Don't let money be your master. You will do your best work when you're not thinking about money. If you're making more than you spend, living within your means, and have a roof over your head, you're doing alright.
Get things done on time; be on time for meetings. Fashionably late is not fashionable.
"Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet." -Seneca
The secret to getting things done is doing them. Avoid feeling discouraged by completing one project at a time. Stop saying what you're going to do, and do it.
You can only get better by doing. Dedicate time to practice – even just a few minutes a day – and your craft will improve.
Sketch and compile all of your ideas in one place - you never know when they will become useful.
There's more than one way to do things. Resist monotony, complacency, and bad habits by always trying new ways of doing things.
"Everyone is just making it up as they go along." -Frank Chimero
Never turn down opportunities. Learn from your mistakes (and the mistakes of others). Acknowledge the misstep and resume, without breaking your stride.
"It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to fall down. Get up, look sickening, and make them eat it." -Latrice Royale
Work the hardest you can every day – you never know who's watching. Good work begets more work.
Decide what you want, and set realistic, time-sensitive, measurable goals to make it happen.
"Decide who you are, decide what you want to do, and then do it, because it is surely possible.” -Doyald Young
If it feels or looks wrong, it probably is. Believe in yourself, and stand up for your ideas.
"If you don't believe in your work, who else is going to believe it?" -Milton Glaser
Don't be afraid to take the best idea you've ever had and throw it into the wind. Assume, by default, that you could be wrong.
Best is the enemy of good. The simplest solution is often the most effective.
* See also: 12 things I learned about life in 2012
