Character and behavior are inextricable.

Iterate. Try new things, take chances, and don’t expect to achieve great success right away. Most “overnight success” stories are the product of years of hard work. Failure is the raw material of success—if you learn from it.

check out Do What You Are, which uses the Myers-Briggs framework to break down hundreds of career options by personality type. Even if you aren’t moved by Myers-Briggs, it’s a useful compendium of every way imaginable to make a buck.

In preparation for writing the classic guide to self-improvement The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey did not merely study successful people, he reviewed the literature2 on how to become successful. From the post-WWII period forward, he discerned a shift from what he termed the “character ethic” to a “personality ethic.” Older

Asking for advice doesn’t mean you have to take it. Often, what’s most valuable about advice isn’t a recommended course of action but the questions you get in response—pressure-testing your reasoning.

Courage is our persistence, what modern thinkers often term “grit.” We have courage when we do not let fear guide our actions: fear of poverty, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure. Instead, we are industrious, positive, and confident. Marketers are masters of exploiting our fears and insecurities. Courage is cheaper than Chanel, and it works

Every aspect of our lives has a fad diet to better it.

Technology is an enabler, but time management is a skill that transcends technology.

Jobs didn’t find what he loved, he found his talent. He became passionate about marketing consumer computers—what he would later call “bicycles for the mind”—because he was so good at it.