I got this book from my cousin when I graduated law school with a simple note saying "don't let the simpleness of this book fool you," and boy was she right! As is mentioned on the
Phaidon site, this book is:
"A pocket bible for the talented and timid to make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible."
Two of my favorite excerpts (and a great boost for my current state of mind):
You Can Achieve the Unachievable
Firstly you need to aim beyond what you are capable of.
You must develop a complete disregard for where your abilities end.
Try to do the things that you're incapable of.
If you think you're unable to work for the best company in its sphere, make that your aim.
If you think you're incapable of running a company, make that your aim.
If you think you're unable to be on the cover of Time magazine, make it your business to be there.
Make your vision of where you want to be a reality.
Nothing is impossible.
The Person Who Doesn't Make Mistakes Is Unlikely to Make Anything
Benjamin Franklin said, "I haven't failed, I've had 10,000 ideas that didn't work."
Thomas Edison said, "Of the 200 light bulbs that didn't work, every failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt."
Theater director Joan Littlewood said, "If we don't get lost, we'll never find a new route."
All of them understood that failures and false starts are a precondition of success...
