Tag: advice

Brad

Advice, like fruit, is best when it’s fresh. But advice quickly decays, and 15 year-old advice is bound to be radioactive. Sharing a life experience is one thing (grandparents are great at this – listen to them!), but advice is another thing. Don’t give advice about things you used to know. Just because you did something a long time ago doesn’t mean you’re qualified to talk about it today.

Giving less advice by Jason Fried of Basecamp
Brad

When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling. Try that for practice. When you’re in town stand outside the theatre and see how the people differ in the way they get out of taxis or motor cars. There are a thousand ways to practice. And always think of other people.

Hemingway’s advice to aspiring writers (via explore-blog)

Someone gave this quote to me when I was a teenager. I don’t remember how it was delivered to me. I don’t think I even knew it was Hemingway at the time, but it was really impactful. Developing the skill to be a good listener and observer has helped in every aspect of my life – family relationships, friendships, romantic relationships, business and of course writing. These are skills worth honing.

Young and Brilliant: Wireframes for Thinking

Brad

Young and Brilliant: Wireframes for Thinking

ninakix:

“wireframes” or “sketches” (the semantics aren’t important here) are really like writing out long division. If you’re trying to think seriously about a software product, if you aren’t sketching things out, then you aren’t really thinking about it. Yes, some details are inane (“Where should I put the login button?”) but many more are the details that make up the service: Tumblr linking to its six basic post types wasn’t a detail, it markedly effected the way the service felt and was used. And these are the little details that we start to see once we can start externalizing bits of our short-term memory to paper. 

As an even more general point, I’d say that confidence and fluency in sketching and diagraming is one of those things that can make us exponentially better thinkers. 

I love this and agree 100%. Sometimes I use paper and other times I use software, but if you’re not writing it out in some way, you’re not thinking about it. 

Brad

When wandering the world, forget your business cards. Don’t look for more contacts. Instead, observe. Say hello to the people you see every day, but don’t make a fetish out of it. Stay interested in others. Be generous in your attentions but not showy. Don’t wink, snap your fingers, high-five, or shout, though laugh with those who do. It bears repeating: Look around. Remember names. Remember where people were born.

How To Be Gracious – Graciousness Meaning – Esquire