Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Of course, if you’re a jerk you should fix that first. Otherwise focus on what gives you the edge. Tap into your aptitudes. Foster your natural talents and turn them into superpowers.

The only advice you’ll ever need is that you don’t need advice. There’s no magic pill. No silver bullet. You’ll have to do it on your own, and you have what it takes. You’re the expert on you. Be careful with advice from others. They may be telling you what they want to hear, not what you need to hear. What worked for them, not what will work for you. You’ll have to figure it out as you go along. Make your own decision. Lead yourself.

The rules are just lines on a map. They’re made up. Someone else drew them. Rules aren’t made to be broken, but it’s worth remembering that they’re always approximations. Rules are what someone else wants you to do. But they don’t limit what’s possible. Opportunity lies outside the lines and off the map. Opportunity is in the wilderness.

It takes space to create. But to be alone with your ideas is rare these days. More than ever we’re inundated with so much competing for our attention. So much noise. Our mind needs space to reflect. Einstein had his music breaks. René Descartes and Mark Twain lingered in bed. I have my walks. However you do it, find some time every day to be alone with your musings.

Your barriers aren’t physical, they’re mental. We’re limited by the stories we tell ourselves. But stories are made up. You can change yours. Write your own. What are the stories you’ve told yourself so many times you no longer realize you’re listening? Uncover those and you’ll uncover the assumptions holding you back.

The opposite of growth is stagnation. You’re stagnating if you did the same thing yesterday, and you’re in the same place as last week. Or last month. We all have ups and downs, periods of high growth and slow growth. But you should be covering new territory. Learning something. If you haven’t moved forward you need to reconsider your strategy, your methods, and your goals.

What’s is art? You’ve heard the question before, and if you’re like me you think it’s stupid. “I know art when I see it,” I thought. Art is a good painting, a song, a sculpture. Unlike me, critics, philosophers, and poor students have written hundreds, maybe thousands of books to answer this age-old question. What is art? It would seem nobody knows.

Well let’s start with what we do know. We know art takes creativity. We know art is something that comes from nothing. And we know art is appreciated. It has an impact. Good business and entrepreneurship has all of those qualities.

“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art," Andy Warhol famously said. "Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” Andy is right.

And what’s worse than art? Bad art. The product nobody needs. The clueless corporation, or the mediocre restaurant. In order to make a good business we must bring all of our skill and creativity to bear and rise above mediocrity and conformity. To make something remarkable. To be an artist and make our best art.

Humans have always been problem solvers. The human spirit is the entrepreneurial spirit, and we’ve been contributing by creating for thousands of years. Our potential lies somewhere beyond us, driven by our limitations and the possibility of exceeding them. But we’ve been brainwashed to think otherwise. Brainwashed by school, by our parents, by our boss. We’ve learned to accept less because of our fears. Because it’s safe. Because we’re told to.

Tension is felt when we’re told to do things and how to do them. We know when we do the work our boss will give us more, and more of the same. The boss gets better at pushing and we get better at resisting. We learn to do the bare minimum and it stifles us.

But that’s not who we are. When we given the space and opportunity our creativity is unleashed. Economists point out that most jobs come from new firms not existing firms, from small business not big business. The world is best served by you learning to be your own boss, to solve interesting problems, to do it your own way. To learn to be a leader and start your own endeavor.

We’re all meant to be entrepreneurs.

It takes patience to listen. It takes empathy. But most importantly it takes silence. You need space to absorb, and time to reflect. Finding the right moment to act requires waiting for it. You must listen and wait to choose the battle worth fighting.

Remember you can’t take anything with you. All you have is how you feel about yourself. Avoid regret by seizing your opportunities. Eliminate guilt by treating people well, and making amends for any harm you cause. Avoid disappointment by doing your best, and be grateful for the good that’s come your way.