#guys 25-40 is NOT old i’d even say old doesn’t start until 50 like calm down | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ficnation · 4 years

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𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝟏

☁ 𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ☁

☁ 𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝐁𝐎𝐗 ☁

1. “I apologise in advance for the inconvenience my murder is going to have on your life.”

2. “I hate you.” “Why? I’m lovely.”

3. “Murder wasn’t on today’s agenda.” “It’s not on anyone’s.” “No, it’s on mine, just not until next Thursday.”

4. “Hold on, you died.” “Yeah, well it didn’t stick.”

5. “This is my life now. I have climbed this hill and now I will die upon it.” “Shut up. We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.”

6. “She’s crying, what do I do?” “Go comfort her.” “How do I do that?” “Start with hugs.” “With what?”

7. “What’s our exit strategy?” “Our what?” “Oh my god, we’re all going to die.”

8. “I’m going to need chicken blood, a knife, a lighter, and a bottle of vodka.”

“Vodka? For the bonfire?”

“No, that’s just to make me feel better about going against (Name)’s command.” (changed)

9. “Are you clinically insane or incredibly annoying?” “I don’t know, probably both.”

10. “I saved your lives.” “How? By stealing our freedom?” (changed)

11. “It takes a very special kind of idiot to pull off what you just did.”

12. “I’m getting really tired of pretending I’m not evil.”

13. “Did you just agree with me?” “Oh I wish I could take-” “Nope! You said it! No take-backs!”

14. “It’s a long story.” “You conned me into thinking you were dead for eleven months. I have time.”

15. “I regret a lot of things. Having this conversation tops the list.”

16. “I had a thought.” “Oh no.” “I swear it’s a good one this time!’

17. “(Name), open the door!” “No. It’s cooler when you break in.” (changed)

18. “Do you think they remember you?” “I sure hope not after what I did the last time I was here.” “What did you do?” “You’ll find out.”

19. “You look…” “Beautiful, I know. Can we move on?”

20. “You scared me!” “Well, I am naturally terrifying.”

21. “I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.”

22. “I’d take a bullet for you, you know that.” “You’re not indestructible, and I’m going to kill you if you keep saying that.” (changed)

23. “You really have no clue who I am?” “You’d think the confused looks and blank stare would have answered that for you.”

24. “I am way too sober for this.”

25. “You don’t strike me as a professional criminal.” “That’s what makes me so good at it.”

26. “I don’t think of you as a protector. More like a distraction.”

27. “We have five people trying to kill us right now, what are we supposed to do?” “Actually, it’s more like eight.” “Oh, sorry I wasn’t specific enough!”

28. “If you could even comprehend where I’ve come from, you would be terrified of me.”

29. “I saved your life!” “You pushed me off a building.”

30. “You know we’re not all born with the ability to be a leader, right?” (changed)

31. “How do we keep getting into these situations?” “Eleven years of friendship and I still don’t know.”

32. “Did you hear that scream?” “Yes, I’m the one who screamed.”

33. “Are you SURE I can’t punch him in the face?” “Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”

34. “You are remarkably well behaved tonight. What did you do?”

35. “You’re-you’re crushing my spleen.” “You don’t even know where your spleen is.”

36. “I’m no detective, of course, but I think this dead body might not be alive anymore.”

37. “Right now, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge.” “Can I pick?”

38. “The real treasure was the memories we made along the way.” “I almost died!” “Ah yes, that was my fondest memory.”

39. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!” “And I’m trying to subtly avoid it!”

40. “Hey, I didn’t kill anyone today!” “What do you want? A gold star?”

41. “I hate you.” “Why? I’m lovely.”

42. “On a scale from one to ten, how bad do you think it would be if-” “At least a twenty.”

43. “Literally everything about this would be illegal in the old world.” (changed)

44. “Seven billion people in the world, and you’re overreacting because we killed one man.” “But-” “Seven. Billion. People. Now quit the complaining and drink your smoothie.”

45. “It’s not my birthday.” “It’s definitely your birthday.” “Give me a calendar. It’s not and I will prove it to – oh. Never mind. Happy birthday to me.”

46. “On a scale from one to ten, how bad do you want to kill me right now?” “I’m hovering somewhere in the high thirties.”

47. “I can fix that.” “I’m calling a professional.” “I’m a professional.” “A more professional, professional.”

48. “What’s the word for that infestation of tiny creatures over there?” “Those are children. That’s a school.”

49. “I have a concern.” “Just one?” “No, but I didn’t think you’d let me speak my piece if I told you how many I actually have.”

50. “Why are you glaring at me?” “I’m hoping you’ll spontaneously combust.”

51. “If we die, I’m going to spend the rest of our afterlife reminding you that this was all your fault.” “That’s cool, I wouldn’t mind having company while being a ghost.”

52. “What are you so afraid of?” “You.”

53. “What is that THING in your backpack?” (changed)

54. “I hate the sight of blood.” “Then maybe you shouldn’t kill for a living.”

55. “All that blood looks good on you. It really brings out your eyes.”

56. “Want to see what kind of trouble we can get into?” “Oh god, we’re going to die, aren’t we?” “It’s a Tuesday, I know how to restrain myself.” “You absolutely do not.”

57. “I don’t give a damn.” “You give so many damns they’re visible from SPACE.”

58. “It’ll be easy. You just have to seduce them.” “You’re kidding, right? I’m about as seductive as a cabbage.”

59. “You’re not as evil as people think you are.” “No. I’m much worse.”

60. “That’s a terrifyingly accurate drawing of us.” “It’s almost like I’m good at what I do.”

61. “You have no power over me.” “You sure about that?”

62. “This isn’t good.” “How can you tell?” “See how they’re slowly surrounding us? And they all have guns and knives and I think one guy is carrying a machete?”

63. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” “Actually he’s right in front of you.”

64. “I’m not a thief. I’m just really good at acquiring things that aren’t mine.”

65. “I’m not completely human anymore. Remember that next time you want to punch me in the face.”

66. “Is that blood?” “No?” “That’s not a question you’re supposed to answer with another question.”

67. “I never stood a chance, did I?” “That’s the sad part – you did once.”

68. “It’s okay, I’m here.”

69. “I’m not going to leave you.”

70. “Everything is okay.”

71. “I’m going to protect you.”

72. “I believe in you.”

