My fav quotes

" Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail!"



" Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not
reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and
try to follow where they lead."





" The first person who has to believe in you is YOU."





" Three seconds to say I love you, Three hours to explain it, And a lifetime to prove it."





" Be beautiful if you can, wise if you want to... But be respected - that is essential."





" Don't tell God how big your problems are...tell your problems how big your God is."





" A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer."





" There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering." -Theodore Roosevelt





" You got to hit rock bottom once in your life to know how it feels."





" Silence is also a form of speech."





" The biggest mistake we could ever make in our lives is to think we work for anybody but ourselves."





" Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are."





"You can do anything in life you set your mind to, provided it is powered by your heart."





" Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."





" Creation of woman from the rib of man: She was not made from his head
to top him; nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him; but out of
his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near
his heart to be loved."





" It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs
and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the
great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the
best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the
worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall
never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."





" A house is made of walls and beams; a home is buiilt with love and dreams."





" It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."





" If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were."





" They say the eyes are the windows of the soul. I believe....there are
things that the eyes can show.......that a mouth cannot speak."





" I've learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong."





" Success is to stand in the presence of God unashamed."





" The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or
even touched.....they only can be felt with the human heart."





" Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at
the end of the day that says ...I'll try again tomorrow."





" One's true character is most transparent when placed in a position of power."





" Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm."





" There are many things in life....that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart.......pursue those."





" Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."





" Life is like a piano. Anyone can play a song through meaningless repetition, But it takes passion to play a masterpiece."





" Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."





" There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking."





" What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."





" In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right
thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you
can do is nothing."





" Do something bad and regret it


Do something good and forget it."





" A candle never loses any of its light by lighting another candle."





" Dreams are only foolish to those who lack them."





" Success is about hanging on when others give up."





" To be a champion, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."





" The man who sees where he is going, gets there."





" My interest is in the future,


Because I'm going to be spending the rest of my life there."





" The Secret to Success:


Trust God, Work Hard, Help Others, Be Sincere."





" Only those who will risk going too far


Can possibly find out how far one can go."





" Be patient, you never know how God is going to use you.


It may take a little more time to do those things you aspire to do,


But they will eventually get done."





" Nurture your mind with great thoughts,


For you will never go any higher that you think..."





" There is only Me stopping Me from being Successful.





" Reality is the only obstacle to happiness."





" Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."





" There's a smile in my heart that I've waited my whole life for."





" With clothes the new are best, with friends the old are best."





" It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."





" The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and success."





" The difficulty in life is the choice."





" Knowing is half the battle."





" Never argue with a fool. Someone watching may not be able to tell the difference."





" God will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars."





" The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man."





" It is hard to believe that someone is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place."





" I believe every person has a heart, and if you can reach it, you can make a difference."





" Failure is not the worst thing in the world. The very worst is not to try."





" The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."





" Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."





" God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the
Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the
difference."





" It's not failure, but low aim is crime."





" Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish."





" Someone who is afraid of failure and afraid to face challenges will never


taste success."





" The hopeful man sees success where others see failure, sunshine where


others see shadows and storm."





" Love your work and you do not have to work anymore."





" Success is a journey, not a destination."





" The thing that we've got to do is set up the goals no matter how difficult


they may seem at this moment, and then start moving towards them."





" It is kind of fun to do the impossible" -Walt Disney





" The road to success in life is lined with many tempting parking spaces."





" No one who has poured himself or herself into work has ever failed."





" Pay absolute attention to the efforts for achieveing a goal rather than


getting distracted by the goal itself."





Every accomplishment starts with the right decision, "I will try".





" We cannot direct the winds but we can adjust the sails."





" If at first you don't succeed try again. The word impossible is not in my


dictionary" - Napolean Bonaparte





" It is healthful and invigorating to fall many times through life, if you get up each time it's the getting up that counts."





" One reason people never attempt new things is their fear of failure."





" A goal casually set and lightly taken is freely abandoned at the first obstacle."





" Go far as you can see and when you get there, you will always be able to see further."





" The indispensable first thing to getting the things you want is this: decide what you want."





" It's your attitude and not your aptitude that determines your altitude."





" Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes. "





" Discouraged? Just remember that the darkest night did not turn down all


the stars."





" Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember that a kite rises against - not with - the wind."





" Remember that failure is an event, not a person."





" What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him."





" You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the


attitudes to fit those situations."





" No seed grows into a tree into leaps and bounds."





" Don't lose hope - when it gets darkest the stars come out."





" Confidence......I will do it I will!"





" All things are difficult before they are easy."





" Direction is more important than speed. We are so busy looking at our


speedometers that we forget the milestone."





" Develop sincere desire for the goal. Out of fire of desire comes success."





