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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Richard Reed
“One of the most important things is to see people. The person who opens the door for you, the person who pours your coffee. Acknowledge them. Show them respect.” —Bill Clinton
Give 100 percent, and then go over this border into what is more than you can do.
“That is not to say such suffering is not difficult and damn hard, but it doesn’t need be totally destructive. It’s the way you approach it, and the way you approach life after.”
What you have to do is live for the day, you have to say, now is life, this very moment.
work your bloody bollocks off.”
“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships.
Nelson Mandela was on the FBI’s list of terrorists until 2008 (well after he’d won the Nobel Peace Prize).
“Stay healthy . . .You need to stay strong, to stay healthy, to be in the fight for longer.”
“Well, Richard, my dad told me there’s an invisible sign on everyone’s head which says ‘make me feel important.’ Remember that and you’ll be fine.”
“Listen to the feedback—you may learn from it. But if the people saying no are more stupid than you, don’t get discouraged.”
“My best advice is listen—listen rather than talk.
“If you get a yes, then shut up.
you feel much better as a person if you default to generosity as opposed to being mean-spirited.”
“Be bold. If you’re bold you might right royally screw up, but you can also achieve much more, so be bold. You’ve only got your own reputation to lose and that’s not important. It’s much better to strive for something that seems impossible, that’s quite nuts on some level. So be bold, whatever it is.
Like many remarkable people, he claims his life has been shaped by such moments of happenstance
“The greatest force in my life has been coincidence, and having an openness to receiving whatever the people I met offered and wanted.
We must recapture the profound benefits of seeing the joy in our collective diversity, not the fear.”
It is only as we get older that we sometimes lose that sense of wonderment. But I think we would all be better off if we kept it.
advice for success comes down to three things: be curious, show up, stay in touch.
Winston Churchill and one of his famous quotes in large type: “If you’re going through hell, then keep going.”
“At the end of the day I think the most important thing is don’t look back on what has happened. Instead look forward to what you can do. Just crack on.”
if you look after your people, they will look after you.
“. . . all of it is life, all of it is precious. Don’t waste any of it doing something you don’t want to do. And do all of it with the people you love.” —Sir Richard Branson
“If you look around at all the things that have been achieved, they were usually done by people told there was no hope at all, but they carried on plugging away regardless.
But most importantly, make sure you actually then get up and do it.
You have to get up early every morning and get to it.”
“Always believe that when you apply yourself, you can achieve anything. Make sure you give 100 percent and work as hard as you can in everything you do, not just in what you enjoy but also in life. And don’t forget, natural ability will only get you so far, there is no substitute for practice.”
“With hindsight I’ve learned that all strength and power comes from within. Over the years I’ve dealt with my inner demons, my bitterness, my anger, to look at myself, to take a step to be a better Maki, to live authentically.”
if your mission is to be the same as your parents, then you have no ambition.”
“All the answers that we want are within us. Live your own life. Walk your own path.”
She advises me on the importance of having passions.
“The more you know, the more unsure you get. At first you don’t know the pitfalls.
“Look for the pluses in life. Being negative completely erodes everything.
“The bottom line is there is nothing better than going through life with no secrets.
“Live your life unashamed of who you are and without the burden of secrets.”
1. Turn the f**k up on time. “I am punctual—that’s probably the most useful lesson I ever learned.
“If you don’t like the people you work with, you’ll end up fucking miserable.
Bullshit: all business is personal.”
If you get a lucky break, work it.
Try to be a good guest, try to be grateful, be a good guy, don’t be a dick.”
I didn’t have a plan—I just worked hard, avoided assholes, and always turned up on time.” —Anthony Bourdain
“The lowliest-looking person is filled with gifts and talents beyond your imagination.
It connects us across time and space. Books and reading are the most important things. Yes, I would say above all else, I would urge people to foster a love of reading. Start as early as you can and keep on reading.”
“I learned early that when bad things happen, you can either let them beat you or you can stand and fight. And if you do, you can always turn things round.”
“Looking back, everything was relevant. Nothing in life is wasted. You can make something positive from anything.”
“He told me to fight the cancer in the same way I built my business, and that stuck in my mind.
You always have three options: you can change the situation, accept the situation, or change your mind-set on how you see the situation.
struggling is OK. In fact, it is enduring the struggle that leads to the success.
“It is not the most masculine, macho, or the ones with the biggest muscles who win. It’s those who look after each other, who remain cheerful in adversity, who are kind and persistent and positive.
The people who are successful are the ordinary ones that just go that little bit further, who give a little more than they are asked to, who live within that extra 5 percent.”