73. “Do you feel guilty? Like, at all?” “I don’t have time to feel guilty. And neither do you.”

74. “Stop that!” “Stop what?” “Doing that thing with your face when you’re happy. It’s making me nauseous.”

75. “What are you doing?” “…Eating.” “We’re being held hostage and you decide to raid the kitchen?” “They didn’t say the fridge was off limits.”

76. “Is that a dead body?” “Maybe?” “It is. I can see it right in front of me.” “I promise I’ll clean it up before dinner.”

77. “If we’re going to get out of here, we’re going to have to work together. After that, we can go back to killing each other.” “Oh, fine.”

78. “That’s not funny.” “I thought it was.” “You don’t count. You started laughing in the middle of a funeral because you started thinking of a meme you saw on Facebook.”

79. “Do we need wine?” “No, I need wine, you need to put your pants back on.” “But life is so freeing without them.” “Pants. On. Now.”

80. “Can you please go be stupid somewhere that’s away from me?”

81. “I feel like I’m being stabbed.” “How do you even know what it feels like to be stabbed?”

82. “Will you be quiet?” “I didn’t say anything!” “Well stop thinking so loud.”

83. “Did you get my note?” “Of course I got it. You taped it to my forehead while I was sleeping.”

84. “You’re a psychopath.” “I prefer creative.”

85. “Why do people keep trying to put this blanket on me?” “Because you’re in shock.” “That doesn’t mean I need a blanket. It means I need booze.”

86. “Oh no.” “What is it? What happened? Who died?” “I think I just felt an emotion.” “You have GOT to be kidding me.”

87. “When all this is over, I want my sanity back.”

88. “That’s definitely not true.” “Of course it is. I read it in Encyclopedia.” (changed)

89. “You forgot me.” “It was an accident.”

90. “Why do you keep risking your life? To prove a point?” “Yes.”

91. “I would like to join you in acknowledging the difficulties of your life.” “You are the WORST at this comfort thing.”

92. “You’ve got to stop doing that.” “What?” “Saying things that make me want to kiss you.”

93. “Look, if you want to conjure some demon spawn from the great beyond, that’s all fine and dandy. Just wait for me to leave before you start.”

94. “Just calm down!” “My arm just got cut off and you want me to calm down!?” (changed)

95. “You know what they say, panicking burns a shit ton of calories.” “Who even says that?” “Me. Just now.”

96. “Don’t mind me, I’ll just be in the corner, having another existential crisis.”

97. “Oh my god, I had the exact same dream!” “Really?” “Are you crazy? Of course I didn’t.”

98. “I need to go de-stress.” “Where are you going?” “To demolish the living room.”

99. “I think I’m having a feeling. How do I make it stop?”

100. “I’m bitter and complicated. It’s one of my charms.” “I don’t think you know what that word means. Or how to count.”

101. “Well? What happened? I want all the details!”

102. “You always think you know what you’d do when faced with the end of the world. Me? I went home and took a nap.”

103. “Damn it, why aren’t you obeying the laws of physics?”

104. “I’d hug you right now, but you’re covered in evidence. And I also really don’t want to.” “Evidence is a really nice euphemism for blood, gore and guts.” “You’re totally missing the point. Do you know how pissed I am at you right now?”

105. “This way is more efficient.” “This way is going to get us killed.”

106. “You’re not my favourite person today.” “I’m not your favourite person on any day.”

list by @fictionpants

#prompts #prompt list

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lunaarajewel · 4 years

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Answering questions because I’m bored again

1. What have you eaten today? breakfast was oats with pb and banana, lunch was a zucchini stew, and then i had oats again for dinner because why not haha ><

2. Who was your last kiss with? Was it pleasant? it was sweet, felt a bit bittersweet because i said bye until next time

3. What color shoes did you last wear? black

4. Who has made you laugh the hardest in the last week? Myself

5. What is your favorite scent? Baked goods

6. What is your favorite season? Why? Spring and or early summer, it's so nice to smell all the flowers and to hear the birds again, to feel the warmth from the sun

7. Can you do a handstand or cartwheel? I can do a headstand on my forearms and a bad cartwheel xD

8. What color are your nails? currently blank!

9. If you had to get a tattoo on your face to save your life, what would it be? a moooon

10. What is something you find romantic? Hugs from behind when i least expect it

11. Are you happy? Yeah I'm doing really good, which is surprising because i haven't felt like that in a long time

12. Is there anything in particular making you happy or sad? The thing that is making me happy is probably my antidepressants but they have helped me to get hope again.

13. Dogs or Cats? Cats

15. Which do you prefer:a museum, a night club, the forest or a library? Ooooo difficult question because it depends!

15. What is your style? Hmm i'd describe it as a mix of cottagecore, steampunk, astrology, herbalism, witchy stuff

16. If you could be doing anything you like right now, what would it be? Travel to japan

17. Are you in a relationship or single? I'm dating but not an official relationship nope

18. What makes you attracted to the person you like right now? Their humor, the way they are so relaxed and careless

19. If you could replace your partner/best friend with a celebrity of your choice, would you? Who with? Whaat no i wouldn't do that

20. Are you holding on to something you need to let go of? If so then what? Some toxic behaviors/habits a bit!

21. How did you celebrate last Halloween? I listened to dark music a bit extra, watched nightmare before christmas and had some halloween candy

22. Have you recently made any big decisions? I started taking antidepressants!

23. Were you ever in a school play? Yes, when i was younger i was a princess i remember

24. What movie would you use to describe your life? aaa that's difficult, i haven't watched that many movies tbh!

25. Is there something you have dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it? Learning piano properly, but i've been busy with mental health stuff so i haven't been able to. But I've been planning on taking it more seriously lately

26. Complete this sentence, “I wish I had someone with whom I could share…” all of my thoughts without judgement

27. What are two things that irritate you about the same sex? (for some, not all) Jealousy, constant focus on showing off to guys

28. What are two things that irritate you about the opposite sex? (for some, not all) Bad at communicating, bad at understanding

29. What is the best thing that has happened to you this week? I started taking the steps to honestly change my life for the better

30. What is something that makes you sad when you think about it? How I treated my ex, he was actually really kind to me but I wasn't mentally stable so I couldn't communicate well to him. But I hope he's well! I only wish him the best.

