Startup Planet Top Ten Rules For Startup Success

I have always loved reading quotes from wise and experience people. When I feel especially challenged reviewing these nuggets of wisdom can act as a resource and bring me back to a more centered state. -- Bob Norton

“If the idea at first is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” - Albert Einstein

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
— Gandhi

Business design experience is like yeast, you don't need a lot of it, but without that pinch the bread just won't rise. -- Bob Norton*

When looking at a venture the potential is in the core idea and market. The business design must be driven by the experience of a team. The results are in the execution. All three must be done right to create real value for both customers and entrepreneurs. -- Bob Norton

"It is neither the smartest nor the strongest of the species that survives, it is the ones most responsive to change" Charles Darwin

"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." -- Benjamin Franklin

It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. *
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
- - Chinese Proverb

"If you are going in the wrong direction, more speed won't help."

The key to motivation is loving what you do. If you don't love it then certainly don't do it for a living and expect to be either good at it or happy. That said, ALWAYS be on a learning curve to increase your knowledge and market value. - Bob Norton

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Chinese Proverb

Distinct or extinct!
Competitive advantage in the age of the "wow factor". How on earth do you cut through the 'noise' of ever increasing great performance by everyone? Be great! Re-invent, or go away!
-- Paraphrased from Tom Peters talk

Some resist change … and perish. Some adapt to change … and survive. Some pioneer change … and prevail. *

"Even if you are on the right track, if you just sit there you will get run over." Will Rogers

You should only believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear.
Source: (Latin)

A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month's study of books. Chinese Proverb *

The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car . . . a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little." Ben Sweetland

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
— Dale Carnegie

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.
— Robert Frost

Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!
— Tommy Smothers

The most important single quality for success is self-discipline. it’s the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Brian Tracey

Tom Peters, the best-selling author of In Search of Excellence and other business books, found that a key quality of the top executives in his study was a “bias for action.” Their motto seemed to be, “Ready, aim, fire.” Their attitude toward business was summarized in the words, “Do it, fix it, try it.” They realized that the future belongs to the action-oriented, to the risk taker.

General Douglas MacArthur once said, “There is no security in life, only opportunity.” And the interesting thing is this: If you seek for opportunity, you’ll end up with all the security you need. However, if you seek for security, you’ll end up with neither opportunity nor security.

When you hire people who are smarter than you are, you prove you are smarter than they are. R. H. Grant

In consulting the difference between what the client thinks they want and what they actually need is the consultant's value added.

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln *

We shouldn't look back in sadness, nor forward in trepidation, but rather look around us in awareness.

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln *

Six ways to make people like you:
Become genuinely interested in other people.
Smile.
Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.
-- Dale Carnegie

"Fundamental Techniques in Handling People:
Don't criticize, condemn or complain. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Arouse in the other person an eager want." -- Dale Carnegie

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Teamwork *
"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon
results."

"To be successful you've got to have a dream, a vision, a burning passion, a magnificent obsession.

"It takes enthusiasm, commitment, pride, a willingness to work hard, a willingness to go the extra mile, a willingness to do whatever has to be done in order to get the job done."

--Jeffrey J. Mayer {Author of Success is a Journey}
The German philosopher, Nietzsche, wrote, "The person with a strong enough Why can endure almost any How." If you don't know why you are doing something, it becomes very difficult to keep at it. If you don't know what you want, knowing why you are doing it becomes hard, as well. Clarity of vision is vital.

“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.” -- Warren Buffet

“Slumber not in the tents of your fathers. The world is advancing.” -- Guiseppe Mazzini

“Being willing to change allows you to move from a point of view to a viewpoint – a higher, more expansive place, from which you can see both sides.” -- Thomas Crum *

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” -- Nathaniel Branden

“Change happens in the boiler room of our emotions, so find out how to light the fires.” -- J. Dewar

“If one desires change, one must be that change before that change can take place” -- Gita Bellin

“That’s the risk you take if you change: that people you’ve been involved with won’t like the new you. But other people who do will come along” -- Lisa Alther

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” -- Benjamin Franklin *

“ Every successful person I know has the capacity to remain centered, clear, and powerful in the midst of emotional “storms.” How is this accomplished? I’ve discovered that most of these individuals have a fundamental rule: Never spend more than 10 percent of your time on the problem, and always spend at least 90 percent of your time on the solution. ”
-- Anthony Robbins

That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best, which it assuredly does not. James K. Beibleman

Prospects come to you when you give them something of value that shows you can solve their worst problems or help them achieve key goals! Jim Turner

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. Pope John XXIII

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. Howard Aiken

Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to nurture it in solitude and to follow the talent to the dark places where it leads. Erica Jong

