Be weird. Be quirky. Be yourself.

Creativity in a nutshell.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Ironically, this quote comes from one of the smartest people ever: Albert Einstein. For him, perseverance is priceless. It’s about not giving up when we dig ourselves into a hole. When we have a little dirt on our shoulders. So keep at it. Success may be much closer than we think.

Success isn’t what it seems. We realize that it’s a never-ending road, not a destination. That failure is a stepping stone to success, not a detour. And that we’ll get further together than we can ever do alone.

Classic.

Can we relax with all the questions? We’ll get a job when we find the right one. We’ll get married when we find the right person. People try to make life into a race where age is the timer. But we’re all on different tracks, going at our own pace. So stop comparing us. Stop asking about the next milestone when we’re trying to enjoy this one. Maybe it’s just small talk. Or maybe it’s up to us to break the cycle. Maybe instead of asking others about tomorrow we should ask how they’re doing today. And let things happen whenever it happens.

It’s okay. We’re human. We don’t know it all. Better to speak up sooner than stress out everyone later.

Breaking news: nobody gives a damn about every single thing you do. They’re too preoccupied with their own lives. So might as well live yours the way you want.

I’m embarrassed to say this cartoon is based on a real experience from my first months working at Google. I sent that lengthy email. Afterwards, my boss took me aside and said: “You sound like you’re fresh out of college.” To which I replied, “but I am fresh out of college!” And he said: “Right, but that doesn’t mean you should sound like it.” I’ll never forget that. He taught me how to be less apologetic. To remove the word “just” from my vocabulary. And to stop asking for permission. In talking to friends, I realized that I’m not alone. It’s easy to be submissive when you don’t realize it. Be concise. Be clear. You don’t need to be senior to speak like it.

Focus on decisions that actually matter.