" Success needs no explanation; failure has none."





" Dare to dream - dare to try - dare to fail - dare to succeed."





" Act as though it was impossible to fail."





" That which you can conceive of, believe in and confidently expect must


necessarily become your experience."





" Select a goal in life and thereafter put into it all your might."





" When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering


away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing


in it.


Yet at the hundred and first blow it will break into two, and I know it


was not that blow that did it.......but all that had gone before."





" Outstanding people have one thing in common : an absolute sense of mission."





" Every exit is an entry into somewhere else."





" Life is not a dress rehearsal; it's the main event - you don't get another


chance."





" Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."





" Tough times don't last but tough people do."





" Winners never quit and quitters never win."





" You need to accept the fact that from this moment on your situation and


future is in capable hands - yours!"





" The show must go on..........no matter what odds."





" You will be a live wire if you have all the proper connections."





" The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to


excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."





" Criticize the performance; not the performer."





" Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."





" Every exit is an entry into somewhere else."





" Even in the dark a little star shines."





" Good intentions are not good enough..........ultimately we are measured by our actions."





" The purpose of life is a life of purpose."





" Defeat never comes to a man until he admits it."





" But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but never defeated."





" Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies."





" It's not length of life but depth of life."





" It's just as difficult to reach a destination you don't have, as it is to come back from a place you've never been."





" You learn from successful failures."





" Take the road less travelled by others, and that will make all the difference."





" Keep on learning - from your successes so you repeat them - from your failures so you never make the same one twice."





" Have the courage to live. Anyone can die."





" Act as though it was impossible to fail."





" Success in most things depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed."





" The thing we've got to do at this time is set up the goals no matter how


difficult they may seem at this moment, and then start moving towards them."





" Dream and work to make your dreams come true."





" He who struggles is better than he who never attempts."





" Develop a plan for developing your goal and a time frame for attainment."





" Regardless of your past your future is a clean slate."





" Winning is not everything but the effort to win is."





" Others can stop you temporarily - you are the only one who can do it permanently."





" When your confidence goes up, your competence goes up at the same time."





" No one can make you feel inferior without your permission."





" You gotta be before you can be before you can do, and you've gotta do before


you can have."





" Success consists of a series of little daily efforts."





" A goal properly set is halfway reached."





" This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything."





" Don't get discouraged; it is often the last key in the bunch that opens the


lock."





" Before you say i can't - say i will try - and then give it your best."





" Aim for the moon; and if you miss it - you will fall among the stars."





" The difference between a big shot and a little shot is that a big shot's just a little shot that kept on shooting."





" The most practical, beautiful philosophy in the world won't work - if you won't."





" In case a situation cannot be changed at all, accept it as such."





" Accept the challenges, so that you feel the exhilaration of victory."





" Confidence..........i will do it..........i will!"





" Everything happens according to the will of God. Have full faith in this.


Then every place, every moment, every event of your life begins to feel like


heaven and you are convinced that what is happenning is meant for you."





" Many of life's failures are men who did not realise how close they were to


success when they gave up."





" Grind it out......holding on just one second more than your competitor makes you the winner."





" All glory comes from daring to begin."





" You are the slave of spoken words and the master of unspoken."





" The will to succeed must be firmly planted in your mind."





" Smile........pass it on."





" If a negotiation is all business, find a way to make it personal. If it's


personal, keep it strictly business."





" When there is a hill to climb, don't think that waiting will make it smaller."





" Speak when your angry...and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."





" Bad things are always going to happen in life. People will hurt you.
But you can't use that as an excuse to hurt someone back. You'll only
hurt yourself."





" Sometimes no matter how much faith we have we lose people, but we
never forget them. And sometimes it's those memories that give us the
faith: to go on."





" Smile, even if it is a sad smile, because sadder than a sad smile, is the sadness of not knowing how to smile."





" It takes great courage to faithfully follow....what we know is true. "





" If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;


If we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."





" In order to suceed, we must first believe that we can."





" Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."





" What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."





" In the world you may be only one person, but to one person you may be the world. "





" Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."





" A dream is a wish your heart makes."





" There is no such thing as a weird human being. It's just that some people require more understanding than others."





" Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp;


But, if you will sit down quietly, it may alight upon you."





" Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn."





" Some people make this world so special just by being in it."





" Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you."





" Nothing lasts forever - not even your troubles."





" Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."





" When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced....live life in
such a way that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."





" Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination,


and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."





" Sometimes you can see a lot by just looking."





" Listen to your heart, because in the end, it is your heart that counts."





" I'd rather be hated for what I am, than loved for what I'm not."





" Success is measured not by the place one reaches in life, but by the obstacles one must overcome to reach that place."





