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It's Pretty Easy To Decide To Roll With The Punches, To Look At The Enormity Of Natural Disaster And Choose To Hunker Down And Do Less. It's More Important Than Ever, I Think, To Persist And Make A Dent In The Universe Instead. We've All Been Offered Access To So Many Tools, So Many Valuable Connections, So Many Committed People. What An Opportunity.
-Seth Godin
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It's Pretty Easy To

Seth Godin
It's Pretty Easy To Decide To Roll With The Punches, To Look At The Enormity Of Natural Disaster And Choose To Hunker Down And Do Less. It's More Important Than Ever, I Think, To Persist And Make A Dent In The Universe Instead. We've All Been Offered Access To So Many Tools, So Many Valuable Connections, So Many Committed People. What An Opportunity.
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Asking For Forgiveness
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Making A Difference
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If You Want To Get In Shape, Go To The #‎ Gym Every Single Day, Change Your Clothes And Take A Shower. If You Can Do That Every Single Day For A Month, Pretty Soon You'll Start Doing Something While You're There.
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Shapes
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Life Changing
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It's More Important That You Be Passionate About What You Do All Day Than It Is To Be Passionate About The Product That Is Being Sold.
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Products
Be With The Ones You Love (and The Ones That Love You.) Ignore Everyone Else.
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Art Is The Act Of Navigating Without A Map.
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Art Is
If You're Going To Buy A Real Book, A Paper Book, There Better Be A Good Reason. Perhaps Scarcity Is One Of Those Reasons.
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Scarcity
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Different
Nine
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People
Honest
Art Is Never Defect-free. Things That Are Remarkable Never Meet Spec, Because That Would Make Them Standardized, Not Worth Talking About.
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Talking
Free Things
If You're Remarkable, Then It's Likely That Some People Won't Like You. That's Part Of The Definition Of Remarkable. Nobody Gets Unanimous Praise - Ever. The Best The Timid Can Hope For Is To Be Unnoticed. Criticism Comes To Those Who Stand Out. Playing It Safe. Following The Rules. They Seem Like The Best Ways To Avoid Failure. Alas, That Pattern Is Awfully Dangerous. The Current Marketing “rules” Will Ultimately Lead To Failure. In A Crowded Marketplace, Fitting In Is Failing. In A Busy Marketplace, Not Standing Out Is The Same As Being Invisible.
People
Marketing
Criticism
The Real Power Of Tribes Has Nothing To Do With The Internet And Everything To Do With People.
Real
People
Tribes
My Problem With The Search For The Badge Of Real Is That It Trades Your Goals And Your Happiness For Someone Else's.
Real
Goal
Problem
Change Almost Never Fails Because It's Too Early. It Almost Always Fails Because It's Too Late.
Inspirational
Change
Too Late
We Don't Become Mediocre All At Once, And We Rarely Do It On Purpose.
Entrepreneur
Purpose
Mediocre
At The Age Of Four, You Were An Artist. And At Seven, You Were A Poet.
Artist
Age
Four
Be Genuine. Be Remarkable. Be Worth Connecting With.
Genuine
Remarkable
Connecting
By All Means, Fire The Customers Who Aren't Worth The Time And The Trouble. But Understand That The Moment You Insist The Customer Is Wrong, You've Just Started The Firing Process.
Mean
Fire
Marketing
Acknowledge To Yourself That The Factory Job Is Dead. Having A Factory Job Is Not A Natural State. It Wasn't At The Heart Of Being Human Until Very Recently. We've Been Culturally Brainwashed.
Jobs
Heart
Being Human
All Marketers Are Liars Tell Stories.
Liars
Stories
Marketers
Seek Out Habits That Help You Overcome Fear Or Inertia. Destroy Those That Do The Opposite.
Opposites
Overcoming
Helping
Sharing An Idea You Care About Is A Generous Way To Change Your World For The Better.
Ideas
World
Care
Leaders Who Set Out To Give Are More Productive Than Leaders Who Seek To Get.
Giving
Leader
Productive
One Theory Says That If You Treat People Well, You're More Likely To Encourage Them To Do What You Want, Making All The Effort Pay Off. Do This, Get That. Another One, Which I Prefer, Is That You Might Consider Treating People With Kindness Merely Because You Can. Regardless Of What They Choose To Do In Response, This Is What You Choose To Do. Because You Can.
