Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.
Happiness is a choice you make and a skill you develop.
Creativity is subtraction.
An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.
Rowan's note
Kept this one close during the worst month of the business.
Escape competition through authenticity.
Staying small is a way to stay in control of the very things that make your business worth doing.
Rowan's note
Twelve years and still the whole thesis, in one line.
Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, write the books you want to read.
Rowan's note
This is the entire origin story of this site.
Freedom to build a life around your work, instead of building your work life around, well, your work.
The relentless pursuit of less but better.
The goal isn’t to build the biggest business, but the best one.
One of the most common ways people ruin their lives is by saying yes too often.
Less but better.
What if the real question isn’t how to grow, but whether growth is even something we should always be aiming for?
Bigger isn’t always better. Better is better.
The pursuit of success can be a catalyst for failure. Success can distract us from focusing on the essential things.
A company of one is one that questions growth.
Rowan's note
This sentence should be the subtitle of this whole site.
Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution.
This is how things are; this is simply the deal.
The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control.
You need to learn to live with the fact that whatever you do, there will always be too much to do.
Rowan's note
This one alone was worth the price of the book.