" What would you attempt to do...If you knew you would not fail?"





" If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to finish."





" Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely."





" Stand up for what you believe in, even if your standing alone."





" Some things are viewed more clearly when you look away."





" The more you put steel through fire, the stronger it gets."





" To those who can dream, there is no such place as faraway."





" What you get by reaching your destination isn't as nearly


as important as what you become by reaching that destination."





" If you don't know where you are going, how can you


expect to get there?"





" Never risk what you can't afford to lose."





" Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket."





" Accept defeat without being defeated."





" If you wonder how to do a job: get started, and wonder how you


did it."





" Life is like a blanket : too short. You pull it up and your toes


rebel, you yank it down and shiver meander over your shoulder, but


cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable


night."





" People forget how fast you do a job.....but they remember how well you


did it."





" The grass is always greener on the other side....until you jump the fence and see the weeds up close."





" Good things come to those who wait, but they are left-overs from those who hustle."





" The difference between the impossible and possible lies in a man's determination."





" You don't love someone because they are beautiful; they are beautiful because you love them."





" If someone is mean to you, kill them with kindness."





" If you see someone without a smile; Give them one of yours."





" Be a person with great smile; be happy and merry all the while


When things go wrong, don't go blue


Just smile and say I will get through"





" To learn, you have to listen; to improve, you have to try."





" Ideals are like stars,


You will not succeed in touching them with your hands.


But like the seafaring men on the desert of waters,


You choose them as your guides,


And following them you will reach your destiny."





" Let a smile be your umbrella."





" No matter how small, acknowledge the achievement."





" Those who fear the thorns, cannot pick the roses."





" Walking away from situations you find emotionally upsetting is not an admission of defeat, but a sign of wisdom."





" The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches; but to reveal to him his own."





" Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage without fear."





" If you want to have the rainbow,then sometimes you're gonna have to deal with the rain."





" A friend is someone who dances with you in the sunlight and walks with you in the shadows."





" What you are is God's gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift back to God."





" If you stand out in the rain long enough, you will eventually see the rainbow."





" Try not to become a man of success but rather a man of value."





" What goes up, must come down."





" Smile God Loves You!"





" Many people chase after success.


Other pursue money.


But I think the happiest people on earth


Are the one's who have found significance.


The real question of life must be


What has significance for you?"





"When the light has sharply faded and you have lost your way; let
another's love guide you, it can turn blackest night into day."





" Listen to life, it is the wisest teacher of all."





" History has proven, God has never given anyone a dream without also
including the power to achieve that dream; It is up to us to claim the
power and go after that dream, Or just claim, it was only a dream."





" It is the darkest hour before dawn."





" In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."





" You don't realize what you have until it is gone."





" Faith is believing in something that sometimes doesn't always seem logical."





" No matter how long it takes, if you keep moving, one step at a time, you will reach the finish line."





" When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long
and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones
which open for us."





" Never fear shadows. They simply mean that there's a light somewhere nearby."





" Take a walk with your fear and allow it to run, for the courage that you gain is the fear you overcome."





" Victory is what happens when ten thousand hours of training meet up with one moment of opportunity."





" We do not remember days, we remember moments."





" My prayer is : I will be what i will be, I will do what I will do."





I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.


I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.


I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.


I've learned that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.


I've learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.


I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.


I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.


I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.


I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.


I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.


I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.


I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.


I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at
first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take
its place.


I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it


needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.


I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.


I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the


best time.


I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when your down will be the ones to help you get back up.


I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but


that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.


I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest


distance.Same goes for true love.


I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them


to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.


I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've


had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays


you've celebrated.


I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may
seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and
love you and teach you to trust people again.


Families aren't biological.


I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt
you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.


I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you


are to learn to forgive yourself.


I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop


for your grief.


I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we


are, but we are responsible for who we become.


I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they
don't love each other; And just because they don't argue, it doesn't
mean they do.


I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.


I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.


I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something


totally different.


I've learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will


eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.


I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.


I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend


cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.


I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.


I've learned that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.


I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between
being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what
you believe.


-Anonymous








" I've also learned along the way that sometimes it's our pain that makes things possible."





" Don't mind criticism.


If it's untrue, disregard it;


If it's unfair, keep from irritation;


If it's ignorant, smile;


If it's justified, learn from it."





" A winner is a loser that was willing to fail and get up,


fail and get up,


fail and get up,


fail and get up


and win."





Doubt vs. Faith





" Doubt sees the obstacles


Faith sees the way.


Doubt sees the darkest night.


Faith sees the day.


Doubt dreads to take a step.


Faith soars on high.


Doubt questions,'Who believes'?


Faith answers,'I'."