31. How long was your longest relationship? a little over a year

32. Have you ever been in love? Oh yeah

33. Are you currently in love? A bit!

34. Why did your last relationship end? I ended it because I wasn't well enough, I needed some time alone to get back to myself.

35. What jewelry are you wearing right now, and where did you get it? A heart necklace i made, handmade bracelet from a market, 3 earrings from hm

36. When was the last time you cried and why? When i first took my antidepressants i burst out crying so its around 3 weeks ago i think

37. Name someone pretty. Uma thurman

38. What did you receive last Valentines Day? Japanese snacks

39. Do you get jealous easily? Nope

40. Have you ever been cheated on? Not that i know of

41. Do you trust your partner/best friend? Yes

42. Ever had detention? hahah yeah because i skipped class to buy piercing jewelry

43. Would you rather live in the countryside or the city? hmmm, difficult question. I think i'm that kinda person that likes to switch between the two

44. What do people call you? Luna since it's my name

45. What was the last book you read? "stjärnhimlen" (a book about stars)

46. How big of a nerd/dork are you? well i'm a nerd for moss e.e

47. What kind of music do you listen to? veryyy mixed, metal, rock, indie, alternative rock, jrock, instrumental, kpop, pop, rap

48. How tall are you? 163cm

49. Do you like kids? I don't mind them!

50. Favorite fruits? Banana, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, wild strawberry, persimmon

51. Do you wear jeans or sweats more? Sweats

52. What’s your earliest memory? In kindergarten i used to dance to Westlife music

53. Ever had a poem or song written about you or to you? Nope not that i know of

54. Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? behind

55. Do you have a collection of anything? Moon stuff

56. Do you save money or spend it? I try to save!

57. What would your dream house be like? Filled with things i've made and antique stuff as well

58. What top 5 things make you the angriest? Aaa i dont know, i try not to focus on those things

59. What top 5 things always brings a smile to your face? a good meal, plants, good music, animals, finishing something i made

60. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? I would help the dog

61. 72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid? Yeah i'd probably tell the ones closest to me that arent my family. then i'd just make the most of my time, i'd travel to japan for a week, france/germany for a week, a week with my family and last with the ones close to me outside of family. I would probably be a bit scared but i wouldn't try to focus on that fear too much, because well if theres nothing i can do about it then worrying about it will just stop me from enjoying the last of my days

62. Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. A heart shape ❤️

63. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Japan!

64. Do you like the beach? It's okay, not my favorite place

65. Ever sleep on the couch or a bed with someone special? Yes

66. Do you have a middle name? If so what is it! I have two middle names, Ida and Johanna

67. Do you talk to yourself? Yes, because it helps me to understand my own thoughts and situations better

68. Describe your hair. Thin, blonde

69. What is the meaning of life. To enjoy it

70. What is your ideal partner like? Calming, feels like home, a bit spontaneous romantic, supporting, good listener and communicator

71. Do you want to get married? Yeah it would be cute

72. Do you want to have kids? A bit torn on that question, can't say no or yes

73. Like or dislike your family? A bit so so

74. Are you Chunky or Slim? Somewhere in between

75. Would you consider yourself smart? Yes in some ways

76. What would you change about your life? The place I live

77. Religious or Not? Nope

78. You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with? I dont drink so no one!

79. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem? Nope

80. Does anyone regularly (other than family) tell you they love you? Nope, and my family doesn't say it either

81. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now? Probably sleeping

82. So, the last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3AM; do you let them in? Yes but my mom wouldn't be too happy haha

83. Do you like when people play with your hair? yes it's nice sometimes

84. Do you like bubble baths? Nope, i don't really like baths so much

85. Have you ever been pulled over by a cop? Nope

86. Have you ever danced in the rain? Yes, with my old best friend

87. Do you trust anyone with your life? Yes the ones closest to me, not really my family though

88. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning? I wanna eat haha

89. If money wasn’t an issue, what top 10 places would you travel to? (You get to stay at each place for a week) Japan for 3 weeks, France, Germany, LA, Italy, Greece, Thailand, England

90. How was your day today? It was good! I made some stew for the week

91. Play an instrument? A bit of piano, some chords on guitar but thats it

92. Describe the what you think of the ocean. It's okay, if i go i usually prefer a smaller beach with few or no people

93. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? Aliens but not like in movies, anything that is alive outside of our planet so anything even if it's an ant sized creature it's an alien to me. And as for ghosts i'm open to the idea of it but i haven't really invested much time in that topic!

94. Honestly, are things how you wanted them to be? Nope, but i believe they will be someday

95. Do you have a mean bitchy scary side? Not bitchy but a bit scary maybe

96. When are you vulnerable? When i'm deeply in love

97. How much free time do you have? A lot currently but i'm taking that time to relax

98. Do you like to go hiking? Never been!

99. Odd or Even Numbers? Even

100. Would you ever go sky diving, bungee jumping , cliff diving, wing suit gliding, parasailing, snorkeling, or other extreme activities? hmmm, i can't say for sure

#answered

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thetravelingmama · 5 years

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100 Things about your Mom.

Hi Chi. I’m back! All better and cured. I’m feeling like my old self again, energy and everything back. Like my doctor said today: if it’s working, don’t change it. That being said, let’s do something fun! I saw this weird list of questions and said: Game on!

1: What random stranger has had the biggest impact on your life? A Dad at a beach playing with his son. He made us made the decision to start a family.

2: What achievement are you proud of but most people would consider silly or weird? I refuse to “act my age”.

3: What period in history had the best fashion? The 50’s!

4: What silly or funny thing makes you afraid or creeps you out? Clowns.

5: How quickly do you jump to conclusions about people? I try not to, but the reality is that I get “vibes” from people, instantly. I’m never wrong, as much opportunities I give.

6: How would the world change if super heroes and super villains actually existed? I think heroes and villains DO exist.

7: What would be your strategy for surviving an apocalyptic epidemic? I already hoard medicine, movies and booze.

8: What is the most important change that should be made to your country’s education system? Equality, Empathy, Values and Gender Perspective are things that need to be taught. I also believe that a University Diploma should be mandatory. No school? Jail.

9: What is something you think you will regret in the future not starting now and what is something you already regret not starting sooner? I regret not becoming a Mom sooner. I’ll regret it most in the future.

10: What part of your culture are you most and least proud of?

