I’m a classic R&B buff. For some reason I woke up this morning with that old Diana Ross and The Supremes classic, Stop In The Name of Love, on my mind.  I get a lot of inspiration for post from the music I listen to so here’s a random list of things I wish people would stop.  Of course you don’t have to…but maybe it would help.

• Stop depending on landing on Oprah, Harvey, or Ellen to get your idea, product, or service noticed.  Yea, it can happen but you’re far more likely to make it into the NFL or NBA and that”s nearly impossible even for folks that have spent their entire lives working towards it.
• Stop asking big companies to help you.  They benefit from an ecosystem designed to keep you out.
• Stop claiming you’re waiting to be inspired, admit  you’re stalling!
• Stop cozying up to powerful people.  Ideas spread best person-to-person by those well known in small circles.  Once you’re important to a few circles powerful people will help you.  Because they want access to your circles.
• Stop thinking you can’t do it.
• Stop asking for permission.
• Stop spamming strangers, your friends, and me…Please!
• Stop taking everyone’s advice and start listening to your gut.
• Stop being afraid to risk it on one turn of pitch and toss.
• Stop being afraid to start again at your beginnings.
• Stop telling that I almost made it story.  How after great trial and tribulation you finally managed to pull it off is far more interesting to us.
• Stop paying attention to negative messaging.  Not just the one’s on the TV screen, or billboard, the one’s between your ears are far more damaging.
• Stop being afraid to hit the publish button.  It needs to live on the Internet.
• Stop being afraid to say what you really think.
• Stop pondering and just ship, because “Real Artist Ship”….Steve Jobs.  That’s to say they deliver actual work, product, service, blog post, video logs, podcast, books, etc.
• Stop settling for less than remarkable.