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The hard part (one of them)

Guest post by: Seth Godin

Article Overview: A guy asked his friend, the writer David Foster Wallace, "Say, Dave, how'd y'get t'be so dang smart?"

The hard part (one of them)

"Say, Dave, how'd y'get t'be so dang smart?"

His answer:

"I did the reading."

No one said the preparation part was fun, but yes, it's important. I wonder why we believe we can skip it and still be so dang smart.

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Article Tags: dang, david foster, smart, tbe, writer david



Related Forum Posts
Re: The 10 Goal Method for personal success - That's definitely a very good and simple plan for achieving whatever it is you want. I've seen this before actually. Now it's just a matter of making myself do it, which is the hard part!
Re: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. - I have seen this first hand and find It sad to see talent or gifted people waste their talents. Others with less talent can improve themselves with though hard work. Hard work alone is not enough, where possible, coaching can help them recognize where their weakness may lie and through work hard improve on that aspect of their talent. Discovery is often a necessary part being a talent. Wonder how many nights on the road covering 16 states, did i find great and entertaining talent singing at a local hangout
Re: Do Women Play the Stock Market? - Hi Aneshia, [quote="AneshiaYS":1lz5khur]I implement a strategy for risk management[/quote:1lz5khur] I'm glad to read this. I think it's the most important part of investing. "Diversify" and have a clear "exit strategy" - ah yes, but "following it" is the hard part and if you have a strategy to induce your clients to follow the strategy, I should think it would be an excellent service.
Never ever take your ca to the dealership - My son is a mechanic and one of the first things he told me was never take your car to the dealership for a repair. If you do, ignore (or disbelieve) anything they ever tell you that you need! If they say they have to change a part, make an appointment to have it done at a later time (so you have the option to cancel it later), BUT ask what the part is and how much it will cost including the labor. Ask what happens if their quote time on the labor runs over. Then get a second opinion by a local mechanic to ensure you really need the part changed and also do some homework... call other local mechanic shops and see how much they say it would cost to change the part, including labor. Compare and go back to the dealership a lot more educated and let them know when you know they are pulling a scam! Also, if you ever let your dealership change a part, stay there while they remove the old part and request to see it. Do not leave until you actually have that part in your hands and do not give it back. My son said he had a customer who came to his shop and when my son told them they needed a new part, the customer told him that was impossible because that part was changed at the dealership a couple of weeks prior. My son showed them the part under the hood and clearly the part was old, rusted and NOT new. tThe poor guy had paid over $300 and they never touched his car. NEVER take your car to the dealership!
Re: The Top 50 Productivity Blogs To Watch in 2010 - Thanks for that list Evan. I have bookmarked it to go through more carefully when I have some spare time. What you say here is so true, the biggest problem with working on the internet is that it is so easy to get side tracked. Staying focused is really the hard part. MichelleJ


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