As [my grandmother] Nancy Grant recently said: the fierceness of the battle is proof of the promise.…Walk good. 28all. Eya. *NG, CS, WC, NL, JG, OA*

The Warm-Up: 

“The most popular software for writing fiction isn’t Word. It’s Excel.” ~Brian Alvey

The Core: 

“We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” ~Khalil Gibran

“Two of the greatest healers of your problems…self-love and self-worth.” ~Matt Gottesman

“No, the A in ARR does not stand for ‘anticipated.’ Annual Recurring Revenue.” ~David Ulevitch

“If you feel lonely you should consider investing more time in friends, family, pets, or total strangers. Society is getting lonelier because we tend to believe that the only cure for loneliness is a romantic one.” ~Steven Bartlett

“It all came from the way he carried himself. He projected a sense of confidence that was completely out of the proportion to his means. Nor was his confidence the aggressive, ugly self-promotion of an upstart—it was a quiet and calm self-assurance.” ~Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power

“Leadership requires followership, and people follow leaders they admire. We all know a great leader when we see one. Focus on the best interests of the organization over your own self-interest. Make courageous choices. Be vulnerable. Play the long game. Set your ambition free.” ~Dan Rose (@danrose999)

“I wouldn’t know how to stop discussing political and societal issues at work. This discourse is core to thoughtful decision making & maintaining user / customer centricity. Societal context is important for building & managing teams with empathy & building products people love.” ~Jewel Burks Solomon

“If they speak their mind. That’s another lesson I had to learn the hard way, not telling my authentic story earlier in my career. Our superpower is walking in our power and telling our authentic story and using that road, which is, in fact, different from other people’s roads, to open pathways for others.” ~Ruhama Wolle, Asahi Pompey Is the Gladiator We Should All Get to Know—This powerhouse is a reminder that when one Black woman wins, everyone wins

“Inflammation is your body expressing anger…If you have calculated your net worth, you are not rich…People try to impress you with things they have done. You should be more impressed with the things they would never do…The more details you give people, the more they ask for details…Ambition accounts for 50% of success. And 100% of failures…You will never, never be powerful unless you stop hiding your defects.” ~Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Bed of Procrustes

“I see a generation comprised of all ages, inclusive of men and women, awakening to the extraordinary qualities hidden within. The power to accomplish remarkable feats and live an exceptional life is not defined by an individual’s family, education, or occupation; it’s a disposition of the heart. Unless it’s suppressed, there is an innate desire to rise above the norm. I encourage you to step into the unknown, embrace the divine empowerment, and live your extraordinary life.” ~John Bevere

“ ‘Assume, you are not Mark Zuckerberg.’ ‘People who tell you to follow your passion are already rich.’ You should, instead, follow your talent. ‘Expect that a certain amount of failure is out of your control, and recognize you may need to endure it or move on.’ My own favorite Galloway line is about the moral status claimed by the wealthy: ‘Privilege looks in the mirror and sees nobility.’” ~Bryan Appleyard, Scott Galloway: The wolf at Big Tech’s door, How the maverick US academic took on Silicon Valley

“This is what we call thinking out loud, discovering what you believe in the course of articulating it. But it takes just as much time and just as much patience as solitude in the strict sense. And our new electronic world has disrupted it just as violently. Instead of having one or two true friends that we can sit and talk to for three hours at a time, we have 968 ‘friends’ that we never actually talk to; instead we just bounce one-line messages off them a hundred times a day. This is not friendship, this is distraction.” ~William Deresiewicz, Solitude and Leadership

Last Set: 

“Learn to be okay with not receiving unanimous approval on every decision that is important to you. Opinions change. Just stay focused on growing. I am still learning how to soften some of the harshness I receive so that I’m able to return energy better than it was delivered to me. Knowing it’s all possible just makes me move with a different type of motivation. Getting to the next level is aspirational but please remember that the work isn’t always fun, comforting, or quick. Trusting your process looks like: Practicing gratitude, devotion to details and visualizing your success, focusing on the things you can control, willingness to learn, grow, and change, facing disappointment with fortitude, honesty, and resilience.” ~Rob Hill Sr.

Food for Thought: 

“When a new medium shows up that allocates attention, someone comes out ahead. They win a Google search, amass a ton of FB followers, hit the jackpot on Twitter or even Clubhouse. ‘They picked me” and the attention feels inevitable. Others see the pennies from heaven and rush in to follow, eager for their share of traffic. But there is no ‘they’ and you weren’t picked. The algorithm needs to send attention somewhere, and for a while, it sent it over there. But it almost certainly won’t last. Because the ecosystem is changing, all the time. You can’t post on a same platform twice, because the second time, it’s not the same platform as it was last time. We have a chance to do work we’re proud of, and to do it for people who care. And maybe we can do it in a way that will lead them to tell the others. Traffic from an algorithm isn’t the point, it’s a random bonus. No sense being a puppet, especially if you can’t be sure who is pulling the strings or why.” ~Seth Godin, You cant beat the algorithm

Further Indulgence:

“What frogs in hot water can trach us about thing.” ~Adam Grant

“How To Train Your Mind To Get What You Want.” ~Will Smith

Fun Fact: 

“The Buccaneers will bring back in 2021: All 22 Super Bowl starters (only team in the salary cap era to ever do that). Their top 16 snap-count leaders on offense. Their top 21 snap-count leaders on defense. All coordinators. Unprecedented continuity after a Super Bowl W.” ~Field Yates