That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best, which it assuredly does not. James K. Beibleman

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and weak minds discuss other people.
-- George Parry

I haven't a clue as to how my story will end. But that's all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, you don't conclude that the road has vanished ... And how else could we discover the stars? Unknown

You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it. Charles Buxton

Don't plan your Financial life. Be assured that your employer, and if not, then the government, and if not, then maybe a kindly relative will take care of your needs. Most people arrive at the end of life financially deficient or dependant upon some type of assistance from the government or relatives. Most people do not spend a little of their time, on a regular basis, to create financial freedom and live their lives they way they "want to", but rather do what do because they "have to". Eighty percent do not want to go to work on Monday morning. Ninety-seven percent say that if they did achieve financial freedom, they would not continue with their current employer or in their current line of work. Donald Wetmore

Don't beg people to get involved in your business!! There's no one person you have to have. You've got the whole world to advertise to. How much time have you got to waste on anyone who is NOT interested. Zero! If you think they would be a valuable rep in your organization; stick with them till you get them to look at the business, then let them decide and you go onto someone else. NEXT!! We are only interested in talking to people interested in our product, service, or opportunity. This does not apply to everyday life but it certainly applies in business! Leon Brickey

Also referred to as "self-propagation," "wildfire," and "organic" marketing, among other terms, the great advantage of this marketing avenue is that it spreads more or less on its own, primarily through its users. Hotmail's growth has skyrocketed through this means, along with many other companies that have used it successfully. Marty Foley

Failure and Success are both results. To achieve either is to show that you are following your conviction with vigor. Action speaks louder than words. It is your action that will create opportunities. It is less dependent on the short-term results. You will fail to start with. You have to. You don't know enough to succeed overnight. Darren Roberts

A lot of your daily stress is caused by differences between your expectations and reality. When you have an expectation about the way something should happen and then reality falls short of that expectation, it creates a disappointment that in turn breeds stress. Don Wetmore

Sir, I have been through it from Alpha to Omaha, and I tell you that the less a man knows the bigger the noise he makes and the higher the salary he commands. Mark Twain

Brands exist because people need to make buying decisions. When faced with choices in the marketplace, humans (either as individual consumers or groups known as organizations) want to understand, organize, classify, simplify, and evaluate options. Making decisions takes time and energy, and both tend to be in short supply in a fast paced society. Kenneth Keller

A project tends to expand with the time allocated for it." If you give yourself one thing to do during the day, it will likely take all day to complete it. If you give yourself two things to do during the day, you will likely accomplish both. If you give yourself twelve things to do during the day, you may not get all twelve done, but you may complete seven or eight items. Having a lot to do creates a healthy sense of pressure on us to naturally become better time managers. With a lot on our plate, we tend to be more focused, we tend to suffer interruptions less, and we delegate better. Don Wetmore

A winning game plan is simple. You don't need twenty marketing strategies, just two or three that you implement consistently. Robert Middleton

It's getting increasingly difficult to make a buck/euro selling advertising without selling your soul to the devil by deploying increasingly invasive (does anyone really like pop ups?) technology that may irritate the hell out of your customers. Ad rates are plummeting, even the once mighty Yahoo is struggling to make revenue and their sales reps even return calls now, which is definitely au contraire to their I'm too busy to talk with customers .com glory days. Lee Traufel

The spider looks for a merchant who doesn't advertise so it can spin a web across the door and lead a life of undisturbed peace. - Twain

Stopping advertising/marketing to save money is like stopping your watch to save time. - Anon

We must think about things as they are, not as they are said to be. - G. Bernard Shaw

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. - David Brinkley

Quality is like buying oats. If you want nice, clean fresh oats you must pay a fair price. However, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse... that comes a little cheaper! - Anon

The master doesn't talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say "Amazing: we did it all by ourselves". - Lao-Tzu

The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing it exactly right. Edward Simmons

The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking. Albert Einstein

In a narrow specialty market, it's reputation, reputation, reputation. It's getting known for what you do. Jason Len

Where is thought? If a thought is on paper, does that thought become more real? Does it then have a life of its own? Why is it that a thought feels good to hold, like a document in your hand, or under your arm or even under a pen? Does thought improve if it's altered by another human's perspective? Is a thought better if it is shared with many people? Where is thought if it never leaves the thinker? From Mind to Matter. Canon

My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and to ask a few questions. Peter Drucker

Most people …don’t like to think. They never thought through a whole problem …because they never approached it in the right manner. James McKinsey

Leaders are useless if their followers are incompetent or uninterested. Harvey Robbins

