Welcome to Conspire’s Fun Friday Links, a weekly collection of interesting discoveries from around the Web. Most of the time, the goal is to get you thinking differently about innovation, collaboration, business culture, and life in general. Other times, we may toss an infographic or fun video your way. Submissions are welcome, and you can send them to conspire@mindjet.com for consideration.
5 Toxic Beliefs That Make Success Impossible
Everyone has dreams. But the sad reality is that for so many, those dreams will stay locked up inside minds and speculative conversations, since yeah — we know — not everyone can be the next Steve Jobs. Still, this unfortunate truth should never, ever stop you from trying, and it certainly shouldn’t make you feel like you’re free to make excuses for yourself. From Inc.:
“Maybe someone else has ruined opportunities or blocked ideas or taken what was rightfully yours. Maybe suppliers didn’t come through. Maybe your partner wasn’t committed. Maybe potential customers weren’t smart enough to recognize the value you provide.
Doesn’t matter. You can’t control other people. You can only control yourself.
When you fail, always decide it was your fault. Not only is that a smart way to think, but it’s also almost always true as well. While occasionally something completely outside your control will cause you to fail, most of the time it really is you.
And that’s OK. Every successful person has failed numerous times. Most have failed a lot more often than you have; that’s one reason why they’re so successful today.
Embrace every failure. Own it, learn from it, and take full responsibility for making sure that next time you’ll do what it takes to make sure things turn out differently.
Never think it’s another person’s fault; when you do, you’re guaranteeing it always will be.”
Doing Well By Having Fun, This Entrepreneur Passionately Followed His Dreams
The saying goes something like this: do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Easier said than done, certainly, but when it does happen? Success and happiness go hand in hand. From Forbes:
“I never had any desire to do anything with my skateboards other than use them to have fun. I was, however, very competitive when I was young, and had played football in high school well enough to get scholarship offers from what would be called division 1 schools in today’s world.
I had grown up with team sports, but the sports that I gravitated to just for myself, were skateboarding and surfing. These were sports that you taught yourself by watching others, and just pushed yourself to progress for fun, with no coach or parent influencing you. This was an inspiration to me.
I grew to love many things about skating as I got into the industry I helped to create. I love that there are no coaches, and kids learn how to learn by teaching themselves. I like its anti-establishment bent, and its DIY nature. It teaches kids skills that can help them to succeed in life, gives them a sub-culture of their own to support them, if they want one, and provides them with endless hours of self-challenging, self-expression and fun. There is no other sport like it. I fell in love with skating, and never wanted to do anything else but try to help it grow and progress, while trying to keep scoundrels and those who merely wish to exploit it for money, out of it. In today’s world of multi-national public companies, this is getting harder and harder.”
10 Unbelievable Guinness World Records™ Titles Broken by Companies
Imagine the number of times your company has been entered for an award that no one outside of your immediate industry has heard about. Now think about the times it’s actually won. On average, you’re not going to be looking at a whole lot of coverage or recognition — so, maybe it’s time you went after something a little more global and with a lot more sparkle. From Mashable:
“Imagine being involved in the world’s largest ever pillow fight, or having your ears blasted during the loudest crowd roar ever recorded.
Publicity events are rarely as fun, memorable and effective as those involving a Guinness World Records record attempt. And throughout its 60-year history, Guinness World Records unique fact-keeping has been harnessed by companies looking to attract media attention for their product or cause.
The company has helped brands and businesses both big and small to create record-breaking campaigns, enabling them to engage face-to-face with an audience at live events, as well as through irresistible viral content. Below, we’ve listed 10 top record attempts that have earned brands and organisations a place in record-breaking history and an unforgettable slice of exposure.”
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