“As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” — Andrew Carnegie — Action is what makes learning and thinking possible. There are hundreds of potential obstacles that stand in our way. We cannot possibly know the solution to every obstacle in advance. What matters more is that we develop a mindset that primes us for action. …

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.” — Thomas Edison — “We had about a week’s cash in the bank or less, and there was very little time in the year to resolve these things,” Elon Musk recounts, “I mean there were two or three business days left in the year.” Tesla Motors, the electric car company he co-founded, desperately needed…

“When without resources, depend on resourcefulness.” — Sun Tzu — In December 1776, six months after the Declaration of Independence had been adopted, things were looking dire for General George Washington’s Continental Army. In fact, failure seemed just around the corner. As the underdog, the American army lacked guns, ammunition, and artillery. …

“Genius is eternal patience.” — Michelangelo — From Palermo to Paris, from Frankfurt to Budapest, 1848 went down as the most volatile series of political upheavals in European history. What began in Sicily as a political uprising in January of that year quickly spread to Naples, and merely one month passed by before people were fighting on…

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” — Demosthenes — When English street artist Banksy observes the world, he pays attention. His works of political and social commentary stem from observing what is going on around the world and then seeing what other people do not. He displays his art on publicly visible surfaces, drawing what the public has yet…

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson — During the Great Depression, racing horse Seabiscuit had a tough time winning. Of his first seventeen races, he lost them all. As a frequent loser, the horse became a joke. Seabiscuit’s owner thought the horse was too lazy and focused on his other horses. Even after Seabiscuit began winning a…

“The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.” — Aristotle — Everyone understands the importance of routine and serendipity. However, it is the merging and balancing of the two that is important to grasp. In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are seemingly opposite forces that are still complementary and interconnected. In the same vein, the balance of routine and serendipity are…

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeeded.” — Michael Jordan — After his family was kicked out of their home, seven-year-old Abraham Lincoln needed to find work to support them. Later in life, he borrowed money from a friend to start a business, but went bankrupt the same year. For the next seventeen years, he worked to pay him back. He…

“The mind that engages in subjects of too great variety becomes confused and weakened.” — Leonardo da Vinci — At 90 years old, Jiro is not your typical restaurant owner. He is chef and owner of the Japanese restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. Devoting himself to his craft for his entire life, he is considered one of the best sushi chefs in the world. …