" Did is a word of achievement


Won't is a word of defeat


Might is a word of bereavement


Can't is a word of defeat


Ought is a word of duty


Try is a word each hour


Will is a word of beauty


Can is a word of power."





" For every ailment under the sun,


There is a remedy, or there is none...


If there be one try to find it;


If there be none, never mind it!"





" We can't begin to understand what God has planned for us,


But we face each day with a smile, and in his name we trust


For in this vast world.....is Love


If only we could see the dove


It seems sometimes he doesn't care


When things get rough and hard to bear


But with our Faith we can survive


Because in our hearts He is Alive!"








" A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive,
without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the
memory of it sometimes lasts forever.


" None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it."


" A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business,
and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary,
cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is nature's best
antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or
stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is
given away."


" Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of
yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give."








Always have a dream





" Forget about the days


when it's been cloudy,


but don't forget your hours in the sun.





Forget about the times


you've been defeated,


but don't forget the victories you've won.





Forget about the mistakes


that you can't change now,


but don't forget the lessons.





Forget about the misfortunes


you've encountered,


but don't forget the times your luck has turned.





Forget about the days


when you've been lonely,


but don't forget the friendly


smiles you've seen......





Forget about the plans


that didn't seem to work out right,


but don't forget to always have a dream."





" We do not understand Joy,


Until we have felt sorrow;


Faith until we are tested;


Peace, until we are faced with conflict;


Trust, until we are betrayed;


Love until it is lost;


Hope, until we are faced with doubts."





I Asked God





I asked God to take away my pride, God said No. He said it was not for him to take away but for me to give up.





I asked God to grant me patience and God said No. He said that patience
is a by-product of tribulation and that is, it is earned, not granted.





I asked God to give me happiness and He said No. He said He gives blessings, happiness is up to me.





I asked God to spare me pain and He said No. He said suffering draws
you apart from the world's affairs and it draws you closer to me.





I asked God to make my spirit grow and He said No. He said I must grow on my own but He will prune me to make me fruitful.





I asked God whether He loved me and He said Yes. He gave His only son
to die for me and I will be in Heaven someday because of Him.





And I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me and God said, Now you have the idea.


-Anonymous





Don't Quit





When things go wrong,


as they sometimes will;


When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;


When the funds are low and the debts are high;


And you want to smile,


but you have to sigh;


When care is pressing you down a bit...


Rest if you must,


but you dont quit.


Success is failure turned inside out,


the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,


And you can never tell how close you are,


It may be near when it seems afar....


So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit....


It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.





" Relationships, of all kinds, Are like sand held in your hand.


Held loosely, with an open hand, The sand remains where it is.


The minute you close your hand, And squeeze tightly to hold on,


The sand trickles through your fingers.


You may hold on to some of it, But most will be spilled."





" I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career.


I've lost almost 300 games.


26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.


I've failed over and over again in my life.


And that is why I succeed." -Michael Jordan





I Know





I know He is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end. I know He
is the creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy. I know He has
forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself. I know He is a healer, so
why do I speak of sickness.





I know He can do all things, so why do I say I can't. I know He will
protect me, so why do I fear. I know He will supply all my needs, so
why can't I wait. I know He is my strength and my salvation, so why do
I feel weak





I know that everything and everyone has season, so why when someone's
season is over I weep instead of rejoice. I know He is the right way,
so why do I go the wrong way. I know He is the light, so why do I
choose to walk in darkness. I know that whatever I ask of GOD, GOD will
give me, so why am I scared to ask.





I know tomorrow is not promised, so why do I put off for tomorrow what
I can do today. I know that the truth shall make me free, so why do I
continue to lie. I know He gives us revelation knowledge and
understanding, so why do I lean on my own understanding.





I know I should live in the spirit as well as walk in the spirit, so
why do I choose to live in the spirit but walk in the flesh. I know
that when praises go up blessing come down, so why do I refuse to
praise Him. I know I am saved, so why do I refuse the word He has given
me. I know He has a plan for me, so why am I rushing it because I am
eager to do His will, when it is His time is not my time. I know He
answers all prayers, so why don't I lay my burdens down.





I know that Jesus Christ is Lord and I'm trusting in Him.





