Paul Jarvis > Quotes

“What if instead of reading, you wrote? Instead of watching TV, you made videos? Instead of listening to music, you learned how to play guitar?”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“You shouldn't pay attention to things that don't grab your attention. If you do, you're being a pretentious douchebag.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“A large part of choosing your path is figuring out which values will determine your worth. Once that’s clear, it’s much easier to decide if the work you’re doing will increase or decrease your feelings of worth.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“If we don't let our weirdness rise to the surface, we don’t let our work stand out.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“Most reasons to delay are invalid if you get right to the core: no time, no money, no audience. These are all future concerns, which make it hard to start anything. Worry about those things later or not at all. Make small decisions at first, and start moving in a direction that feels right.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“The most important part of finishing anything is saying no. If I’m working on an idea, I say “no” to almost everything: new projects, new clients, social engagements—basically anything that would take my focus away from what I’m doing. I take breaks, but there’s a difference between breaks and things that cut into my ability to get the work done. I say no so I can say yes to what I’m currently doing – or I say yes to what I want to pursue.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“From an evolutionary point of view it is explainable why we wanted to gather more and more: with more food, more water, more protection against predators, we may be less likely to die. But today, growth feeds our ego and social standing.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“In saying no to anything that doesn’t fit, you leave room to say yes to those rare opportunities that do fit—opportunities that align with the values and ideas of your business.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Sometimes, in order to stay true to yourself and your values, you need to innovate through change. And sometimes that means stopping and stepping back for a while.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“A funny thing happens when you focus on work that you love; more soon starts to appear. Like attracts like. Plus, that intersection between enjoying what you do and getting paid to do it is the sweetest place of all.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“He believes that companies need to focus on becoming better instead of simply growing bigger.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“most people don't get paid for promoting; they get paid for doing actual work.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“When you focus on solving problems or on making a difference, passion may follow, because you’re actually involved in the work you’re doing instead of just dreaming that you might be passionate about something.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Whereas workers in 'doing' roles can be replaced by robots or even by other workers, the role of creatively solving difficult problems is more dependent on an irreplaceable individual.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“There’s no path if you aren't moving. It's just a single point in the road. The view might be great, but stasis never changed the world (or bought a yacht). The only way to see if your work might have traction is to do it and put it out there.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“Every business, theoretically is a lifestyle business, in that each represents your choice of how you want to live. If you want to work in the fast-paced corporate world, you have to accept that your life will have little room for something else. If you choose the growth-focused venture capital world, you have to accept being beholden to two groups of people: investors and customers (and what each wants could be vastly different). And if you work in a company where enough profit is acceptable, then your lifestyle can be optimized for more than just growing profit.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Instead of imagining “if only this changed, I could thrive,” they have a down-to-earth view that most of what happens in our lives is not entirely within our control and the best we can do is to steer the boat a little as we float down the river of life.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Be focused on action and not on the fruits of action.” Bhagavad Gita”
― Paul Jarvis, The Good Creative: 18 ways to make better art

“There’s nothing wrong with finding the right size and then focusing on being better. Small can be a long-term plan, not just a stepping-stone.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Work means offering a valuable product or service – and that work has to inspire people to pay you for it.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“Our fear of failure often prevents us from attempting things. It feels safe not to try, but not trying is the only way you're guaranteed to fail. Don't fail in advance by not even making an attempt.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“With all this “Work for yourself! It’s better than whatever you’re doing now!” messaging out there, people often end up falling in love with the idea of working for themselves without understanding the actual day-to-day work required to be their own boss. Or as Austin Kleon cleverly puts it, “People want to be the noun without doing the verb.” They want the job title of founder or CEO, or a business card and a fancy website with a new logo, but they forget or overlook the daily rigors of running a business of their own. Having a brilliant idea or a passion to build a successful business is not enough. Ideas and dreams are nice, but they’re also cheap and meaningless if you don’t take action and do the work to make them happen.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Your work can be great enough. Great enough means you’ve sweated out every bit of inspiration possible. Great enough means you’ve left it all on the stage. Great enough means you can push your work to the finish line. Great enough isn’t settling; it’s launching.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“Your purpose is the lens through which you filter all your business decisions, from the tiny to the monumental. We’re talking about who you work with, what you offer, where you focus your time and energy, and even how you define your audience. Determining the unique purpose that underpins your company of one isn’t always a quick or easy process, and there’s no spreadsheet that can crunch some numbers and spit out the answer. Figuring out your purpose requires actual reflection on both your own desires and the audience you want to serve. After all, doing business boils down to serving others in a mutually beneficial way. Customers give you money, gratitude, and a shared passion, and you address their problems by applying your unique skills and knowledge to what you sell them.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“Most of the time, our fears come down to being judged by others. And it's a valid fear, because other people can be really fucking judgmental. Letting that judgment actually stop you from doing something, though, only hurts you.”
― Paul Jarvis, Everything I Know

“What happens if you build your business without ever thinking about your purpose? What if you’d rather focus exclusively on acquisition and higher profits? Those activities can definitely seem more rewarding. But the more we busy ourselves with work and fail to consider why we’re doing it in the first place, the more likely we are to realize (often far too late) that we’re not enjoying what we’ve worked so hard to build.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business

“company’s interests may not always align with the interests of its backers.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“While the use of messaging tools can seem like a truly great advance in collaboration, too often they lead to daylong half-conversations, like a slow-drip coffee maker.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“The gist is this: you can pursue any passion you want, but you shouldn’t feel entitled to make money off it. Passion in work comes from first crafting a valuable skill set and mastering your work. This is great news, because it means you no longer have to beat yourself up for not finding your true, hidden passions. Instead, you can simply get to work.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

“The tired business advice that we should all “follow our passion” implies that we are entitled to getting paid to do work that is always enjoyable.”
― Paul Jarvis, Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business