Being Willing to Make Mistakes TED talk Creativity

Robinson
This TED talk has been viewed over 4 million times
It is thought that this willingness to fail and make mistakes is what makes Israel such a locus of startups.  They see no shame in failing as long as it was a well reasoned endeavor.

Time Wasters

Not exactly an attitude tweak, but I thought a lot of these suggestions were worthwhile.  From Business Insider (the emphases are mine.)  I really liked the part about your "personal brand."  So true.
 If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, then you only need to do one thing: Invent, develop, and market a product or service that customers really need or want. There are, however, a few caveats:
It has to be an innovative solution to an important problem and far better, cheaper, or easier to use than competitive solutions.
You must be able to make enough money doing it to justify the investment in time and capital.
You have to have a laser-like focus on making all that happen.
That's all way easier said than done, I know. One of the reasons for that, and a big issue that holds most people back, is that last part, the need to have a "laser-like focus." The good news is it also happens to be the easiest hurdle to overcome because it's entirely within your control.
To that end, here are 10 things you absolutely need to quit doing right now if you want to make it as an entrepreneur:
You live online. Wasting time on Facebook. Playing with apps. Emailing and texting. Buying every stupid little gadget ever imagined. You quit doing all that, you'll have more time to actually get things done than you know what to do with.
You look for a lottery ticket. If you're after an easy way out, a quick fix, a silver bullet, an overnight viral success, I can tell you one thing for sure. You won't find it. Ever. That's just not how this sort of thing works.
You're building your "personal brand." If you're in the self-help genre and you want to be the next Tony Robbins or Tim Ferris, then promote yourself. Be my guest. Unless you are the product, focus on the product and its customers, not you.
You play small ball. Successful entrepreneurs don't do things halfway or half-assed. Focus on one thing, go all in, get it done, and do it right. What about serial entrepreneurs? Most people who call themselves that aren't. Also, the key word is serial, not parallel.
You network randomly. Relationships are critical to business success. Networking and schmoozing are key to forming relationships. But randomly connecting with thousands of strangers online won't help one bit. Be focused about it. And remember: one real, reliable relationship in the real world is worth a thousand online connections.
You troll for Twitter followers. If you're Ashton Kutcher or Kim Kardashian, that's great. Otherwise, it's nothing but a distraction--a complete and total waste of time.
You want stuff. Hopes and dreams are great, but one thing that successful entrepreneurs have in common is that they're lean and mean. They're willing to sacrifice. That's what helps to keep them focused. Necessity is the mother of invention. Wanting and owning lots of stuff is not.
You ask people how they can help you. Instead, ask them how you can help them. Believe it or not, that's the door opener for opportunity. WIIFM (What's In It For Me) isn't really about you, it's about understanding the motivation of the other person.
You have useless ideas. Yes, I know the story of 3M's Post-It Notes. It was an accident. Whatever. If you're paid to do pure research, that's great. Otherwise, start with a problem or a need, not a solution or an invention. Mark Zuckerberg wanted to rate the looks of female classmates. Shallow as that may be, it had a purpose.
You search for inspiration and positive reinforcement. If you're lost, that's fine. That's a very good way to find something. When you do, just make sure you're passionate about it. If not, keep looking. But if you have a low tolerance for obstacles and challenges, that's not a good sign. It helps if you're a self-driven problem solver, as opposed to a whiner who needs a lot of handholding.
One more thing. Stop trying to be more productive. Our obsession with personal productivity is, ironically, one of the biggest timewasters ever. The only productivity tips you need are on this page. If doing away with any of that stuff amounts to a big sacrifice, join the club. That's just how being an entrepreneur works.

 This post originally appeared at Inc.

Read more: http://www.inc.com/steve-tobak/10-things-you-need-to-quit-doing-right-now.html#ixzz2IvBVETDM

Questioning Assumptions

From the NYTimes

LESS common but vastly more effective is the cognitive approach that Professor Argyris called double-loop learning. In this mode we — like Mr. Chang — question every aspect of our approach, including our methodology, biases and deeply held assumptions. This more psychologically nuanced self-examination requires that we honestly challenge our beliefs and summon the courage to act on that information, which may lead to fresh ways of thinking about our lives and our goals.

Right Person Wrong Means

From the Bhagavad Gita:

Wise (wo)man doesn't lightly assume responsibility until he is satisfied that it is rightly his. If the right (wo)man uses the the wrong means, he will be wasting power and possibly producing troublesome consequences. There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.

Welcoming Criticism

Yesterday my manuscript was rejected by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.  I kicked myself that I let it go so long, since I had vowed not to work any further on the project until I received some sort of feedback. My bad.  Dealing with setbacks is a huge issue and one that this blog deals with. So now I need to heed all that advice and forge ahead.