"I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have eternal life." (John 8:12)





God's Promises





OUR THINKING VS. GOD'S PROMISE





"It's impossible"


All things are possible (Lk. 18:27)





"I'm too tired"


I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28-30)





"Nobody really loves me"


I love you (Jn 3:16)





"I can't go on"


My grace is sufficient (II Cor. 12:19)





"I can't figure things out"


I will direct your steps (Prov. 20:24)





"I can't do it"


You can do all things (Phil 4:13)





"I'm not able"


I am able (II Cor. 9:8)





"It's not worth it"


It will be worth it (Rom. 8:28)





"I can't forgive myself"


I forgive you (I Jn 1:9 Rom. 8:1)





"I can't manage"


I will supply all your needs (Phil.4:19)





"I'm afraid"


I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Tim. 1:7)





"I'm always worried and frustrated"


Cast all your cares on Me (I Pet. 5:7)





"I don't have enough faith"


I've given everyone a measure of faith (Rom 12:8)





"I'm not smart enough"


I give you wisdom (I Cor. 1:30)





"I feel all alone"


I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb. 13:5)

Seven rules for Web 2.0 startups

Seven rules for Web 2.0 startups

Posted Dec 1st 2006 9:00AM by David Chartier
Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Web services, Social Software
These days it seems like anyone with an idea and some time can crank out a Web 2.0 startup, be it a service, community, one-trick-pony or ambiguously named whichamadinger. It also seems like many of these startups could use some guidance to help them find their way. With goofy names, varying user experiences and questionable goals running amok, we figured it was time to lay down some ground rules. Check out our seven tips to help Web 2.0 startups be all they can be:

1. Help me make the move: New blogs and communities need easy tools to let their users integrate some sort of blurb about their new hangout on their other sites and communities. For example: I've been playing with Vox for a few weeks now, and just recently they introduced a badge tool that puts together all the HTML users would need to insert in another blog sidebar. This makes it easy for users to tell existing readers they have have (or are moving to) a Vox blog. While it's a smart move and I'm using a badge on my personal WordPress blog, this generator should have existed the day Six Apart, and all who follow in their footsteps, flipped the switch on their service.

2. Don't make me jump through hoops: ...or give you my e-mail address just to check out your service. Good: Tell me in plain language how your product works and how it can make my life better. Better: Show me with lots of screenshots or even a few screencasts. Best: Just let me start playing with it and worry about registration after I've decided whether it's any good or not.

3. Tell me what it is, not what's inside: I don't care whether your service is powered by Ruby on Rails, .NET, AJAX, REST, or Vegemite, so don't waste another breath on it. Tell me what it does and why I want to use it, and keep the nerdy chest-thumping on your Developers page.

4. Keep it simple: ...if you want me to do it a hundred times. If adding a bookmark or a hotspot on a map is a multi-stepped process, the likelihood of me doing it a lot goes way down. This is often the difference between making or breaking the site. Quicker processes mean I'll be back many more times to do it again, and more traffic equals more money for you.

5. Play well with others: It's great that you have a (hopefully) unique vision for your community, but let's be real: you aren't the first startup on the block. This one comes again from my pleasurable experience at Vox: users can upload their pictures, audio and video to Vox, or they can find this media at other communities like Flickr, YouTube and even iStockphoto to easily plug into their posts. This "friendly neighbor" aspect of Vox earns the site huge points in the Web 2.0 community department, as they clearly recognize there is value in allowing their users to hang out at other sites.

6. APIs!: Speaking of playing with others: the technical details shouldn't be on the front page, but they should be there. The gold standard of Web 2.0 is a well-documented interface that lets geeky users and other Web 2.0 developers get at all of your site's data and roll it into their own desktops, web sites, and services in a variety of ways. Bonus points for nailing the trifecta: XML, JSON, and YAML.

7. Don't let your four-year-old name it: Flickr got away with ditching the vowel--you won't. We were through with double-Os long before Squidoo, Calgoo, or Zooomr (triple-O!) came along, and the same goes for your EEs. Domain name scarcity is not an excuse for stupid product names any more than improved traction is a justification for clown shoes.

Simple rules with (ideally) broad implications. We hope these can make their way into the hands of the next Flickrs and del.icio.uses so everyone can have a better time on the web. But is our list complete? Are we missing anything? If you have a rule or two that should have made this list, you know what to do.

Startup Suicide: Five Ways To Kill Your Startup, Which Will You Pick?

Source http://onstartups.com/Home/tabid/3339/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1167/Default.aspx

When talking about startups, it is interesting to talk about market forces, competition, product design and a variety of other things that founders believe they need to really understand and “get right” in order to survive. Though this is true (all of these things are interesting and important), it seems to me that more startups die from suicide than from external forces.

Sure, the act of startup suicide is not sudden or immediate, but ultimately, from the company’s perspective, is still just as fatal – it just takes a while.

Here are the top ways that I’ve seen for startups to commit suicide. Some are slow-acting methods, others are pretty quick. If you find yourself falling into any of these camps, I’d suggest reassessing and asking yourself: Why am I doing this? Can I control it? What’s the outcome that I really want?

