“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.”  - Michael E. Gerber

Commentary: This quote comes from one of our most highly recommended books: The E-Myth. The section of the book this quote comes from is the part about creating your “Primary Aim” and is integral to your success in business and in life. Explore more of our recommended small business books.

“The greatest value in creating a [business] plan is not the final document. It’s the communication, prioritization, focus, clarity and learning that make the process worthwhile. ”

- Jim Horan, author and consultant

Commentary: This quote speaks for itself, of course we would pick Jim Horan to quote about business plans, he is the author of one of our favorite business books of all time: The One Page Business Plan. Read more about writing a business plan on our page dedicated to that topic.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  - Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor

If being more productive (also known as “lifehacking”) isn’t a concern of yours as a small business owner, then it should be.

Whitepapers.org has collected the 100 Best Productivity Blogs all on one page which we highly recommend.

“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”

– J.C. Penney, businessman

“Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all of your energies on a limited set of targets.”  - Nido Qubein

Commentary:

If you focus on too many targets at once, you tend to not put enough energy in each to make any real progress. Instead, take a maximum of 5 (probably 1-3 is better) and brutally concentrate on them. This applies to goals, to-do lists, relationships, business, etc.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

- Abraham Lincoln

Commentary: So many people simply jump into something without any kind of plan of attack. Literally billions of man-hours are wasted every year by those who simply do the same thing over and over because “that’s how we do things around here” or no one has bothered to re-think anything they do on a daily basis by “sharpening the axe”. I would imagine there are millions of people out there chopping at a tree with a dull axe.

“Sharpen the axe” by asking:

• Can this be done easier?
• Why do we do it like this in the first place?
• If I simply prepare a little more, can I make this task easier?
• What is the easiest way to fix this problem?

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” – John Ruskin

Commentary: This quote is fantastic as it clearly shows the problem with simply having lower prices as the main feature of your product or service. Someone can always make what you sell worse, charge less and basically make your business life miserable. Make a better product that your clients love and you’ll never have to worry about this problem.

From Mark Fletcher (again) we get 10 more commandments for your business startup. The best:

1. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

5. People will think your idea sucks. They’re even probably right. The only way to prove them wrong is to succeed.

7. Being an entrepreneur requires a healthy amount of ignorance. Note I did not say stupidity.

10. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.

Continue reading the article here.

From Mark Fletcher, the founder of Bloglines, Onelist and other companies offers these 15 startup commandments:

1. Your idea isn’t new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.
2. Stealth startups suck. You’re not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.
3. If you don’t have scaling problems, you’re not growing fast enough.
4. If you’re successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you’re in that position, and hope that you’re smart enough to not fall for it.
5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that’s really the case, you shouldn’t be doing your startup.

Continue reading the rest here.