Category: blog

 

Negotiation is hard work. Figuring out how to tell people what it is that you want while still maintaining some level of control is a fine line that has to be walked. This is a line that many people have a hard time figuring out. Similarly, being able to accomplish everything you want to do is a matter of time, energy, and motivation. If we all put our minds to it, we could achieve anything we wanted.

 

Unfortunately, not all of us are innovators and doers. However, we can draw inspiration from someone who was: the late great Steve Jobs. Jobs was, of course, the CEO and head of Apple, and was the main driving force behind its success. He was a visionary, and, like most visionaries had a slew of memorable quotes for all occasions. We’ve curated a list of 20 quotes from the tech guru that you can use for a variety of situations.

 

On Innovation

 

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

 

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

 

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”

 

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

 

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

 

“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

 

“Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday.”

 

On Perseverance

 

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

 

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

 

“Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.”

 

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

 

“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year… it’s very character-building.”

 

On Doing Your Best

 

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

 

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”

 

“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

 

“If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making really great products, then the profits will follow.”

 

“My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”

 

On the Future

 

“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”

 

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

 

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

 

Regardless of how you felt about Jobs or how you currently feel about Apple as a company, these quotes should help determine what it is that you want as well as how to succeed.

 

However, no one can do it all alone. If you need assistance, let GabbyVille help you find the path to success with a qualified virtual receptionist. Whether you want to take on the world or just manage your current workload, a virtual receptionist from GabbyVille can help maximize your potential.

Thomas Edison, one of the greatest innovators, famously said that invention is 1 percent inspiration and 99 perspiration. Edison, like other innovators, had the ability to not only see a possible need but also to create a product or service that would meet the need. Innovative people can re-imagine an existing product to see its potential, and discover the solution to a future situation.

Innovators are visionaries and find their best ideas come after daydreaming, observing, and imagining. They deliberately set aside time to brainstorm, sketching out ideas and seeking new connections between these thoughts and ideas. Many write their notes down, carrying around pens and notebooks to record those thoughts, and looking at them from different perspectives. Allowing their minds to wander also helps them keep an open mind about the possibilities in their environments. This dedicated daydreaming leads to innovators working independently, planning their schedules around their peak productivity.

As Edison noted, invention requires perspiration – and innovators aren’t afraid to work. They enjoy creating new solutions, and thrive on the challenges of refining and enhancing their creation. Innovators leap boldly into their projects, having developed the ability to put aside the doubts and negativity associated with trying and failing. They understand that long-term success requires perseverance and resiliency. Rather than worrying about the opinions of other people, innovators remain fueled by their passion, training their brains to stay excited and optimistic about their opportunities.

Innovative people are great leaders, often thinking about the big picture and surrounding themselves with talented individuals who can catch the vision and contribute to its completion. While they tend to work alone, innovators collaborate well and seek out ways to generate thought-provoking conversations among team members. They fill gaps on their team by building various networks of people and resources. Many innovators appreciate services that will help with their efficiency and organization, such as hiring a virtual receptionist to answer phone calls and complete other office tasks.

Throughout history, innovative people have developed particular thought patterns and processes that are methodical and miraculous, with the ability to envision and execute a plan that will create something most people have never even imagined. They know their individual work styles and preferences, and where their passions lie. These traits have allowed incredible minds to develop advanced products.

Success isn’t just an abstract concept – it’s a realistic goal that many people can accomplish by adopting the correct mindset and lifestyle. Here are seven daily habits that you can learn from successful leaders:

1. They are fair.

Successful people treat everyone fairly, because they know that the connections they make with other people can end up paying off in the long term. Some of the best business partnerships are forged simply because one person did the other a good deed, and the person on the receiving end remembered the other person’s generosity years later when an important job or venture opportunity opened up.

2. They take care of themselves.

Successful people understand that taking care of themselves is crucial to maintaining their achievements, because your brain is at its best when your body is healthy. As a result, they exercise to help reduce stress, facilitate brain activity and maintain overall health. They eat right, drink lots of water and manage their stress with meditation exercises.

3. They don’t just work hard – they play hard.

Work may be important, but so is allowing time for relaxation and fun. To maintain their creativity and productivity, successful people work intensely but take breaks periodically to allows them to maximize their brainpower while resting their minds in their days off.

4. They are assertive.

People who are successful know what they want, and they know what they have to do to get it. This doesn’t mean that they are ruthless, or that they make decisions without thinking them through – on the contrary, they are fair and thoughtful. Instead, they set goals and work towards achieving those goals without second-guessing themselves.

5. They know when to let go.

Successful people recognize that certain things are outside of their ability to change, and dwelling on them is not conducive to success; instead, they let go of their mistakes so that they can move forward.

6. They ask questions

Successful people don’t act like they know everything – instead, they ask questions that allow them to control conversations and therefore find out what they need to know faster and more efficiently.

7. They are organized.

Successful people keep track of everything they have to do and to prioritize to get it all done in a timely fashion. To that end, many hire a virtual receptionist to help manage incoming calls when they simply don’t have time to along with all of their other tasks.

Unfortunately, many people find it hard to succeed because they have issues concentrating, and finding useful breakthrough ideas. However, there is one skill set that, once mastered, will make people more successful than they ever imagined: notetaking. People who know how to take notes properly add things to their skill set that will lead them to be successful. Here are the five things people will begin to achieve after a month or so of proper note taking:

1. Their Preparation Skills Increase

After someone begins taking notes more often, they become much more aware of the steps it takes to properly prepare for any task. They will not only understand the tools needed to succeed, but will also gain the ability to learn how to alter their note taking skills depending on the task.