Proud of our strength of character. Least proud of living in a status quo.

11: What's the worst and best thing about being female? Best thing is having a baby, carrying it inside your body. That experience is wonderful. The worst is definitively the inequality, how people treat you different in many ways and what they expect on how you “should behave”. I also believe there are many double standards when it comes to us.

12: If you could put your brain in a robot and live indefinitely, would you? Not for a gazillion dollars.

13: If you could replace the handshake as a greeting, what interesting new greeting would you replace it with? High fives are awesome.

14: Who’s the worst guest you’ve had in your house and what did they do? I’m glad to report that I never let people that I don’t truly trust or know at my house.

15: When does time pass fastest for you and when does it pass the slowest? Fastest: when I have a lot of work and a close deadline. Slowest: when I had to come up with advertising campaigns. I HATED starting on a presentation with all the passion in the world until I had an idea that worked. Then, it just was a breeze. Until that jackpot happens, time is torture.

16: What always sounds like a good idea at the time but rarely is? Telling someone the truth. Sometimes it just turns out that they can’t handle or understand it. Another great one? Getting drunk and knowing that no one is going to take care of the baby next morning. Huge mistake.

17: Are humans fundamentally different than animals? If so, what makes us different? We’re very much alike, I realized it after I gave birth. I just think we have the burden of emotions and logic to deal with, that’s all. I envy them: I’d love to function just on instincts!

18: What pictures or paintings have had a big impact on you? Guernica inspired me to paint. The Marilyn Diptych inspired me to design. At the Moulin Rouge is one of my favorites, just because.

19: What movie or book character are you most similar to? That’s a tough one. I identify a lot (with absolutely no clue of why) with Mia Wallace’s lust for life and her disregard for rules; Marla Singer’s I don’t care attitude and confusion. I’m also a mix of Santino and Michael Corleone when I’m either strategizing or just extremely angry.

20: You can broadcast one sentence to every TV channel and radio in the world and have it translated to each country’s language. What sentence do you say? “What doesn’t offend you might offend someone else. Calm down and let people do and say what they want.”

21: What fact are you really surprised that more people don't know about? That research does not mean that you trust instantly whatever you find online. Reliable sources exist for a reason.

22: What are you completely over and done with? Putting the well-being of others before mine.

23: What memory do you just keep going back to?

It depends on the day.

24: What’s the most immature thing someone can do? I believe that making a scene in public is just sign that you are emotionally and socially immature. From treating strangers badly for a stupid reason to arguing with your significant other in front of anybody is just a sign that you’re the problem.

25: What are you most passionate about and what do you wish you were more passionate about? Reading and writing.

26: What’s the best comeback you’ve ever heard?

“I’m growing a human inside me, what’s your excuse?” I said that. :P

27: Who haven’t you seen or talked to in a long time and hope they are doing okay? With Facebook that stopped happening years ago. I actually miss that feeling of wondering how my friends are. Although, there is one friend from college that disappeared. I sometimes wonder what happened.

28: Where is the last place you would ever go? If by last this means “and then you can die”, Tibet. I can’t fathom thinking about a place in this world not worthy about visiting.

29: What’s something that you’ve never been able to do well? Math and control myself when I am beyond furious.

30: Who is the humblest person you know?

Any person who will do something for free just to help another human being.

31: What is the silliest reason someone you've known has completely lost it? The stuff people write online.

32: What is quite possibly the most annoying thing ever? People who judge others on based on what they wear, own, drive or live in. I also am starting to despise people who post every single goddamn second on social media. My social media algebra is simple: entertain, yes; Report, no.

33: What do you wish people would stop asking you? Can I have free tickets?

34: What is the most unusual fear you have? Frogs and Roller Coasters.

35: What is your favorite TV show? Right now it’s Better Call Saul.

36: What’s the most ridiculous argument you’ve had? If it’s ridiculous, I’m totally ignoring the idea of talking about it. Silence is golden.

37: What’s the biggest lesson life has taught you? My happiness is way more important than anything else in the world.

38: What is increasingly becoming socially acceptable? Telling others how to act, talk, behave, think, write... I remember the days when people judged you in silence or behind closed doors. Thanks a lot, internet.

39: What’s the weirdest tradition your family has? It’s not a tradition per se, we just talk really loud when we’re together, and all at the same time.

40: If you could choose anyone living or dead, who would you choose to lead our country? It would be a mix of Obama, Lady Gaga, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Snowden.

41: What app on your phone do you wish you used more? Tabata.

42: Who was the most power mad person you’ve met? Insert advertising client name here.

43: What world famous monument do you have no interest in visiting? The Tower of Pisa. Next.

44: What is something that you think people are only pretending to like or are deluding themselves into liking? Wine.

45: What joke went way too far? Anything that relates to a pregnancy announcement.

46: What are some of the telltale signs that a guy is creepy? If a man tries to control how I talk, behave, dress, manage a situation or just even decides something for me. If he thinks I need his approval for anything.

47: What is your very first memory? Walking around the beach.

48: What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve said or done around someone you dated? It’s not embarrassing but it did catch me off guard: I made a point in my life to never say “I love you” to a man first until I was sure that it was going to mean something. One day, when I was starting to date your Dad, I just blurted it out. He laughed and said “You said it first!”

49: Who is your favorite actor or actress? Right now it’s Bryan Cranston.

50: What doesn’t exist but you desperately want / need it? A pill that eliminates sadness or anger instantly.

51: What are you most grateful for? My child.

52: If you could hear every time someone said something good about you or something negative about you, which would you choose? Neither. Not interested.

53: What do you wish you could re-live? Just for fun, my twenties. Had the best time.

54: What’s something that you recommend everyone trying at least once? Massages.

55: Do you prefer being warmed when you’re too cold or being cooled when you’re too hot? Warmed.

56: What sentence can you say that makes total sense now but would seem insane 20 years ago? “Do it, don’t wait.”

57: How decisive or indecisive are you? Extremely decisive. I’d rather go out in flames, always.

58: What’s something from your childhood that used to be common but now is pretty rare? I used to play outside unsupervised and came back home when I was supposed to. I also drove my grandpa’s car lots of times while sitting in his lap. Now he would get thrown in jail, I guess.

59: If you were an action figure, what accessories would you be sold with? A bottle of Vodka, books, beach items and lipstick.

