A Penny's Worth

A collection of useful, practical, advice and insight from around the web.

Acting

"The studio vice president called me in and said: 'Sit down, kid' even though he was only about six years older than I was. 'I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star. You ain't got it kid, you ain't got it. You ain't working hard enough. I want you to get back to class and study. Now get out of here'. I leaned across the table and said: 'I thought you were supposed to think he was the grocery delivery boy'."

Harrison Ford / Columbia Pictures in 1966

Blindness

Really I'm not scared of anything that's going to come to me in sports. I think my biggest fear would be getting my sight back. Once you go blind you start imagining the world as this perfect place. Getting your sight back and seeing how imperfect it is crushes some blind people. To be honest, getting my sight back would be like another low point in my life.

Charlie Wilks, 14 year old blind football player / ESPN

Comedy

[Responding to the question: Do you think bad comedians know they’re bad?] It seems like my experience has been that the truly good comedians, the people who are really funny, are always doubting themselves, and it seems like the people who have very little talent are the ones who never doubt themselves like George Bush. Same thing in politics. He doesn’t seem to be worried, doesn’t have a second thought about anything. So, if you’re a comic and you’re not worried that you’re funny, you’re not funny.
[Editorial note: The political views expressed in this quote don't necessarily reflect that of A Penny's Worth]

Jimmy Dore, Comedian / Buzzine

Creativity

‘A man would do well to carry a pencil in his pocket and write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought are commonly the most valuable and should be secured because they seldom return.’

Francis Bacon / Google Knol

Engineering

Years ago new engineers in the Lamp Division of General Electric were assigned, as a joke, the impossible task of frosting bulbs on the inside. Eventually, however, an undaunted newcomer named Marvin Pipkin not only found a way to frost bulbs on the inside but developed an etching acid that gave minutely rounded pits instead of sharp depressions. This materially strengthened each bulb. Fortunately, no one had told him it couldn't be done, so he did it.

Bits & Pieces, December, 1989, p. 20-21

Finances/Investing

I remember reading once that one of the biggest single personality predictors of future financial success is the ability to delay gratification. If you can bring yourself to not buy something because you know you'll be able to buy something better in the future, that's a huge part of eventually becoming financially independent.

Aaron Stanton / CanGoogleHearMe.com

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

Warren Buffet / New York Times

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

Warren Buffet / New York Times

Mr. Tepper explains his investment philosophy with a line from Allan Meltzer, a professor at his alma mater: "Trees grow." In other words, growth is the natural state of economies, so optimism usually is rewarded.

David Tepper / Wall Street Journal

Leadership

The more control you seek, the less influence you will have. And the more influence you have, the less control you need.

Dick Gregory / Mijah.com

Logo/identity design

He really approached it (NEXT logo) as a problem that had to be solved, not an artistic challenge for its own sake ... he is one of the most professional people I've ever worked with in the sense that he'd thought through ... the formal relationship between a client and a professional [and] obviously [had] very deep thoughts about this and therefore he had very clear conclusions about what the relationship meant to both parties and how it should be conducted. For example, I asked him if he would come up with a few options and he said 'No, I will solve your problem for you and you will pay me and you don't have to use the solution. If you want options, go and talk to other people, but I will solve your problem for you the best way I know how and you use it or not, that's up to you, you're the client...' and there was a clarity about the relationship that was refreshing.

It's much easier to think of him as an artist but I think of Paul as much as a business problem solver as I do an artist. It's the marriage of those two things which ... is unique.

His work, for me, is very emotional, yet when you study it, it's very intellectual ... and so if you scratch the surface on any of his work you'll find out the depth of the intellectual problem solving that's taken place and yet when you first see it, it's wonderfully emotional.

Steve Jobs on identity designer, Paul Rand who designed Apple's iconic logo

Politics and debate

[On Jon Stewart] "There is genuine intellectual curiosity," May told New York. "He's a staunch liberal, but he's a thoughtful liberal, and I respect that." May isn't the only conservative gushing about Stewart. While the movement professes a disdain for the "liberal media elite," it has made an exception for the true-blue 46-year-old comedian. "He always gives you a chance to answer, which some people don't do," says John Bolton, President Bush's ambassador to the United Nations and a Fox News contributor, who went on the show last month. "He's got his perspective, but he's been fair." Says Bolton: "In general, a lot of the media, especially on the left, has lost interest in debate and analysis. It has been much more ad hominem. Stewart fundamentally wants to talk about the issues. That's what I want to do."

Jon Stewart / New York Magazine

Prayer

You have given so much to me. Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

George Herbert (1593-1633), Welsh poet, Anglican priest and member of Parliament / LA Times

Public Speaking

It was there that he [Dale Carnegie] got the idea to teach public speaking, and he persuaded the "Y" manager to allow him to instruct a class in return for 80% of the net proceeds. In his first session, he had run out of material; improvising, he suggested that students speak about "something that made them angry", and discovered that the technique made speakers unafraid to address a public audience.

Dale Carnegie / How to Win Friends and Influence People

Romantic comedy films

[On 'While You Were Sleeping'] This is the first romantic comedy I've seen in a long time that, by the third act, doesn't forget about being funny.

Jeffrey M. Anderson / combustiblecelluloid.com

Teaching/Education

Over lunch, Prof. West tells me that "every teacher needs to find his style" and that his is "old-fashioned lecturing." He observes that he has become more "conversational" over the past 40 years of teaching; not once during his lecture did he consult any notes. Professors, he says, need to figure out how to play to their strengths—by listening and watching their students carefully. "I look out at every class to figure out what's working and what's not."

There are tricks and devices that can help. For instance: "Never underestimate the power of dead air." Prof. West advises "asking a question and simply waiting for the answer." He has noticed that "people will get very uncomfortable and start squirming, until someone will try." For the really tough crowds, he says, he will surprise them. They think that he is carrying around a cup of coffee, but actually he has candy inside and when someone finally answers a question correctly, he will throw a piece to that student. He smiles slyly: "It's like training seals."

Prof. Elliott West / Wall Street Journal