As markets mature, as features homogenize, vendors must become business management consultants. They can’t just sell the product; they must help users become better and more efficient business people. After all, this is a very important competitive business tool. Robert Scott

If you don’t know where you are going, then any path will take you there. Alice in Wonderland

Once we know our job is to reach goals, not follow procedures, we become innovative. Simply asking, "What is the best way to achieve this result?" leads to fresh thinking. Market Engineering International

People who get on in life and in this world are people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them. So if it is to be, it’s up to me. George Bernard Shaw

An entrepreneur's knowledge is a significant competitive advantage. Norm Brodsky

What does you company offer that customers simply can't get anywhere else? Unless you can answer in fewer than 10 words, you don't really have a competitive edge -- which means that you'll always be jostling for position in the middle of the pack. Personally, I'd rather be out front. And the way to get there is to be able to do something that the other guys just don't know how to do. Patrick Kelly

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. John Muir

Influence is like a savings account. The less you use it, the more you've got. Andrew Young

Good personal productivity does not require that you function as a robot, doing, doing, doing all the time. Goof-off time is as much an ingredient for successful time management as the doing itself. You need it. It helps to clear your head. Sometimes there is nothing more therapeutic than to play couch potato for an evening, watching re-runs of your favorite comedy show or to taking time at work to do some mindless activity. Don Wetmore

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself. Galileo

Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein

It has been said that a sure sign of mental illness, is doing the same thing over and over expecting to get a different result. Debby Peters

Best practices will become less industry-specific and more business-specific. Consultants dealing in vertical markets will become less effective with their clients. Companies will be forced to go outside their industry to find ways to gain competitive advantage. Jack Deal

Failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying. B. F. Skinner

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. President Thomas Jefferson

The human spirit is a wondrous thing. With the right attitude, the spirit of man is virtually unconquerable. This is not to say that simply because a man chooses to live, he will survive a blizzard or the sea. It is certainly not a guarantee that simply by willing it, we will be able to live forever. But I can guarantee that where the spirit is strong, the chance of survival is great. Believe in yourself and your ability to win over whatever difficulty is facing you, and you are well on your way to victory. Bill Hodges

The "bait" being the lead-in (email subject/ad title) and the "hook" being the body of your letter/ad. Both have to be great. Without bait though, don't bother to cast your line. Fish won't look at even the shiniest naked hook. The best product in the world can be buried in the body of your message but without a fat, juicy nightcrawler dangling right up front, your time would be better spent fishing. But the water gets deeper than that. Ernest Oriente

What others say about you and your product, service, or business is at least 1000% more convincing than what you say, even if you are 1000% more eloquent. Dan Kennedy

VCs only invest in 7 out of 1000 companies presented to them. And for every 10 companies they do invest in, 1 or 2 will be sure winners, 2 more will be borderline successful and the remaining 5 or 6 companies will be failures (and remember that's the 7 out of 1000). My point is, VCs can't afford to have a higher failure rate than they do. So they need people with experience. Nick Baker

This "sense of personality" is key if your intention is to not only sell on the Internet, but keep selling. It is the Unwritten Law of You. As there are no hard and fast rules for this Law because businesses/websites vary greatly, the overall objective is to put as much of "you" in your online presentations as you can. Make people feel they are dealing with you face-to-face and not a million miles away in the dark of CyberSpace. Project the same friendliness you would afford them if they were standing right there at your counter or having coffee in your office. Speak to them in your website as you would on the street. Don’t just display your product pics and descriptions and hope they buy. Converse with them, project that warmth, make them feel like you’re that "Good Neighbor". And "you will be there" come thick or thin because they are your customer. Be a person instead of a website. Sell yourself, not just your products. Rick Beneteau

People are conditioned from childhood to respond to polite questions. If you ask intelligent questions with impact, almost everyone will answer you. The other significant reason to ask good questions is to help the person you are asking. Asking well-crafted, intelligent questions causes people to think profoundly. When someone thinks more deeply than before, new ideas, new answers and new possibilities emerge. Gary Lockwood

* The AVERAGE manager sets limited goals for the unit and mobilizes moderate unit-wide efforts to achieve these limited goals.

* The OUTSTANDING manager sets stretch goals for the unit and mobilizes strenuous unit-wide efforts to achieve these strenuous goals.

* The ANXIOUS manager sets limited goals for the unit and mobilizes strenuous unit-wide efforts to achieve these limited goals. What a waste of potential!

* The SELF-DEFEATING manager sets stretch goals for the unit but mobilizes only moderate unit-wide effort. The unit learns not to take the stretch goals too seriously. Dr. Max Garfinkle

Success is a culmination of vision, knowledge, daring and persistence. Rick Brye