Quotes from the book "Originals"

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself, there by all progress depends on the un-reasonable man.

A startup started selling eyeglasses that normally cost $500 in a store for $95 online donating a pair to someone in the developing world with every purchase.

There are two routes to achievement: conformity and originality. Conformity means following the crowd. Originality is taking the road less traveled.

People who suffer the most from a given state of affairs are paradoxically the least likely to question, challenge, reject, or change it.

The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists.

Before women gained the right to vote in America, many "had never before considered their degraded status as anything but natural".

Practice makes perfect, but it doesn't make new.

The more you value achievement, the more you come to dread failure.

After all, if you don't swing for the fences, it's impossible to hit a home run.

He was one of you and yet he became Abraham Lincoln.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

In reality, the biggest barrier to originality is not idea generation it's idea selection.

Engineers: In two different companies, 32% and 42% rated themselves among the top 5% of performers.

When we've developed an idea, we're typically too close to our own tastes-and too far from the audience's taste.

If you want to be original, "the most important possible thing you could do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work.

The more successful people have been in the past, the worse they perform when they enter a new environment.

Intuition operates rapidly, based on hot emotions, whereas reason is a slower, cooler process.

Its never the idea its always the execution.

When we judge their greatness, we focus not on their greatness, we focus not on their averages, but on their peaks.

Status cannot be claimed; it has to be earned or granted.

We're happier after we list three good things than twelve.

Disagreeable managers may have a bad user interface but a great operating system.

In the decision to speak up, whom we choose as our audience matters as much as how we deliver our message.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow. - Mark Twain.

It's true that the early bird gets the worm, but we can't forget that the early worm gets caught.

Being original doesn't require being first. It just means being different and better.

Psychologist Bert Uchino found that ambivalent relationships are literally unhealthier than negative relationships.

Cut our frenemies and attempt to convert our enemies.

Progress always involves risk. You can't steal second and keep one foot on first base.

It's like saving somebody who is drowning. You don't ask them what God they pray to. You just go and save them.

Templates of hiring: professional, star, and commitment to culture.

Don't let loyalty stand in the way of truth and openness.

You gain believability by other believable people saying you're believable.

Strategic optimism and defensive pessimism . Strategic optimists anticipate the best, staying calm and setting high expectations. Defensive pessimists expect the worst, feeling anxious and imagining all the things that can go wrong.

When we're anxious, the unknown is more terrifying than the negative.

The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.