Five Effective Methods Of Startup Suicide:

1. Death Before Life: I’m going to resist the temptation to dive into the metaphor of pro-life and pro-choice (which is a serious topic and I don’t want to belittle here). But, the concept is that the founder is “ready” to start a business. In essence, the startup is “real” (but it’s just in the founder’s head). At this point, the founder will likely start brainstorming. She will start coming up with ideas, bouncing these ideas off people she trusts and respects (and sometimes even people she doesn’t respect) to get a sense of what might work. The goal is to find The One True Idea that when it arrives in the founder’s brain will become this shining beacon of light that will guide the founder and the future management team through the dark wilderness of startup-land. Lots and lots of would-be startup founders kill their startups in the pursuit of The One True Idea. Quick tip: There are very few cases where a founder really comes up with the One True Idea, and even if she did, she’ll likely be talked out of it by friends, family and colleagues anyways.

2. Death By Isolation: Let’s assume that the founder does finally settle in on an idea. One of the most reliable ways to kill a startup (this one takes a bit longer), is to keep the idea to yourself for extended periods of time assuming that you need to stay in “stealth” mode so that someone else won’t steal it. The idea remains in the founder’s head. Little resources can be committed to it, and the idea is never really brought out into the harsh light of reality to see if it can survive even modest scrutiny. Ultimately, when the idea is forced out, it becomes obvious that there is no way this idea will ever really work. Unfortunately, lots of time passes between the original idea and the ultimate realization that it’s not the right one.

3. Death By Founder Dissention: If the founder is smart, she will start early in trying to pull together one or more co-founders to help get the business off the ground. Here is where it gets tricky. Founder issues are very challenging. Everything from how do you divide equity, who will do what, who will take on what title needs to be discussed. The only thing worse than disagreeing about some of these things is not disagreeing about these things because you haven’t even talked about them.

4. Death By Doing Nothing: When I say “doing nothing”, what I really mean is “doing nothing that is creating value for customers”. I am constantly amazed by how many creative ways founders can find to do things that have the illusion of moving their startup forward, but that has almost nothing to do with creating value for customers. Let’s design this fancy website. What about our business cards! What about this 120 page business plan? Surely we have to think through competitive analysis to make sure we build the right product. Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are important – but they are all trumped by the single act of creating customer value. If you don’t know how to create value: ask the customer! So many startups delude themselves into believing that all the activity around strategy and planning and marketing and “launch preparation” (yep, I’ve heard that one too, before the product development was even started) is what will determine their success when they “finally get out there”. I get really worked up about this one. I’m going to go get a cup of coffee and stare out my window so I can cool down.
…Ok, I’m back.

5. Death By Determination: I should have called this “Death by Stubbornness”, but I like the alliteration and “death by determination” just sounds interesting because we always think of being “determined” as a good thing. To clarify, what I mean here is when you are determined to make your original idea a success. You read somewhere that lots of startups die because they give up on their idea too soon and you’re not going to have that happen to you. Come hell or high water you will see this idea through! Here’s an insider tip: Most successful startups end up doing something that is different from their original idea. Dogged determinedness will likely keep you from building the business that you could have built. Yes, you can’t just drop every idea that comes along at the first sign of conflict or controversy. It’s a very thin line (nobody said startups were easy).


There are of course lots of other reasons could fail, but the reason the reason I selected the above ones are because they are all under the founder’s direct control. We have not talked about industry selection, competition or anything else. I don’t know about you, but I’d argue that a higher percentage of startups die for one of the above reasons than the “we got our pricing all wrong and so couldn’t really get market traction” kinds of issues. What do you think? What are other methods of startup suicide are out there? Perhaps there are a few that I missed that are even more effective.

Have a great startup idea? Hmm. Maybe not.

Source http://paultyma.blogspot.com/2006/11/have-great-startup-idea-hmm-maybe-not.html



Over the years I've started a small handful of Internet/software projects/companies. Examples include Mailinator, Preemptive Solutions, Inc., and Classhat.
Actually, I've started a large handful but no one knows about most of
them because they were (in no particular order): dumb ideas,
unsuccessful, too hard for me to complete. Given that I now rate any
new idea I get according to a set of rules that helps me filter out
good ideas from bad. At least, whatever I consider bad. Keep in mind
these rules are for the canonical one or 2-person pre-startup - if you
have 8million in VC, there's a lot of other magic you can do.



Here they are:



1) If there is no business model, its a hobby, not an idea.
I love compiler optimizations. I wrote a Java optimizer soon after Java
came out. I spent months trying to figure out how to turn it into a
business. But guess what, people don't pay for optimizers, or
compilers, or even runtimes. At least not without a strong sales team
telling they need that. By and large most ideas I get are about things
that I'd love to work on but have no real business model (ala my
Classhat project took several years and is, absolutely, a hobby).
There's nothing wrong with hobbies, as long as you know what they are.



