← Your daily dose of motivation
144 quotes, page 2 of 5Mindset, money and thinking differently
Habits, judgement, selling honestly and seeing what others miss. About effort, never a promise of easy money.
We say who really said each one, and where the credit is uncertain we tell you. Every card is ours to share.
“Too many people spend money they earned to buy things they don't want to impress people that they don't like.”
Often attributed to Will Rogers. An earlier version was printed by the columnist Robert Quillen in the 1920s.
Spend on what moves you forward: the course, the tools, the reliable car for the commute.
“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.”
Zig Ziglar
Trust is the one you can fix yourself: be on time, be honest, follow up.
“Timid salesmen have skinny kids.”
Zig Ziglar
Ask for the business. Ask for the interview. Ask for the start date.
“Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings.”
Zig Ziglar
Believe in what you sell, or sell something you believe in. Customers can tell.
“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal.”
Brian Tracy. He goes on: "not of selling a product or service".
The best salespeople and the best recruiters are problem solvers first.
“You become what you think about most. But you also attract what you think about most.”
From The Secret (2006), the book and film by Rhonda Byrne. Said in the film by the speaker John Assaraf; the first half echoes Earl Nightingale.
Spend the evening reading about the job you want, not the one you hate. It changes what you notice.
“Thoughts become things. Choose the good ones.”
Mike Dooley, his trademark line
The first thought on the way to an interview sets the tone. Pick it on purpose.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
Tony Robbins
Write the target on paper: the job, the pay, the date. Then it is a plan, not a wish.
“Your personality creates your personal reality.”
Joe Dispenza, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (2012)
Turn up friendly and the whole shift goes differently. People respond to who walks in.
“If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand.”
Bob Proctor, as widely quoted
Picture the first payslip from the new job. Then do today's step towards it.
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”
Robert Greene, Mastery (2012)
Forklift plus first aid plus a bit of Excel: the combination is what makes you hard to replace.
“Our self-image and our habits tend to go together. Change one and you will automatically change the other.”
Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics (1960)
Act like the professional you want to be, and the habits follow.
“The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief.”
David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big (1959)
Apply for the role that matches what you can become, not only what you were.
“Becoming is better than being.”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
Nobody starts as the expert. Being the one who is learning is a good place to be.
“The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.”
Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad (1997)
Even a small pension contribution from every payslip is money starting to work for you.
“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”
Dave Ramsey, as widely quoted. Ramsey made it famous and credits the idea to John C. Maxwell.
Write down the first month's pay from a new job before it arrives. It goes further.
“Wealth is what you don't see.”
Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money (2020)
The quiet colleague with savings is better off than the one with the new car on finance.
“Small, smart choices + consistency + time = radical difference.”
Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect (2010)
Ten minutes of learning a day is sixty hours a year.
“The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.”
Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge (2005)
Sending one application is easy. So is not sending it. That is the whole difference.
“Change your thoughts and you change your destiny.”
Joseph Murphy, as widely quoted
Swap "I can't" for "not yet" and see what you do next.
“Marketing is not an event, but a process.”
Jay Conrad Levinson, the author of Guerrilla Marketing
For a small firm: one post a week, every week, beats one big campaign a year.
“Success is your duty, obligation and responsibility.”
Grant Cardone, The 10X Rule (2011)
Your family, your team, your future self are counting on you. Treat the goal like a duty.
“Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.”
Naval Ravikant (2018)
A tradesperson who can also win the customer is a business waiting to start.
“Pain plus reflection equals progress.”
Ray Dalio, Principles (2017)
After a bad interview, write down what went wrong. That page is your next interview's preparation.
“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
The week the new site is hard and the rota is a mess is the week the growth happens. Stay a month before you judge it.
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
On a new job, ask the question that shows you do not know yet. The person who pretends learns the till last.
“Effort is one of the things that gives meaning to life.”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
The extra care on a care round or a clean pallet wrap is not wasted because nobody saw it. It is part of why the work feels like yours.
“Even in the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn't define you.”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
A failed forklift test or a missed interview stings. It is one morning, not a verdict on you. Book the next one.
“If you get the grade "Not Yet", you understand that you're on a learning curve.”
Carol S. Dweck, The Power of Yet, TEDx Norrkoping (2014). She was describing a Chicago high school that gave "Not Yet" instead of a fail.
No reply to an application is not a no for ever. It is not yet. Improve the CV and send the next one.
“Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.”
Carol S. Dweck, The Power of Yet, TEDx Norrkoping (2014)
Judging a new career on the first fortnight is the tyranny of now. Most people are slow in week one and fine by week six.
Other sections
- Work and keeping going (189)
- Starting a business (152)
- For leaders (41)
- Working with people (22)
- Mindset and habits (144)
- True stories of people who started small