The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life

“Each is seeking candor and warmth, and the exploration of self-potential (sexual capacities and many others), all of which is facilitated by cooperation of someone else engaged in a similar development. Such persons are not preoccupied with being loved or with maintaining romantic illusions. They are trying to enjoy life—together.”

Design thinking is a set of general practices a group of us has developed over the years that are effective in solving design challenges.

The form I favor is point of view (POV). It is not a rigidly defined concept.1 Its purpose is to define what a person needs—not what we think she needs, rather what she actually needs.

Make a pact with yourself to not use reasons unless you have to. This is actually an incredibly empowering position to come from. Be confident enough in your actions not to need to explain yourself. Trust yourself and act.

Idea Logs These are notebooks in which you sketch out your ideas, using drawings, words, and even pasted-in items to create a record of tangible speculations on your part. It is good to develop the habit of creating notebooks in which to record your ideas. Without a record, ideas are often forgotten and lost forever. The most famous idea logs ever

In one of our classes, “Launchpad,” professors lead you through starting your own company in ten weeks, and by the end of that time you’ll be producing income. Or

When attribute lists have many items, this method lends itself very nicely to computer implementation.

In my class he learned not to recoil or procrastinate when a new idea arose, but to act. Just that small insight, which we call bias toward action (which we’ll discuss later), has changed his worldview and pushed him down several roads in the last two years.

1. Empathize. This is where it starts. When you design, you’re not primarily doing it for yourself; you’re doing it with other people’s needs and desires in mind.