Inspirational
Motivational
Kindness
Following The Well-lit Path, Offers Little In The Way Of Magic.
Magic
Littles
Way
One Way To Think About Running A Successful Business Is To Figure Out What The Least You Can Do Is, And Do That.
Running
Business
Successful
Good Marketers Measure.
Business
Marketing
Marketers
Your Drudgery Is Another Person's Delight. It's Only A Job If You Treat It That Way. The Privilege To Do Our Work, To Be In Control Of The Promises We Make And The Things We Build, Is Something Worth Cherishing.
Jobs
Promise
Delight
People Are Not Afraid Of Failure, They're Afraid Of Blame.
Leadership
People
Engagement
It's Pretty Easy To Decide To Roll With The Punches, To Look At The Enormity Of Natural Disaster And Choose To Hunker Down And Do Less. It's More Important Than Ever, I Think, To Persist And Make A Dent In The Universe Instead. We've All Been Offered Access To So Many Tools, So Many Valuable Connections, So Many Committed People. What An Opportunity.
Opportunity
Thinking
People
We Notice What We Choose To Notice.
Choices
Do You Know What People Want More Than Anything? They Want To Be Missed. They Want To Be Missed The Day They Don't Show Up. They Want To Be Missed When They're Gone.
People
Want
Gone
Ideas That Spread Win.
Winning
Ideas
Ironic
Laptop Computers Dramatically Increased The Time People Spend Doing Work. (the Internet Dramatically Decreased It, So We're Even).
People
Laptops
Computer
A Bully Is Playing A Game, One That He Or She Enjoys And Needs. You're Welcome To Play This Game If It Makes You Happy, But For Most People, It Will Make You Miserable.
Bullying
Games
Play
When We Intentionally Seek Out The Difficult Tasks, We're Much More Likely To Actually Create Value.
Tasks
Difficult
Difficult Tasks
I'm Not Proposing That You Let The Crowd Dictate, Or That You Work Hard To Fit In. Far From It. I'm Proposing That You Know The Impact Your Choices Are Having And Act Accordingly.
Book
Hard Work
Impact
Giving People What They Want Isn't Always What They Want.
People
Giving
Want
Making An Average Pitch To Average People, Or Having An Average Gala For Average People Isn't Going To Scale Anymore. You've Got To Find The People Who Care. Those People Are Worth All Of Your Time.
Average
People
Who Cares
The Largest Enemy Of Change Isn't 'no', It's 'not Yet' - That Is The Easiest Way To Forestall Change.
Enemy
Way
If It Scares You, It Might Be A Good Thing To Try.
Inspirational
Philosophical
Bravery
It's Human Nature To Quit When It Hurts. But It's That Reflex That Creates Scarcity.
Hurt
Scarcity
Quitting
Art Is A Human Act, A Generous Contribution, Something That Might Not Work, And It Is Intended To Change The Recipient For The Better, Often Causing A Connection To Happen.
Art
Connections
Might
If You Love Writing Or Making Music Or Blogging Or Any Sort Of Performing Art, Then Do It. Do It With Everything You've Got. Just Don't Plan On Using It As A Shortcut To Making A Living.
Art
Writing
Blogging
Personalizatio N Wasn't Supposed To Be A Cleverly Veiled Way To Chase Prospects Around The Web, Showing Them The Same Spammy Ad For The Same Lame Stuff As Everyone Else Sees. No, It Is A Chance To Differentiate At A Human Scale, To Use Behavior As The Most Important Clue About What People Want And More Important, What They Need.
People
Important
Use
Surprise Comes From Defying Expectations.
Expectations
Surprise
Defying
The Art, The New, The Ability To Connect The Dots And To Make An Impact - Sooner Or Later, That Can Only Come From One Who Creates, Not From A Teacher And Not From A Book.
Teacher
Art
Book
Every Activity Worth Doing Has A Learning Curve.
Curves
Activity
Learning Curve
You Can't Shrink Your Way To Greatness!
Greatness
Way
Shrinks
In A Crowded Marketplace, Fitting In Is A Failure. In A Busy Marketplace, Not Standing Out Is The Same As Being Invisible.
Marketing
Busy
Invisible
How Was Your Day? If Your Answer Was "fine," Then I Don't Think You Were Leading.
Thinking
Answers
Fine
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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