2. They Become More Aware of their Environment

To be an effective note taker, people need to be constantly aware of their environment. Additionally, successful entrepreneurs need to have a wit as sharp as the highest-quality knife. Note taking forces people to start taking notice more often, making them become a crucial part of every business and personal scenario they find themselves in.

3. Ideas Come to Them More Naturally

Some people find it extremely hard to come up with good ideas. Unfortunately, these people are destined to be unable to succeed. Thankfully, after a month or so of note taking they will begin to write down even the most fleeting idea automatically. Few good ideas come to people completed, so having that initial spark is important to finally finding a quality breakthrough idea.

4. Their Memories are Boosted

People can find it difficult to maintain small details of daily life in their memories. Unfortunately, unlike long-term memory, short-term memory takes practice. Note taking is the perfect exercise for a successful brain, and helps people build short-term memory that will easily rival their business peers.

5. They Achieve Their Goals More Frequently

After someone has gained all these skills from note taking, they will have an improved skill set that will let them achieve goals they’ve been dreaming of for years. Their rivals and peers will quickly notice their newly sharpened wit, and they will want to work with them instead of against them.

Trying to take every note you need to in a day can be exhausting. By hiring a virtual receptionist, you will free up tons of time on your schedule, allowing you to focus on only the most important notes of the day. To start a free trial using a quality virtual receptionist, check out Gabbyville!

Success isn’t just an abstract concept – it’s a realistic goal that many people can accomplish by adopting the correct mindset and lifestyle. Here are seven daily habits that you can learn from successful leaders:

1. Rise and shine.

Early risers get more accomplished throughout the day, simply by having more time in which to accomplish it. Furthermore, most people are more productive earlier in the day, meaning that rising early allows you to take advantage of your maximum energy before you get worn out throughout the day.

2. Exercise.

Taking care of your body is essential to success, both because it allows you to relax and because regular exercise helps reduce stress, facilitate brain activity and maintain overall health. Your brain is at its best when your body is healthy.

3. Balance.

Although work is important, so is allowing time for relaxation and fun. Working constantly wears down on your creativity and productivity; instead, working intensely but taking breaks periodically allows you to maximize your brainpower while resting your mind in your days off.

4. Plan ahead.

Wherever you can, take the opportunity to plan ahead in anticipation of events that are yet to come. That means that when you go to an important meeting, you will already have your route mapped out and your cell phone turned off – and won’t have to deal with such micro-stressors if they become a problem in the moment.

5. Let go.

Certain things are outside of your ability to change, and dwelling on them is not conducive to success; instead, recognize that letting go of mistakes and forgetting the past may be necessary for you to move forward.

6. Ask questions.

Asking questions allows you to control conversations and therefore find out what you need to know faster and more efficiently. You can utilize your knowledge to get ahead in your endeavors.

7. Organize.

Organization is key to success because it allows you to keep track of everything you have to do and to prioritize to get it all done in a timely fashion. For many people, however, organization is difficult because there simply isn’t enough time in the day to create a schedule for yourself and carry out all the tasks you need to do. To that end, a virtual assistant can help you manage incoming calls when you simply don’t have time to.

Staying productive and scheduling the days ahead are two of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs. Thankfully, successful CEOs have tons to say about how they stay on top of daily tasks. Check out how these 7 CEOs plan their days, and keep their productivity high!

1. Evan Wiliams – CEO of Medium

The middle of the day is a time that I’m sure most readers can relate to as being a time when they burn out hard. To keep you going for the second half of the day, try to find a constructive time period of your midday to just chill out and think about your plans for the next day. That’s what Medium CEO, Evan Williams does to keep his day calm and constructive.

2. Leo Babauta – CEO of Zen Habits

I would imagine that you would see the CEO of Zen Habits as someone who knows a thing or two about organizing his activities into a useful and easy to follow structure. Babauta does this by waking up at 4:30 AM to both get menial tasks out of the way, and plan the events to come.

3. Jack Dorsey – CEO of Square

Jack Dorsey has made Square into a giant of finance companies by perfecting his daily routines. He does this by taking each separate day of the week to plan other specific days of the week. By doing this, he keeps each aspect of his workweek separate, and avoids feeling burned out or overwhelmed.

4. Tim Ferriss – CEO of BrainQUICKEN

Ferriss understands that while planning things down to the minute can be useful, life rarely works out the way you want it to. To help adjust his life for these unexpected events, Ferriss schedules in as few events as possible on his calendar, to cut down on unnecessary multi-tasking that hurts the productivity of each individual task.

5. Michael Bruch – CEO of Willow

IF you fail to keep up with daily advances in your industry, you will quickly become irrelevant. Bruch knows this, and suggests successful people spend at least two hours every day educating themselves about new industrial developments.

6. Kegan Schouwenburg – CEO of SOLS

To keep in touch with his costumers, employees, and families needs each day, Schouwenhurg puts an effort forth to be as accommodating and as open as possible. By scheduling around others needs, as opposed to his own, he finds his productivity rises.

7. Zach Supalla – CEO of Particle

Changing up the advice, Supalla actually suggests that your personal scheduling should be ever evolving. If you stay to stuck in your ways, he says, you will potentially miss out on a habit that will make you more productive.

There are literally too many tasks to try and keep up with your schedule by yourself day-in-and-day-out. By hiring a virtual receptionist, you will free up tons of time on your schedule, allowing you to focus on other activities to keep you productive. To start a free trial using a quality virtual receptionist, check out Gabbyville!