One additional quote from Robert Greene.  It's from his book "Mastery" speaking about an academic named Everett who was being harassed by other academics.

"When Everett published his first book, Don't sleep, There are Snakes, some of these linguists wrote letter to critics who were going to review it, tryint to dissuade them from even discussing his material--it was too far below academic standards, they clamed.  They went to far as to put pressure on NPR, which awas about todo a large segment on Everett.  The show was canceled.
At first Everett could not help but become emotional.  What his detractors were bringing up in their arguemnts did not discredit his theory , but merely re ealed some possible weak points.  They seemed less interested in the truth and more concernted with making him look bad.  Quieckly, however, he moved past this emotional stage and began to use these attacks for his own purpose--they forc ed him to make sure everything he wrote was airtight;they make him rethink and strenghthen his arguments.  He could hear their possible criticisms in his head, and he addressed then one by one in his subsequent writing.  This make him a better wrtiher and thinker, and the controversy they stirred up only increased the sales of "Don't Sleep, There are Snakes, winning many converts to his argument in the process.  In the end, he came to welcome the attacks of his enemies for how much they had improved his work and toughened him up...
When it comes to practical life, what should matter is getting long-term results, and getting the work done in as efficient and creative a manner as possible.  That should be the supreme value that guides people's actions.

Do your ideas

Develop your ideas secure in the knowledge that money is always looking for an outlet.
First, have something the world needs. Find that need and how could it be filled or improved.

Be balsy

The majority of people don’t go after their wildest dreams because they think they’re unrealistic. Tim says it well: “Ninety-nine percent of people believe they can’t do great things, so they aim for mediocrity.” The level of competition is highest for realistic goals because most people don’t set high enough goals for themselves. But not only do you statistically have a better chance of achieving what may seem like an unrealistic goal, doing so fuels you. Once you feel the first high of accomplishing something major and seemingly unattainable, you want to go bigger and badder, and you force yourself to fulfill the need all the more. Even better, the technically smaller goals suddenly seem less daunting. 
George Elliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” Don’t wait. Why not start now? Post one thing you want to do before you die in the comments below.

Boldness

“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
- William Hutchinson Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951)

Resistance Practice: Robert Greene

This is the path of amateurs. To attain mastery, you must adopt what we shall call Resistance Practice. The principle is simple—you go in the opposite direction of all of your natural tendencies when it comes to practice. First, you resist the temptation to be nice to yourself. You become your own worst critic; you see your work as if through the eyes of others. You recognize your weaknesses, precisely the elements you are not good at. Those are the aspects you give precedence to in your practice. You find a kind of perverse pleasure in moving past the pain this might bring. Second, you resist the lure of easing up on your focus. You train yourself to concentrate in practice with double the intensity, as if it were the real thing times two. In devising your own routines, you become as creative as possible. You invent exercises that work upon your weaknesses. You give yourself arbitrary deadlines to meet certain standards, constantly pushing yourself past perceived limits. In this way you develop your own standards for excellence, generally higher than those of others.
In the end, your five hours of intense, focused work are the equivalent of ten for most people. Soon enough you will see the results of such practice, and others will marvel at the apparent ease in which you accomplish your deeds.

Becoming an Expert

10,000 hours
But a lot more than that, too.  Great stuff.
This blog has a tons of tips.

10,000 Hours of Deliberate Practice

It’s quantity and quality. You need tons of time spent training but it has to be the right kind of practice. Just showing up is not enough, you need to continually challenge yourself with the right kind of effort. “Deliberate Practice” is a specifically defined term. It involves goal setting, quick feedback, and countless drills to improve skills with an eye on mastery. It is not “just showing up” and, plain and simple, it’s not fun. What are the key elements?

Death Ground Strategy

From Robert Greene's book on War, this strategy is in alignment with Buddhist principles of mindfulness and staying in the moment.

You are your own worst enemy. You waste previous time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in the present. Cut your ties to the past — enter unknown territory. Place yourself on "death ground", where your back is against the wall and you have to fight like hell to get out alive.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/33-strategies-of-war-you-should-apply-to-everyday-life-2012-12?op=1#ixzz2GvWgY4mS

Effort Creates Ability

The findings of this research line up so exactly with the Lauren Resnick passage I wrote about the other day—the one in which she writes that “effort creates ability.” Factors like students’ motivation and study skills must be “nurtured by education” if all students are to succeed.

Read more: http://anniemurphypaul.com/2012/12/study-skills-and-motivation-matter-more-than-iq/#ixzz2GvUkTdWR