60: What weird smell do you really enjoy? Gasoline and the streets of New York City.

61: What do you like that is traditionally considered masculine? Boxing, hard liquors, swearing, dark sense of humor.

62: What’s something you learned recently that you really should have already known? Expectations are resentments in the making.

63: What’s a simple mistake you made that had dramatic consequences? I should have been honest with someone without worrying about what could happen next.

64: What’s the best piece of advice someone has given you? You’re not responsible for how other people feel, it’s their problem to handle.

65: What do you think people automatically wrongly assume about you when they look at you? That I’m delicate, maybe?

66: Looking back on your life, what have you done that has given you the most satisfaction? Besides from being a Mom, having a successful company.

67: If everything was quantified, what life stats would like to see for yourself? The happy vs sad moments.

68: What do you really wish you knew when you were younger? That I am way more stronger than I thought.

69: When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? I think it was watching Dave Chapelle or Joe Rogan on Netflix.

70: What do you wish you had more time for? Being with my child when she grows older. I hope to be alive when she gets married or has a kid.

71: When was the last time you had a gut feeling about something that turned out to be correct? How about a time your gut feeling was wrong? My gut feelings are 99% on point. Sometimes it takes a second, sometimes years. I always end up being right.

72: What’s your curiosity killed the cat story? Your Dad. I ended up married and having you!

73: What areas in your life do you have high hopes for and what are those high hopes? I hope that our child decides to run our company and makes it even more successful.

74: Who was the most spoiled person you personally have met? Met a few. No comment.

75: What makes you feel old? When people don’t know a certain band or piece of music.

76: What’s your favorite non-drug / non-alcohol high? Traveling.

77: What’s the worst thing you’ve heard one person say to another person? It’s a tie between, “Sorry, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” and “Shut up and listen”.

78: What do you love about yourself? I’m starting to love my new sense of self. It gives me meaning.

79: What gets progressively weirder the more you think about it? Society in general.

80: What have you gotten too old to put up with? Being obligated to do something.

81: What event would you like to know the whole and complete truth about? JFK’s death. I also would love to read Mueller’s unredacted report.

82: What have you recently become obsessed with? Home delivery. Hi Jeff Bezos, I paid for your electricity this month.

83: What’s the biggest waste of money you’ve seen? Anything related to spending a lot on cars or jewelry. I’d rather travel, sorry.

84: What’s surprising about you? Most people don’t know that I can’t stand chick films.

85: When you were a kid what silly thing were you deathly afraid of? Dracula. Frank Langella, you made my childhood miserable for months.

86: Besides a raise or more vacation time, what’s the best perk a company can offer employees? Time to relax and focus. In Advertising, we’re expected to produce an insane amount of creative pieces in little time. Creativity and pressure don’t go well. Also, a short amount of time during the month to do the things we can’t during the weekend.

87: Where do you like going for walks? Lower East Side or Montmartre.

88: If you found out you would inexplicably fall down dead in one year, what would you change about your life? I would travel non stop so that I could drop dead somewhere cool.

89: What movie have you seen more than seven times? It might be a tie between Pulp Fiction and the Godfather Series.

90: Most people want to be wealthy for one reason or another. Why do you would want to be wealthy? To travel.

91: What’s the best thing you could tell someone to cheer them up when they are feeling down? My grandmother used to say “Someday, when you look back at a bad moment in your life, you’re gonna laugh about it”. Wherever she is, I know she looks down and reminds me in my dreams from time to time.

92: When you were a kid, what movie did you watch over and over again? Mary Poppins... and The Godfather 1 when no one was watching.

93: What’s the worst trait a person can have? No empathy.

94: If you could know one truth about yourself, history, the world, or even the universe, what truth would you want to know? Is someone out there?

95: What’s your favorite souvenir that you have? Our cheesy “Oia” sign. It reminds me of the best honeymoon in the world.

96: What would you do if someone left a duffle bag filled with $2,000,000 on your back porch? Buy a small apartment in NYC, buy another near the beach in Rincón. Leave the rest for Mía.

97: If everything in your house had to be one color what color would you choose? Black.

98: What would your warning label say if every person was required to have one? Don’t get her angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.

99: What weird childhood fear do you still kind of hold on to? Big waves.

100: What’s the most polarizing question you could ask your group of friends? That’s the funny thing about us. There is not one polarizing thing we could ask each other. We talk and share EVERYTHING in our lives. The good, the bad, the disgusting, the inappropriate. Even the things we are ashamed to admit or share. That’s true friendship.

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otisdyke · 5 years

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Top Tips From The Horses Mouth

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Daniel Ramot

The cofounder and CEO of Via Transportation, a carpooling service that has raised almost £300 million in funding, reveals what he has learnt…

“I think who you spend your time with can be more important than what you’re working on. When launching Via, I had a network of the smartest people [from university] I could hire to build our algorithm and technology.”

It’s never too late to change track

“I realised in my third year that academia wasn’t for me. I was reverse engineering when really I wanted to build things. I still finished my degree and my experience working with data has proved very useful.”

Don’t rush

“I didn’t rush to start a business, because, as a graduate student, I was financially unstable, but also none of my ideas were good enough – and I didn’t have the right partner.”

Prove your product

“We thought we could build the technology and that every city in the world and every public transportation authority would want to use it. We soon realised we had to build the product to show them it actually worked.”

Stop talking about it

“We took six months to convince ourselves that our idea would work. But we should have launched right away. You think you’re reducing your risk by doing diligence around your idea, but actually the risk of someone else launching your idea increases.”

Nothing is above your pay grade

“I’ve started to hear the phrase ‘above your pay grade’, which I dislike. I expect people at Via to try to engage with every problem. If you’re ambitious, then your goal should be to engage with problems one or two levels higher than you.”

David Hieatt

The cofounder of Hiut Denim Co, the jeans label worn by everyone from the Arctic Monkeys to Meghan Markle and now with a three-month waiting list for orders, reveals what he has learned…

Put yourself in a corner

“I quit my A-levels and started a sports clothing business. The petrol gauge in my car didn’t work, so I never knew if there was any petrol – the only sure-fire way to make sure I got home was to sell like hell.”

Read up

“I was unemployed for over a year until I read Ogilvy On Advertising, which said you don’t need any qualifications to work in the creative department of an advertising agency.”

