is important to remove as many ‘Bad days’ as you can to keep moral and productivity up.

Below is a brief outline of the article so you can get an idea of what they published. If its something that interests you click the link at the bottom of the post to read the article in full… (be warned though there’s some strong language in the article)

LifeHacker: The Science Behind “Having a Bad Day” (and How to Solve It)

Sometimes you wake up, and within the first hour or so, you know it’s going to be a bad day… there’s real science behind it. Let me explain.

A Bad Day is as Real as You Make It. Think for a minute… when is the last time you had a bad day? When is the last time a couple things happened, not quite as you had planned, and you thought, “I cannot wait until today is over!”

Here’s the thing… there is absolutely no such thing as a bad day in reality. A bad day only exists in our interpretation of reality, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Peter J. Bentley, PhD, the author of Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day, responded:
“Yes, and it’s our fault, I’m afraid! The statistics show that people who believe in bad luck will have more accidents on Friday the 13th. Those who have a negative attitude are more likely to endow normal little mishaps with some mystical significance. Some psychologists even suggest that it’s a way of subconsciously avoiding responsibility for our actions. “It was Friday 13th, so I was bound to stick my fingers with superglue” or “Accidents happen in threes, so after the first mishap the next two were inevitable.” Of course it’s nonsense.

So there you have it, we have the ability to make a bad day exist if we believe it to exist.

The article then goes on to explaining why if we know what a bad day is why do we still have them (convenient over-simplification apparently!)  To read the full article click here but before you do I just want to share how they say to solve the problem so…

1. Reflect on the negative feeling you have right now. Is it stress? Anxiety? Frustration? What caused it? Try to label it in one to three words, but no more! … Once you’ve labeled it, do not think about the feeling or events anymore. Move on and only refer back to the label if necessary.

2. Re-evaluate the situation or events that lead to this stress. Find some conceivable positive outcome… imagine some way it could have gone worse

3. Remember that the outcome of the previous minute is not indicative of the outcome of the next minute. Likewise, the last hour has no bearing on the next hour, and this morning is no indication of what this afternoon will bring.

Anyway that should be enough to get you thinking for the day (or indeed when you are next having a bad day!)

As another reference point check out these;

David Rock’s book,
Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

Peter J. Bentley, PhD
Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day,

Article information provided by LifeHacker.com

“If you have no critics, you’ll likely have no success”
Malcolm X

Just reinforces a few reoccurring themes that keep coming up recently for me;

Firstly, if you haven’t got critics then what you are doing is probably not making the difference you think it is. In order for some people to agree with what you are trying to do and Really care, you will inevitably create a negative reaction from those who think the complete opposite to those people – that’s just how it works!

Secondly, constantly be listening to what people are saying about you or your work. Without criticism (hopefully constructive!) you cannot grow as a person. Surrounding yourself with ‘Yes’ men will get you nowhere.

That’s my thought for the day done
L

I’ve posted the quote below but I suggest you visit the post on their site too as they have a great community of people that add loads of comments to every post they put live. Enjoy!

“Successful improvisation in most cases is the celebration of a creative brain that has prepared well.”
Lee David

The short clip shows depths of planning and archiving she has gone to in-order to achieve her success in her industry. It really does show that you never know what someone has done or continues to do behind the scenes to keep themselves at the top of their game. Hope you enjoy

Pullout quote
“People think that it comes so easily… I prepare like a crazy lady”

This video is great introduction to Edward de Bono a well repsected expert on creative and lateral thinking. In the video he offers a definition of what creative thinking actually is. He also defines logical thinking and mistakes. A great little clip that gives you enough of an idea of how interesting Bono is. I encourage you to research further.

Best Quote:
The definition of a mistake – “Fully justified venture which for reasons beyond you control did not succeed”