The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
Take advantage of the freedom that comes with your youth. Inhale life, exhale fire, and embrace the late, sleepless nights, because that’s when the magic happens—when everyone else is asleep and you’re awake thinking about the world as it is, and the world as it could be. Make the most of those moments,”
Adam Braun • The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
When I think back to how this all began, one thing is incredibly clear: I was hopelessly idealistic from the start. I use the word hopelessly purposely, as my belief in PoP has always been devoid of hope. I never thought, I hope this works out. I knew it would. From the moment that first bolt of electric energy hit me at the New York Philharmonic,
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took the train out to Greenwich and told John that I couldn’t accept the job. I was going to stick with PoP. I knew if I wanted any success, I had to devote myself to it fully. When you’re part of something special, you have to cherish it and defend it against many outside distractions and temptations. But nothing is more potent or deceptive than
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I knew if Joel’s grandson grew up and felt guilt over the sacrifices made for him, it would be a slap in the face to Joel and everything he did with such pure intention. My sense of guilt and obligation diminished the hard work and desires of those who came before me. It was a total emotional shift. Rather than motivation through obligation, I now
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SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME
Adam Braun • The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
he offered a final few words of assurance: “Here’s my best advice: make the little decisions with your head and the big ones with your heart. Do that, and you’ll be just fine.”
Adam Braun • The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
Sometimes you just know. With absolute conviction. The complete absence of doubt is so rare it generates a sense of excitement that’s so powerful it becomes shocking. .
Adam Braun • The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
As Marcel Proust wrote, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
Adam Braun • The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
I had taken my job at Bain for granted, assuming that I could coast into the next phase based solely on my previous accomplishments. In truth we re-create our reputation every day.