favorite arguments in the book

It’s NOT because you are making the wrong decisions, it’s because you are making the right ones. we try to make sensible decisions based on the facts in front of us. The problem with making sensible decisions is that so is everyone else.

I wish -- I wish means: wouldn’t it be nice if….
  if you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else….always wishing life was different.

I want -- I want means: if I want it enough I will get it.
  Getting what you want means making the decisions you need to make to get what you want. Not the decisions those around you think you should make. Making the safe decision is dull, predictable and leads nowhere new. the unsafe decision causes you to think and respond in a way hadn’t thought of. and that thought will lead to other thoughts which will help you achieve what you want.
  Start taking bad decisions and it will take you to a place where others only dream of being.

Many people reach the age of forty, only to realize they have missed out on life. In many cases they had everything going for them, except when the gauntlet was tossed their way, they lacked the courage to pick it up.
  No one is going to cut off your right arm, take away your motorbike or put you in jail if you don’t succeed.

… what this man wants, he will get. but he has to want it enough to go about getting it. dreaming and talking about it won’t achieve anything. there’s only one person who can determine the shape of your life. You.
  Who are you going to be?

Meet steady Eddie -- the corporate non-risk taker rises fast on the freshness of youth; an open mind, a pleasant demeanor and good looks will accelerate this rise. His superiors are pleased to promote him since it reflects well on them. the candidate reaches a platform of responsibility, not something to be treated lightly, after all he is now a manager, albeit a junior one. His salary rises in accordance with status, not ability, and he reaches board level. It is now time to appoint a joint or deputy managing director. our man is considered to be a good company man, but he is a bit dull. he doesn’t produce innovation: he doesn’t do anything for the image of the company. there’s a very good young man in his department earning a third of his salary, who younger members f staff respond to. Our man at forty is moved sideways, and at 47 he is out. He didn’t reach the top of the ladder, and has fallen and there’s no climbing back. He’s finished, yet had done nothing wrong.
  That is the problem . He’s done nothing wrong.

George Bernard Shaw said: “ the reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable man adapts the world to himself. All progress depends upon the unreasonable man.”

Knowledge makes us play safe. The secret is to stay childish.

Do it, then fix it as you go -- Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you’ve got, and fix it as you go.

Oscar Wilde: “most people are other people, their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

People are like sheep: they follow the leader, it is the leader who has a point of view about which way they should go. Having an original point of view or angle is novelty. recognizing its value is intelligent. Having the courage to stand up for it in the face of public opinion is what makes you a winner.

Steal -- steal from anywhere that resonate with inspiration or fuels your imagination. devour films, music, books, paintings, poems, photographs,conversations, dreams, trees, architecture, street signs, clouds, light and shadows.
  select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. if you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
  authenticity is invaluable.
  originality is non-existent.
  don’t bother concealing your thievery -- celebrate it if you feel like it.

don’t stay too long in a job.

Churchill said that when you are at the top you only have to think about policies. when you are number two you have to think about what your boss is thinking, and what your opposite number is thinking, before you begin to think about policies.
  Start your own company, then you can have control of your own destiny. It makes you number one from the start.

Good marks will not secure you an interesting life. Your imagination will.

Turn up. -- If you don’t have the degrees or fees to go to university, just turn up. If you want to be in a job where they won’t accept you, just turn up. Go to all the lectures, run errands, make yourself useful, let people get to know you. eventually they will accept you, because a part of their community. they will not only respect your perseverance but will like you for it. if may take time, a year say, but you will be in, not out.

The Best piece of advice ever given was by the art director of Harper’s Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch, to the young Richard Avedon, destined to become one of the world’s great photographers.
 the advice was simple: “Astonish me!”
 Bear these words in mind, and whatever you do will be creative.