It’s about your boss, not your pay packet

“My boss Paul Arden was the Steve Jobs of advertising. He taught me never to compromise for financial reasons. Who cares about your job title? The real question is: who’s your teacher?”

Make a splash

“I wanted to exhibit our T-shirts at a show, but it was £5,000 for a stand. So I just painted two models as if they were wearing the T-shirts. We were banned within 30 minutes, but every single magazine – and the event – ran images of the stunt.”

Tell a story

“A great brand is a great story. For Hiut Denim, our small town in Wales used to make jeans, so we wanted to give 400 people their jobs back. That’s a great story.”

Don’t rush to sell

“Sell your company once you don’t love it any more. If you sell what you love and someone else messes it up, you’re going to feel it. If you’re enjoying the ride, stay on the horse.”

Ryan Prince

The founder and CEO of hotel-style apartment rental chain Uncle, which owns more than 1,200 properties with £500 million worth of assets, reveals what he has learnt…

Beware the shortcut

“I realised I could cram my entire university schedule into two days, leaving a five-day weekend. I ended up regretting never taking advantage of all the great things I could have done. Now I’ve gone 180 degrees the other way.”

Embrace your anxieties

“My father arrived in Canada after the Second World War with his parents, who were Holocaust survivors. He was born in a displaced persons camp. I grew up mindful that I had nothing to fall back on and you never know what’s around the corner. I had to look after myself financially.”

Trust your mid-life crisis

“I had a mid-life crisis at 25. I realised I was much too much of a control freak to passively invest in business and just hope they did well. I needed a more reliable career.”

Reconsider the norm

“You judge hotels according to their brands and reviews, but when renting you have no idea what you’re signing up for. That’s backwards. So I thought, why isn’t there a hotel brand for living? Uncle was born out of that question.”

Track consumer trends

“I realised affordability in cities was going down, renting was growing and its stigma decreasing. It was once a badge of honour to own your car, now people will say why waste money doing that?”

Guy Ivesha

Meet the man behind London’s £40 million co-working members’ club Mortimer House

Delegate to busy people

“I learnt in the army that if you want something done, give it to someone busy. I found that if I gave it to someone with all the time in the world on their hands, they didn’t do it quickly.”

Keep abreast of industry news

“I subscribed to all the hospitality publications and one day learnt an Israeli billionaire [Yitzhak Tshuva] had acquired the Plaza Hotel in New York. Seven months later I managed to get a meeting with him through a mutual friend and he gave me a job.”

Get to the table

“For six months I wasn’t invited to meetings, until one day I saw an empty seat and sat down. I came every week until, months later, I found I was the closest person to the CEO.”

Can not can’t

“My father taught me never to admit you couldn’t do something. You can always find a way, even if you don’t know the answer yet.”

Opposites attract

“It’s wise if each partner brings a different set of competencies and qualities. My business partner doesn’t understand the hospitality world from the inside, but he very much understands property and finance.”

Staffing is a balancing act

“If you bring people onto the payroll too early, it can be heavy on working capital. But if you bring them in too late, then you can’t run the place.”

Will Dean

The cofounder and CEO of Tough Mudder – which hosts endurance events in eleven countries and now turns over more than $100 million a year – on mentors, marketing and the power of a Harvard MBA

Status matters

“Being able to go into a meeting with ‘I’m a Harvard MBA’ means people give you the benefit of the doubt and in certain situations that’s very helpful.”

Punch above your weight

“Aged 16, my schoolfriend Guy Livingstone and I made £20,000 from selling colour-changing nail varnish via Young Enterprise. To seem authoritative to distributors, I’d make them wait on the phone, saying, ‘Please hold while I put you through to Mr Dean.’”

Learn the basics

“I didn’t understand how marketing and advertising were different, so the Mirror helped me articulate a value proposition, keep customers happy and measure customer sentiment.”

Find a mentor

“The CEO of Take-Two [publisher of Grand Theft Auto], Strauss Zelnick, is good at giving me a prescriptive answer.”

Don’t be monomaniacal

“If you bring intense focus to everything you do then you burn through things quite quickly and your ideas won’t seem as exciting. I try to be more balanced now.”

It’s not going to calm down

“Young entrepreneurs think that in six months it calms down. But in six months it will have gone from 10/10 intensity to 9.8. If you do a good job, in two years it’ll be 8/10.”

Ben Silbermann

The CEO and co-founder of Pinterest, the £8.6 billion visual discovery app that ‘pins’ a trillion lifestyle recommendations a year, reveals what he has learnt…

Don’t over-research

“If you can build the product almost as quickly as you can research it, then you should just build the product. It’s better to get it into somebody’s hands.”

Listen and learn

“I learnt to listen very carefully to clients when I was consulting, which meant that at Pinterest our customer service was highly personal. I even gave my email and mobile number to customers.”

Sell and anti-sell

“We’d say to investors, ‘This is what Pinterest could be, but these are the risks.’ People that opt in knowing the risks are the partners you want.”

Don’t separate work and play

“You need to integrate your work and personal life. I don’t think it’s practical any more for people to have this really clean split. You need to develop patterns that work for your family as well as your job. You don’t want to be half on, half off all the time. It’s not a good way to live your life.”

Think laterally

“It was difficult to raise funds for Pinterest because of the financial crisis. So I entered a college business plan contest and the prize was meeting with venture capitalists First Market Capital in New York, which gave us half our money.”

Fabien Riggall

The founder of Secret Cinema – the immersive cinematic experience that has sold more than half a million tickets since 2012 – reveals what he has learned.

Break the rules

“After watching Dead Poets Society, I escaped from school with £5 to start a life in London. I was inspired by the idea of romantic adventure. There was a huge search party and I was found.”

Look up the ladder

“I wanted to direct and produce, but I could see unhappy 50-year-old second-assistant directors with no hope of producing because the climb was so hard. So I started making short films.”

Blag it

“The confidence I got from telephone sales helped me as a producer. I’d get through to CEOs by pretending to be my own assistant and creating an illusion that I was successful.”

Manners maketh man

“We grew the Future Shorts community by sending the audience notes saying, ‘Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you again.’ We asked them to let us know their thoughts on the films.”

Dust yourself off

“Our Back To The Future screening was our biggest to date, selling 80,000 tickets. Next year, we went bigger with Star Wars and sold 100,000 tickets.”

