Why am I doing what I’m doing? Ask yourself this and, when you have an answer, ask yourself ‘why’ again. Several times if needed. Ask ‘why’ until you can’t ask ‘why’ anymore. What you will find at the end of that journey will be a clear mission.

How to have a happy hustle: The complete guide to making your ideas happen by Bec Evans (2019)

We’ve seen that the most ambitious founders are driven by something deeper. They’re driven not (just) by scale or money, but by the impact they want to have on the world.

What’s the worst thing that could happen? Or what’s the worst someone could say to you or write online? And what would happen if they did that? How would you respond? How would it change your approach or your business? If you wouldn’t change anything, then stop worrying. If you would, then change it before anyone notices.

It’s all an incremental process. You start with what you can handle given the time and resources available to you, and you slowly grow, develop and evolve. The startups that succeed begin by serving one small group of people and then working out their next valuable move. It’s true for niche businesses that service a delighted, core audience, but it

What’s stopping me? Or, to put it another way, what’s your greatest fear about just making things happen? Sometimes, ‘striving for perfection’ is really a cover for something else, an excuse to not get out there and start doing stuff. Be honest with yourself.

Building and maintaining a great network for me requires three key things: authenticity, engagement and a genuine interest in the other person. Starting with authenticity, this requires me bringing my whole self to conversations, moving away from transactional relationships and really connecting with people.

Rule 5: Off the record We adhere to the ‘Chatham House Rule’, i.e., people share whatever they’re comfortable sharing in the room, and people are free to share points made in the discussion, but not to reveal who made any particular comment. Everyone explicitly agrees to this rule at a dinner, and it helps build trust in the room.

One simple way to think about success, if it’s not already clear to you, is to think about failure and what that would look like for you. Not being able to work in this business in one year? Ten years? Being publicly shamed or embarrassed? Finding yourself back as an employee in a nine-to-five job?