20 important takeaways from this video:
Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that — but you are the only you.
Neil Gaiman
People learn by comparison.
They learn by comparing new things to the things they already know. That’s why redefining a category is much easier than creating a new one.
When you position your product in an existing category you’re essentially saying “it’s like something you already know but better”.
When you try to create a new product category you’re essentially saying “it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before”.
That’s a provocative statement, but hard to learn by.
Joshua Porter “How to redefine a product category” (via peterspear)
Do small things with great love.
If you want to produce special work, it’s worth collaborating with special people.
Constantly chopping and changing your specialty will hinder your success.
Having the courage and determination to focus on one subject or area of expertise gives you the solid foundation that is absolutely necessary if you’re to come up with a truly great idea, one that will be key to your future success.
It can be easy to settle on something that feels right. Something that seems to make sense of all the confusion.
You’ll feel relief when you get to this point. You’ll think you’ve cracked it. You’ll feel good.
But then you have to take a step back from what feels really good and ask:
But is it great?
When it comes time to pitch, you’ll be amazed by how powerful your persuasion skills have become simply because you understand a little more about the field and what drives it.
There is no doubt you get better when you surround yourself with great things and great people.
Getting noticed is a prerequisite of any good idea.
Stay open to new ideas, new places, and new people will feed your creative soul.
Lack of inspiration may be just another way of saying lack of experience.
Storytelling is the most powerful form of communication ever invented.
Through stories we learn, entertain, communicate, and socialize with each other.
Juxtaposition is the art of placing together a number of contrasting objects or ideas, usually two.
Used effectively, it captures our imaginations immediately, making it one of the most valuable techniques any creater can employ to dramatize their message.
And it’s at its most potent when these two objects are as diametrically opposed to each other as possible.
If it’s a race to get into minds and stay there, then it’s the artists who make their points faster, smarter, and more thought-provoking that will be the ones who succeed.
You can’t be good at everything. The skill is to work with someone who is good at what you are not.
Improving customer service is about dealing with expectations and dealing with absolutely crucial points in the process more than just actually trying to improve everything evenly.
When we have strong positive emotions about a brand we seek supporting evidence and ignore contradictory facts.
7 unconscious errors we make when buying brands by Douglas Van Praet