Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgements and prejudices. Beginner’s mind is just present to explore and observe and see “things as-it-is.” I think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement. “I wonder what this is? I wonder what that is? I wonder what this means?” Without approaching things with a fixed point of view or a prior judgement, just asking “what is it?” (Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman)

I like to consider this concept when at the very early stages of product conception and marketing brainstorming. When you’re teaching or communicating new ideas to someone, it’s easy to let your own assumptions and knowledge get in the way.

Instead, look at it from a clean slate, like a beginner (which is really hard to do). What information does my prospect need to know to make this purchase? What knowledge will I need to give my customer to help her maximize her success with my product?

According to Facebook, 0.02% of stories actually make it to the news feed, which is rather scary if you look at it as a marketer. (Ekaterina Walter)

I did not know that, but it certainly adds a caveat to the classic, “… and it’ll show up in their feed!”

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. (Michael Jordan)

It is worth remembering how much failure is often included on the road to ultimate success.

The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight. (Paulo Coelho)

On a related note: my productivity and work-happiness does seem to move with my perception of time availability.

Sounds pretty eccentric, doesn’t it? It always will when you’re trying to solve problems where there are no customs yet to guide you. Maybe I can’t plead Occam’s razor; maybe I’m simply eccentric. But if I’m right about the acceleration of addictiveness, then this kind of lonely squirming to avoid it will increasingly be the fate of anyone who wants to get things done. We’ll increasingly be defined by what we say no to. (Paul Graham)

HT: Sivers.

A snappy design might catch their attention, but it’s the words that make the real connection. (Inc)

Says about the same thing without the sorrys and nos. 1st way: sorry, don’t, can’t, sorry. 2nd way: love, very happy, free time, on top, best offer, hope, great day. Tone makes all the difference in the world. Which way would you rather buy from? (SVN)

If more companies thought about customer service this way, fewer companies would (mistakenly) see support as a cost center rather than a profit center.

Although I appreciate that many people find Twitter to be valuable, I find it a truly awful way to exchange thoughts and ideas. It creates a mentally stunted world in which the most complicated thought you can think is one sentence long. It’s a cacophony of people shouting their thoughts into the abyss without listening to what anyone else is saying. Logging on gives you a page full of little hand grenades: impossible-to-understand, context-free sentences that take five minutes of research to unravel and which then turn out to be stupid, irrelevant, or pertaining to the television series Battlestar Galactica. I would write an essay describing why Twitter gives me a headache and makes me fear for the future of humanity, but it doesn’t deserve more than 140 characters of explanation, and I’ve already spent 820. (Joel)

Bummed he’s no longer writing regularly. This is a spectacular passage to close the curtains with, though.

Do not underestimate the intelligence or overestimate the knowledge of your prospect.

This is not an original quote, but I can’t remember who said it.

Back yourself into a corner and these versions will vividly appear before your eye. (37signals)

He’s talking about software, but putting your back against the wall also applies to your entrepreneurial drive.

Back yourself into a corner, truly back against the wall, and you’ll discover new sources of speed, insight, and possibilities, no matter what you’re working on.