3-2-1: When to be patient, why we procrastinate, and the importance of early attempts

Nobody performs well when stretched in a half dozen directions

Software engineer Kent Beck on why creators struggle to release projects (and why people in general don't take action):

"By far the dominant reason for not releasing sooner was a reluctance to trade the dream of success for the reality of feedback."

"Whether you are an adult or child, your first attempts will often seem unimportant or foolish.

• The open mic night at a nearly empty bar.


• The early blog posts that get ignored.


• The dance recital on a little stage.

Early attempts are easy to dismiss because they don't seem to amount to much. But you have to do the low stakes stuff to prepare for the ... See more

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman on making the most of your opportunities:

"This is something a teacher told me years ago, and he's right:

If you're auditioning for something that you know you're never going to get—or maybe you read the script and didn't even like it, but you still have to go—if you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has ... See more