← Your daily dose of motivation
144 quotes, page 5 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.
“Don't just sit there. Do something. The answers will follow.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art... (2016)
Not sure which trade suits you? Try a week of agency work in two of them. Doing teaches faster than wondering.
“We don't always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us, as well as how we respond.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art... (2016)
You cannot control the cancelled shift. You can control whether you ring round for another one.
“Problems never stop; they merely get exchanged and/or upgraded.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art... (2016)
The new job will bring new problems. Better ones, with luck: learning a route instead of chasing unpaid wages.
“Happiness comes from solving problems.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art... (2016)
Maintenance fitters often say the best part of the job is the fault they finally found. That is the point.
“The most important conversations you'll ever have are the ones you'll have with yourself.”
David Goggins, Can't Hurt Me (2018)
What you tell yourself on the walk in decides half the shift. Make it a fair voice, not a cruel one.
“The only way to move beyond your 40 percent is to callous your mind, day after day.”
David Goggins, Can't Hurt Me (2018). His "40 percent rule" is a rule of thumb from his own experience, not a measured figure.
Early starts get easier with repetition. The first week of 5am alarms is the hardest one.
“Failure is rich in learning opportunities for a simple reason: in many of its guises, it represents a violation of expectation.”
Matthew Syed, Black Box Thinking (2015)
A near miss on the warehouse floor is worth reporting. It shows where the system is not working as everyone assumed.
“It is partly because we are so willing to blame others for their mistakes that we are so keen to conceal our own.”
Matthew Syed, Black Box Thinking (2015)
For managers: if every mistake gets someone shouted at, you will stop hearing about mistakes. Then they get bigger.
“You are not responsible for the nature of your Chimp, but you are responsible for managing it.”
Steve Peters, The Chimp Paradox (2012). Peters, a psychiatrist, uses the Chimp for the fast emotional part of the mind.
A rude customer or a road rage driver will set off the Chimp. What you do in the next ten seconds is yours.
“I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles.”
Simone Biles, after winning the all-around gold at the Rio Olympics (August 2016)
You do not need to be the next anybody at interview. Talk about what you have done, in your own words.
“We have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.”
Simone Biles, Tokyo Olympics (July 2021). She said it after withdrawing from the team final.
Refusing an unsafe lift or a shift past your limit is not weakness. Rest is part of the job.
“No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset (2006)
Natural with people? Good. Care work still rewards the one who learns the care plans properly.
“Regardless of how you feel about your job right now, adopting the craftsman mindset will be the foundation on which you'll build a compelling career.”
Cal Newport, So Good They Can't Ignore You (2012)
Not loving the current job? Get very good at it anyway. That skill is what the next employer pays for.
“Small wins are exactly what they sound like, and are part of how keystone habits create widespread changes.”
Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit (2012)
A week of on-time starts, then a month, then a clean record: small wins are what a reference is made of.
“If you're remarkable, it's likely that some people won't like you.”
Seth Godin, Purple Cow (2003)
Starting a business with a clear offer will put some customers off. That is fine: it is for the ones it suits.
“Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can't deal with the stress of the moment.”
Seth Godin, The Dip (2007)
The first months of an apprenticeship pay little and ask a lot. Judge it on where it leads, not on week three.
“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art... (2016)
No job is good every day. Expecting that makes the ordinary bad days feel worse than they are.
“I am nature's greatest miracle.”
Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), the fourth scroll
Nobody else has your mix of jobs, languages and life. Say so on the CV instead of hiding it.
“Today I will be master of my emotions.”
Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), the sixth scroll
Front desk, call centre, shop floor: the angry customer gets the calm version of you. Breathe first.
“I will laugh at the world.”
Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), the seventh scroll
A team that can laugh at the 4am breakdown gets through it faster.
“Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.”
Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), the eighth scroll
One extra ticket, one more licence category, one new language: each makes you worth more to the next employer.
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.”
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth (2005)
The night shift is the same shift whether you dread it or not. Change the story, not just the rota.
“The illusion that we understand the past fosters overconfidence in our ability to predict the future.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)
For employers: last year's hires do not tell you everything about next year's. Keep checking what actually works.
“The Chimp is an emotional machine that thinks independently from us.”
Steve Peters, The Chimp Paradox (2012)
Interview nerves are the Chimp. Expect them, plan your first answer, and let the rest follow.
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