2) The best ideas make your customers money.
If your idea can say "If a customer uses our product, they will make X%
more money" (where X is a positive number, even if quite small) - you
have won the game. Importantly - I did not say the customer will save X% more money. I said they'll make
it. That's a big difference. Saving money is great, but you are then
faced with the mission of convincing your customer that if they spend
$100k on your product now, it will pay itself back in 8 months. It's
way way way easier to say "Use our product and you make 2% more money
(of which we get a cut). Don't use it, and don't." Who wouldn't buy
that?



3) The best place to be that I know of is B2B2C.
That is, you want to be a business that serves businesses that serve
consumers. If you're B2C, then welcome to some important challenges.
One is to get people to pay for your stuff, which in this Internet
world, we're not all that happy about doing. Secondly, welcome to
support hell. Its very hard to provide consumer support (and you see
many complaints across the net). It takes a lot of support people and a
lot of money to do it right, which is why it rarely is. If your idea
plans to charge consumers, I'd definitely think twice unless you can
ramp up a support system fast. Thirdly, you'll need a powerful
infrastructure (apart from support) just to handle large numbers of
small transactions. Its harder to sell 1000 $10 widgets than 10 $1000
ones.



On the other hand, if you're simply B2B, life isn't so
bad. Big ticket sales but encompassing the market is harder. Sales
cycles are long. Again, you might need a faster ramp-up of a sales and
marketing infrastructure (which you are going to need eventually
anyway), but you're probably ok if the idea is generally good.



4) If you're going B2C, look for revenue models that don't come right from the consumer.
Given the last point you're probably thinking I'm crazy given things
like youtube or myspace or facebook or google. I'm not (at least I
don't think I am). All those places dodged the problems of providing
support and tracking sales by giving away their services for free and
making money on the backside (whatever that is). Often that's
advertising revenue. Often its partnership deals. Simply put there
absolutely is an Eyeball Business Model. If you can get the
eyeballs, you can sell them. Just try to do that instead of charging
them directly. They'll be ornery about it and demand support.



5) Revisit every bad idea every once in awhile.
Why is AJAX hot? Because its enabling things technically that weren't
enabled before. Are any of these mashups really novel ideas? Not
usually. Old ideas become new again by new technology, faster
computers, etc.



When the computer game Doom came out it included
very little novel technology. All the 3D math and graphics tech had
existed for years. The guys at ID were just the first ones to realize
that personal computers (as opposed to graphics workstations) at the
time had finally gotten powerful enough to do it all in realtime.



Every
time bandwidth gets faster for cheaper, previously bad old ideas become
new and shiny (e.g., video over the Internet). Mobile phones seem
really ripe. Apps and usability currently sort of sucks. Thats really
hampering a ton of uses. With every new advancement however, its going
to open up new doors.



6) Do your best to create a system of recurring revenue.
Advertising on websites and such is easy. But things like packaged
software is hard. Why does Microsoft change the doc format every time
it releases a new Microsoft Word. Surely it probably includes new
features, but why can't old versions just ignore those and load the
file (which is really text right?) anyway? Because they don't want it
to. They want you to buy a new version of Word to get all the new
features (even if you just write letters to your Aunt Edna and would
never use them). They want recurring revenue.



Doing that with
packaged software is harder and often somewhat transparently greedy.
Heard of "software as a service"? That is of course, really, "software
that we can just keep charging for". Bottom line is if tires, light
bulbs, or razors never wore out, the economics of those businesses
would be radically different. Getting more money from your customers
(hopefully while providing value to justify it) is a good way to go.



If
have an idea that follows #2 above (making your customer money), do
your best to simply take a small cut. Small cuts add up and the
customer has no risk in trying your product.





My entry last week
on evaluating start-up ideas netted me some nice feedback. Rereading
it, I realize there were a small pile of things that also should be on
that list. So, welcome to part 2.



1) Let ideas gestate.



Every new idea seems to be the greatest idea I ever had. Usually it goes something like:



Time 0: get new idea

1 minutes later: (some details)

2 minutes later: start thinking about suit I'll wear when I get to ring closing bell when we IPO



After
getting way too excited about way too many ideas, I set myself a rule.
Think through an idea for 3 days before I tell a soul. My excitement is
usually killing me the first day or so, but by the third day its rather
died down. Or, if it isn't, I get a better sense of whether I'm really
onto something. Simply put, ideas always look better the fresher they
are. You're looking for ones that look good even when not fresh.



2) Consider the size of your market.



