Over 70 Great Ideas from Books

Over 70 Great Ideas from Books

Have you ever thought of an idea, then found yourself going down the rabbit hole?

I have been doing a series on social media in a quest to learn how to improve my status updates, as well as to use the platforms more effectively. When I learn something new, I apply it. I spent a long time creating unique content based, on my newfound knowledge. I have a lot of content on the blog, so I have been also thinking how to repurpose some of the content, putting a new slant to it. The idea came to me that I could take the great ideas from books I reviewed, then use it to create a graphic. Then I thought that since I was doing that, I could also create a post about great ideas from books – and here I am.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

1. Develop a Code of Conduct for the way you live and work, so that when situations arise, you know how to respond
2. Provide useful information to your clients
3. After making the first $1 million, it is easier to make the second
4. Before going into partnerships, develop contracts with clearly defined expectations and exit clauses to protect all involved parties
5. History is filled with mistakes, learn from them

Related Post: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

Kon Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl

1. To get what you want in life, you have to appeal to people’s self-interest.
2. There is truth to the adage to stop and smell the roses. From time-to-time, slow down and enjoy your journey in life.
3. For any journey to be successful, you have to have a powerful objective.
4. The hardest part of the journey is often the start.
5. Believe in yourself.
6. Read from other disciplines besides your own, so you will have more creative ideas.

Related Post: Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl – Book Review

Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card

1. Look at what people mean and not what they say.
2. Learn from others, even those you perceive to be your enemies.
3. Be flexible with your strategy.
4. Use your brain to out-think and outsmart others.
5. You become what you pretend to be, so be authentic.

Related Post: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Book Review

Show Your Work, Austin Kleon

1. Most amateurs are lifelong learners, who make a point of learning open, so others can learn from their successes and failures.
2. Scenius: This model is about collaboration, where a group of people support each other, look at each other’s ideas, copy from each other, and contribute ideas of their own. Most of the innovators and great thinkers in the world reviewed the work of others then built on it.
3. To be found, you have to be findable. That means you have to start sharing online.
4. The best way to get started on your sharing journey is to start with something you want to learn, then share your progress. This is what I am doing now. Those who read this blog regularly know that I am working on an informal liberal arts education. This is a non-degree program that I put together for myself. Last year, I took courses, and this year, the focus is on reading diverse books. I share what I learn on this blog.
5. If you want people to know about the work you do, and the things you care about, you have to share.
6. Overnight success is a myth. It’s usually at least 10 years in the making.
7. To uncover the hidden gems around you takes a clear eye, an open mind, and a willingness to look for inspiration in places where others won’t.
8. Take the online conversation offline and meet in real life.

Related Post: Show Your Work by Austin Kleon, Book Review

Zero to One, Peter Thiel

1. Globalization without new technology is unsustainable. Technology allows us to do more using less resources.
2. If you want to create and capture lasting value, build a differentiated business.
3. In business, equilibrium means stasis, and stasis means death. Every business is successful to the extent that it does something that others cannot. Monopoly is the condition of every successful business.
4. Proprietary technology must be at least 10 times better than its closest substitute in some important dimension to lead to real monopolistic advantage.
5. Every start-up should start with a very small market. Once you create and dominate a niche market, deliberately expand into related and broader markets.
6. As you craft an expansion plan to adjacent markets, do so quietly, no need to disrupt, avoiding the competition.
7. Every great business is built around a secret that’s hidden from the outside – it’s a competitive advantage.

Related Post: Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Book Review

What Do You Do with an Idea, Kobi Yamada

1. When you get an idea, own it.
2. Spend some time with your idea to learn and understand what it really means.
3. Set aside time to work on your idea, even if you believe that others might ridicule you.
4. As you act on your idea, take the time to nurture it, and clear a space to let it grow.
5. While it is growing, study the idea, to see what secrets it holds.
6. When the idea has taken root, and becomes strong, step back and let it soar.
7. Your idea may be the one that changes the world, so never kill an idea, before giving it a chance to grow.

Related Post: What do you do with an Idea by Kobi Yamada, Book Review

The Early History of the Airplane, Orville and Wilbur Wright

1. Study and build on the work of others.
2. Do not be afraid to try something different.
3. Never give up, and do not listen to naysayers. After initial spectacular failures, the public believed that flight was beyond man.
4. View failure as lessons learned.
5. Break down large projects into manageable stages and test each stage to ensure that it works. The Wright Brothers first designed their machine to be flown as a kite, with a man on board. Then later they added the engine.
6. The road to success is paved with many failures.
7. Learn by experimentation.

Related Post: The Early History of the Airplane by Orville and Wilbur Wright, Book Review

Storyscaping: Stop Creating Ads, Start Creating Worlds, Gaston Legorburu and Darren McColl

1. It’s more than telling a story, it’s about making a connection.
2. Create an immersive experience so that your consumers want to relive it.
3. Pay attention to consumer technological evolution if you want to predict behavior.
4. Functional needs are solved with products and services that represent the means by which consumers define their story.
5. A shared experience comes from a satisfied need or a problem solved by a company’s products or services.

Related Post: Storyscaping: Stop Creating Ads, Start Creating Worlds by Gaston Legorburu and Darren McColl, Book Review

The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday

1. Great individuals find a way to transform weaknesses into strengths. Use whatever is holding you back to move you forward.
2. Focus your energy on resolving problems instead of reacting to them.
3. When faced with a problem, look at it from every angle because perspective is everything.
4. Is your perspective of the problem really giving you a true perspective? Perhaps a tweak is all that’s needed. Small changes can transform feelings of weakness into feelings of strength.
5. Familiarize yourself with the Serenity Prayer, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference….” We often cannot control the rules and conditions of the game, but we can control the following:
   1. Our emotions
   2. Our judgments
   3. Our creativity
   4. Our attitudes
   5. Our perspectives
   6. Our desires
   7. Our decisions
   8. Our determination
6. When you face an obstacle, manage all the associated emotions, look at it objectively from every perspective to find the accompanying opportunity within it.
7. Do not allow failure to stop you in your track. Do not allow external noise to distract you. Chip away at the obstacle until it is gone – persistence and perseverance will eventually pay off.
8. Learn from your mistakes because failures teach lessons.
9. The journey to the destination is more important than the destination. So, follow the process and not the prize – the process is about finishing.
10. The size of the project is not important because each project matters, so give each and every one of them your all. If you always do your best, you can always be proud of your choices.
11. Find a way to use the energy of the adversity to help yourself. That is, there are times when you have to allow the adversity to do the work for you.
12. Prepare for things to get tougher, because they will. To become great at anything requires practice.
13. Before launching a project/service/product, have a pre-mortem. Ask a series of what-if questions to determine the things that could possibly go wrong, then fix them. If you cannot fix all the things that can go wrong, then manage expectations.
14. Persist and persevere.
15. Be of service to others – help others while helping yourself.

Related Post: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, Book Review

How Successful People Think, John C Maxwell

1. Question the status quo.
2. Surround yourself with people who think differently.
3. Be aware of negative self-talk and kill them.
4. Explore other cultures, traditions, countries and foods.
5. Read about new subject areas.
6. Look at the pros and cons of ideas.
7. Stop focusing on impossibilities and practice possibility thinking.

Related Post: How Successful People Think by John C Maxwell – Book Review

Get Started Here – I want to help you get started on your learning journey. Read The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge, then Join the Facebook Group for the Reading Challenge today, connecting the ideas from the books you read!

In the meantime, THANK YOU for your time… Thank you for sharing this post, and thank you for connecting with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest! What was your biggest takeaway from today?

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