Change your scene

“Last week I felt down so I went to Paris, walked around, sat in cafés and wrote. I immediately felt better. Similarly, when I moved to New York, it gave me a sense of optimism and the feeling that anything could happen.”

Ayman Hariri, Vero

Ayman Hariri, founder of the ad-free media-sharing platform Vero, which currently operates across 100 countries, reveals what he has learnt…

Learn from the masters

“I’ve used every single product that Apple has released in the last 15 years. The team and I try to apply Apple’s pursuit of simplicity and usefulness in everything we do with Vero.”

Have the last word

“We had to close Epok because we didn’t design things the right way. We should have taken out more of the decision makers and created something far more centralised.”

Nail the snowball effect

“When we hit one million users, we will start charging membership of the equivalent of a couple of cups of coffee. A million is a good starter for the snowball effect; after that point, the snowball accumulates and rolls down the hill.”

Emails aren’t real work

“Working with massive teams on huge construction projects, I learnt that there’s no replacement for human communication. Saying, ‘I sent them an email’ doesn’t mean you did your job.”

Work remotely

“If you find someone you want to recruit somewhere else in the world, why make them relocate? They are probably amazing because of the culture they live in. Vero has no office, we all work remotely using [team messaging app] Slack.”

Start what you finish

“I don’t understand companies who start their marketing push and say they’ll figure out their monetisation strategy later. Very few businesses have been able to be successful on the advertising model.”

Follow us on Vero for exclusive music content and commentary, all the latest music lifestyle news and insider access into the GQ world, from behind the scenes insight to recommendations from our Editors and high-profile talent.

James Park, Fitbit

The cofounder and CEO of the £6 billion activity tracker company Fitbit, which now has more than 23.6 million active users worldwide, reveals what he has learned.

Don’t rush

“Epesi was not successful – so many things went wrong. I was only 22 at the time, very inexperienced, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. I realised I had some more growing up to do. I needed more time and to meet more people.”

Hire up

“We started Fitbit with only two employees: a monumental task. You don’t want to over-hire before you’ve nailed your product, but a few more hands would have helped.”

Go public or go home

“Going public is good for investors and employees. Ours was the largest consumer electronics IPO in US history.”

Trust your gut

“I dropped out just before finals because I got an internship at Morgan Stanley. As an entrepreneur, you have to take risks. But as an engineer, there’s always a backup.”

Watch and learn (and copy)

“When the Nintendo Wii came out, I was interested in its sensors, as well as how it turned gaming into something friendly and active. This was technology with positive impacts. I wanted to put this magic into something more portable.”

Get enough capital

“In software you can make mistakes and learn from them cheaply; in hardware every mistake is expensive to fix and takes much longer. If I could go back, I’d make sure we were better capitalised to cushion our mistakes and sleep sounder at night!”

Kris Thykier, Archery Pictures and PeaPie Films

The producer responsible for Harry Brown, Riviera and Kick-Ass – and founder of Archery Pictures and PeaPie Films – reveals what he has learned…

Degrees aren’t everything

“I asked to defer because I got a job as a film runner. Then I deferred another year and, two years later, I was already starting to hire people who had degrees. I thought, ‘Well this doesn’t seem to be an issue.’ I never took up my place.”

“Partnering with Matthew Vaughn on MARV Films was interesting. He’s incredibly tough in his deal-making, very involved in the detail. That was a side of producing I hadn’t understood yet. We were a good balancing act. I think I tempered him.”

Move with the times

“I began watching a lot more TV and realised it was as exciting a medium for original storytelling as film. So I raised some money to build a new business, focusing on both.”

Turn your passion into your career

“My aunt was a cineaste and took me to inappropriate films such as Alien when I was very young. If questioned, she said it was incredibly rude to mention my dwarfism.”

Keep your ego in check

“At MARV, we made four films in 18 months and I thought I was born to be a producer and that I was a genius. But then, when I set up PeaPie, nothing worked [initially] and all my projects fell apart. It was a valuable lesson in hubris.”

Taavet Hinrikus, TransferWise

The CEO of money-sending service TransferWise – a unicorn startup on track for revenues of £100 million this year – reveals what he has learned…

Weigh up your options

“I dropped out of university to become the first employee of Skype, because I knew I would learn so much more there. If Skype had gone bust, I could always have returned to university, and I’d still have been a little smarter than before.”

Don’t rush into a job

“I did an MBA because when I left Skype I didn’t have a clear idea of whether I wanted to create or join a company. But you don’t need an MBA to become an entrepreneur.”

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig

“No amount of PR works if you’ve got a bad product. It has to be better than the competition and that comes down to making sure you do one thing really well.”

Pace yourself

“Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. I don’t believe it when people tell me they’ve been working 80-hour weeks for five years in a row. I just don’t think that’s possible.”

Look beyond the money

“Doing something that empowers people makes you realise how boring it would be to work for a place where the goal is just to make more money. It’s much easier to get out of bed and look forward to 12 hours of work if you’re making the world a better place.”

Get your pitch right

“A good pitch for funding requires clarity. You need to understand the problem you’re solving, why you’re in a good place to do it and your solution needs to be ten times better than the existing one. It also has to be a big problem.”

Mark Wogan, Homeslice

The co-founder and Creative Director of Homeslice (along with his Executive Chef Ry Jessup and his brother and Homeslice Managing Director Alan Wogan) a former street-food pizza stall that now turns over £4.5 million a year across three permanent London sites, reveals what he has learned.

Don’t underspend

“We thought we’d saved a lot of money when we opened the restaurant for only £200,000, but then we had to shut it three years later to install a new kitchen. What you think is important, like the light switches, isn’t. Instead, ask yourself: does your fridge work?”

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

“I was working 16-hour days, six days a week and it nearly killed me. I had no personal life. But if you want to work in the hospitality industry, it’s vocational, not something you do on the side.”

Academia isn’t everything

“I was moved on after my headmaster found an empty bottle of vodka and two of his crystal tumblers in my bedside cabinet. I only got three GCSEs. We all make mistakes; the point is not to be defined by them.”

The best part of a pitch is passion

“We did a very poor pitch to our first landlord: a four-page PowerPoint presentation and some pizza. An experienced restaurateur would have said, ‘They don’t have a clue.’ But we were passionate. Starting out, to win a pitch you need to get your passion across.”