If
you read Guy Kawasaki's blog you'll see him mention quite often how new
companies pitch to him about the immense size of their new market. Guy
often chides them for their optimism but even he knows you better
believe you do have a big market (and maybe even puff the number in
conversations) or you can forget it. Numbers in the hundreds of
millions or billions are good - you're really only realistically hoping
to glean a smidgen of that.



Consumer markets can be drastically
immense. If you're one guy in your basement with an idea that will
capture you a 40billion dollar market, that's dandy. Hopefully you have
no misconceptions that you'll just own the market yourself (where
there's money, there's competitors, and they'll steal plenty, if not
most of it before you can penetrate it all) but, the bigger the market,
the easier it is to find customers.



Niche markets like hardware
stores, developers, and/or mailmen don't suck - so long as you can
effectively penetrate most of it - and fast. Simple rule, bigger is
better. If big enough (and your idea does actually penetrate it),
you'll capture the attention of someone big who will want it for
themselves. That either means buying you or chasing you - where the
actual outcome happens in the execution (not the idea).





3) "Building a business around a new developer tool" is wrong on so many levels.



Some
markets are not only niche - they live in the land of the free. And I
don't mean the USA - I mean a market where people are used to getting
everything for free.



The software developer inside me keeps
coming up with ideas for software development tools. Occupational
hazard I suppose. I understand the domain space and understand how to
solve the problem. However, development tools are, in general, a really
bad place to find good business ideas. Consider that things like
Netbeans and Eclipse that took thousands of person-hours to create are
given away FREE. Therein lies the rub, developers have created their
own culture of giving away tools for free. There is certainly nothing
wrong with that, unless of course you think you're going to make a
business out of it.



Even then there are niches inside dev tools
that are worse than others. Two dollars and an idea for the greatest
Java software dev tool ever will buy you a cup of coffee. Java
developers are especially used to getting tools for free. In contrast,
Microsoft has created a nice culture of getting .NET and windows
developers used to paying for stuff. In other words, if you "must"
create a developer tool that you intend to sell, stick with Microsoft
or some other market segment where paying is an accepted idea.





4) Ideas really aren't worth all you think they are.



Yes I know you're smart. Yes, you amazingly, super-duper wonderfully creative. But in reality, very few ideas are truly novel.



What
happens is that two independent technology evolutions (say, the
internet and mobile phones) eventually progress to a point where it
takes a simple idea to act as a bridge and converge the two. And a
product is born. The farther ahead you see that convergence, the more
"brilliant" your idea is.



But with every passing day, the
distance between the two technologies lessens and your brilliant idea
becomes ever so slightly more obvious. In other words, if someone else
hasn't thought of it, they will soon. And as more people realize it,
the odds of it hitting someone who's looking to start a company
increase.



Basically, the winner will be the company that gets
things to market fast, creates a marketing and sales infrastructure,
and actually makes sales. Don't rely solely on an idea to make it all
the way. It has to be supported. If it isnt - at a minimum - it will be
stolen (at least in a market sense). You can definitely create a
world-class company on a good idea and a great infrastructure.
Visa-versa is nowhere near as easy.



And, as an aside, once the
technology progressions converge by themselves (apart from your idea) -
your idea will probably be made irrelevant (hopefully you cashed out
long before then).



5) Competition is good.



If you
don't have competition, you don't have an idea. Competition tells you
and investors that your idea isn't wacky. If you work 3 years on a
product with no challengers, maybe they know something about the day
you're going to release and try to make sales that you don't.



Don't
be afraid to chase an existing idea if you have what you consider a
sub-idea that makes a key difference. Both Altavista and Google did
search. Altavista was doing it long before Google started and probably
laughed when they heard some challenger Google was going to take them
on. I hate to say it but the concept of "stealing ideas" in business is
very hard to define. Patents tried to enforce this notion but its so
broken (although you still need them of course) that it hardly matters.



Every
idea you have is already an extension of some existing idea (Every web
2.0 idea "assumes" the internet "exists". Every "mashup" not only
assumes, but steals functionality from 2 or more existing web
services). How close your new idea is to old ideas defines how many
people will say you stole it. And there will *always* be people saying
that.



As a concrete example, I created Mailinator in July 2003.
It was first disposable email service that allowed incoming emails to
create an inbox as they arrived. There are now a half-dozen copycat
sites (some even stole my FAQ questions and license!). Does this
matter? Could I do anything about it if it did? Should I try to squash
them?



A better tactic is to simply out-market them and
introduce new features. Protecting an idea nearly impossible, working
to continually better serve your customers isn't. (And, by the way, the
idea for Mailinator wasn't mine. It was Jack's).



--



So there's 5 more. I have a feeling I have another handful brewing, stay tuned.