Upgrade: Taking Your Work and Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary
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list of interviews xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter 1 ENVISION YOUR FUTURE 17
What do you want to do with your life? So why aren’t youdoing it?
Chapter 2 WHAT’S YOUR PASSION? 54
Find your passion. If you can’t get paid for your passion, do iton the side. If you don’t have a passion, do things that make youhappy. It’s that simple.
Chapter 3 GET CREATIVE 61
Creativity is everywhere and in every person. Fitting intothe status quo is out. Thinking differently is in. Learn to tap,harness, and unleash your creative potential.
Chapter 4 DESIGN YOUR TIME 104
Guard your schedule and protect your time from the negative,bored, and filler people in your world. Think of everything as atime management tool and use technology to your advantage.
Chapter 5 THE POWER OF WE 151
No one can do it all; realize that collaboration is key. Learnhow to leverage a team to get the most out of it. The top-downapproach to leadership does not fly anymore. Educate, inspire,and mentor teams and colleagues to achieve the best results.
Chapter 6 BIG RISKS = BIG REWARDS 177
Don’t take chances and live an unfilled life. Assess risksrealistically—and go for it. A risk-free life is a boring life. Newideas, discoveries, and opportunities seldom come without risk.
Chapter 7 FAIL TO SUCCEED 189
Embrace failure as part of the learning process. If you fall flat onyour face, just get up and give it another shot. Success typicallycomes only after multiple failures.
Chapter 8 YOUR TIME TO UPGRADE IS NOW 207
No more excuses! You don’t need more time or more money. Youhave already earned the points needed to upgrade. Stop waitingfor retirement or a rainy day; it’s time to cash them in and enjoythe ride. A new destination awaits.
notes 214
index 223
The 7 Key Principles to achieving YOUR business and life goals
What could a graffiti artist, eminent neurologist, star athlete, celebrity chef, fashion designer, rocket scientist, and Grammy Award–winning musician possibly have in common?
In this groundbreaking new book, Rana Florida shares their formula, giving you the tools to achieve unimaginable success in work and life. Upgrade gathers the best practices, not just from CEOs and business executives but from entrepreneurs, innovative thinkers, and creative leaders.
Upgrade includes interviews with Sir Ken Robinson, Dan Pink, Mark Cuban, Andre Agassi, Kenny Scharf, Zaha Hadid, Governor Martin O’Malley, Tory Burch, Tim Brown, and many other leading figures. Despite this cast’s vastly different backgrounds and skills, Florida’s research concludes that there are seven key principles to achieving your business and life goals:
- Envision the future
- Find your passion
- Get creative
- Design your time
- Collaborate
- Take risks
- Embrace failure
Unfortunately, this is exactly what the majority of us don’t do. Instead of developing a real strategy to upgrade and optimize our lives, too many of us just slog through life in a state of “managed dissatisfaction.”
But it’s never too late to envision an entirely different future—or to actively upgrade your life. It’s not about finding more time, money, or resources. Anyone can do it.
This smart and entertaining guide delves deep into each principle, giving you the insights, tools, and inspiration to take your life from ordinary to extraordinary.
Praise for Upgrade
“Why ride in coach, when you can upgrade? A must-read for a better journey through life.”
Don Tapscott, bestselling author, Wikinomics and Grown Up Digital
“Upgrade is an a-ha book that will change how you look at life’s challenges and give you tools to upgrade your life.”
Touré, cohost of MSNBC’s The Cycle
“Read Upgrade for its stories, examples, and strategies and get ready to live the life you always wanted.”
Frank Toskan, founder, M.A.C. Cosmetics
“Creative and innovative strategies to upgrade your work and life, with seven simple principles.”
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com, Inc., and New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness
“Rana’s perspective on business and life is a fresh new take, breaking the traditional corporate mold. Upgrade is a must-read for anyone not buying into the conventional wisdom.”
Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent; anchor, CNN-I World Business Today; and host, CNN Your Money
“Upgrade welcomes you to take a fresh approach to everything you do to get the most out of work and life.”
Nelly Furtado, Grammy Award–winning musician
“If I’m going to listen to anyone’s good advice about how to improve my approach to work and life, it’s Rana’s.”
Kate Betts, contributing editor, TIME, and columnist, The Daily Beast
"Rana's voice is refreshing--as real as a memoir and a great vessel for this self-help and business book wrapped up in one easily-digestible package."
Paper Magazine
"A very interesting book."
Business Learning Solutions