Don’t look like a chain (even if you are)

“Aside from the wood-fired oven (hand-built by Ry), the décor in each Homeslice is completely different. Never hand over the creative reins to somebody else. We say exactly what themes, colour and furniture we want.”

Brian Chesky, Airbnb

The CEO and cofounder of Airbnb – the $31 billion home-sharing company that operates across 191 different countries with more than 150 million users – reveals what he has learned…

“At school, my teachers would say, ‘You’re a designer. You could design the world you live in.’ That was very inspiring. But, at 3DID I was designing products that would end up in landfill. I quit my joband left LA with $1,000 in my bank.”

Stop fretting about copycats

“I remember when I started Airbnb, somebody told me, ‘Don’t worry about someone stealing your idea. They will only dismiss it.'”

Go direct to source

“By picking the right source, you can fast-forward learning something new. I’m pretty shameless when asking for help, including from Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett. The circumstances might be different, but you can learn the outlying principles and see if they apply to you.”

Choose failure over regret

“Jeff Bezos’ ‘Regret Minimisation Framework’, advises choosing fewer regrets over fewer failures. Each year, it’s harder to do something new – you have one less year of your life to do it.”

Live with your cofounders

“The turning point for Airbnb was when my two cofounders and I lived and worked together seven days a week. Bouncing ideas around late at night formed some magical moments and that close bond is what builds your company.”

Grip any crises

“We had a PR nightmare after renters trashed a home in San Francisco. I was advised to increase the guarantee for hosts ten-fold. In a crisis, if you move in one direction, you’re usually OK.”

Blaise Belville, Boiler Room

Founder and CEO of Boiler Room, the live club music platform that has streamed over 3.5 billion minutes since launch and made £6.5 million last year, reveals what he has learned…

Get out of your comfort zone

“I started selling makeover vouchers at Oxford Circus for £400 a day. After I gave one to my girlfriend, I realised it was a scam, but it was interesting because I had to go up to people and put myself out there like some awful kind of salesman.”

Don’t get stuck making easy money

“Running a club night was making me £2,000 a week in cash, but upon turning 20 I met a 30-year-old club promoter and thought, ‘I do not want to be that guy.'”

Don’t be so sure of yourself

“Everyone told me not to do it, that it made no sense to refurbish a building I didn’t own. It was, indeed, a disaster. After five years of work, getting vitiligo and tuberculosis from stress, I almost bankrupted myself and those involved. It was a good lesson to be less arrogant.”

Start young

“My parents went bankrupt, so I started a CD-burning business and sold them at school. This developed my confidence that there were ways outside the traditional system to make money.”

Follow your itchy feet

“The magazine became pretty popular and Vice saw us as a competitor. But two and a half years in, I realised it wasn’t really going anywhere. I was 26 and bored of doing all this work and not having enough cash, so I moved on.”

Put the vision first

“When you first go into something creative, it’s a mistake to focus on the money. Do it for the right reasons and it’s more likely to turn into a business than if you try and force it.”

William Shu, Deliveroo

The co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo, the largest UK-based ‘restaurant-to-home’ delivery service, which operates across 12 countries and is now valued at $1 billion, tells us what he’s learned…

Embrace your (stranger) quirks

“When I started, the bank gave me $25 a night for dinner. On the first night I was so excited I ordered 25 burgers to the office from Burger King, as they were 99 cents each. It sounds odd to be so passionate about food delivery, but I never get bored talking about my [current] job.”

Ignore baffled friends

“I’d identified this huge gap in the market [for Deliveroo], but the average Londoner thought it made no sense. No one outside New York understood either, but I went ahead anyway.”

Do it yourself

“I was the first Deliveroo rider, seven days a week for eight months. My flatmate thought I’d lost my mind. I still do it now, once or twice a week. It allows me to see what’s going on.”

Don’t shy away from small jobs

“I was a waiter at a restaurant called Frank’s near campus for three years and it taught me how to be professional towards people. It’s not something you learn at school.”

Right idea, wrong time? Hold fire

“Smartphones and tablets didn’t exist and riders needed them. It wasn’t practical until the tech took off, which coincided with my tenure at business school. I was confident my idea would work eventually – things always change.”

Avoid business for business’ sake

“I met this super-smart guy from business school who was about to launch an online marketplace for handmade pet accessories. When I saw him a year later, he said he’d dropped it. Why? He realised he didn’t like dogs. If your start-up has no emotional resonance, it’s problematic. You’re going to get bored.”

Kayvon Beykpour, Periscope

The CEO and founder of live-streaming app Periscope, which has just celebrated it’s second-year anniversary, reveals what he has learned…

Have some gumption

“I got my biggest break by relentlessly hanging out in the photo studio. Eventually, one of the main photographers was out for lunch when he was meant to be on a shoot, and I got to take his place.”

Life’s too short not to travel

“‘F*** it, go travel'” was a colleague’s advice as I was debating whether to take time off. Travelling helped me build empathy with others.”

Keep your ambition sky high

“When we see Periscope being used in places like Ferguson or the House Of Representatives, in Nepal after the earthquake, or in the Middle East during the migrant crisis… it validates our vision.”

Know when to let go

“At Goodby, and then at Terriblyclever, we moved from project to project very quickly, working for several different big companies without being able to sink our teeth into anything. I didn’t find it satisfying.”

Never idle

“My work ethic was inspired by a scolding I received when I was 12, getting lunch money by cleaning fire extinguishers for hospitals. I was twiddling my thumbs having finished my work and my boss said, ‘If you have nothing to do, sweep the floor. Don’t just sit around.'”

Trust your gut

“We didn’t know if Periscope would work, but we didn’t care. We thought it should exist – that the world deserved a teleportation device.”

Carter Cleveland, Artsy

Carter Cleveland, the founder and CEO of Artsy, which allows buyers to choose from over 500,000 works held by galleries and auction houses, reveals what he has learned…

Listen to your quirks

“I knew my idea for Artsy was an uncontainable passion when during job interviews I would start pitching the idea to employers. It was a completely irrational interview technique.”

Torture thyself

“I joined Princeton’s dance company and before our first big performance, I was vomiting with nerves. Without that experience, it would’ve been harder for me to take the risk of starting my own company.”

Strike while the iron is hot

“Timing was the main reason why Artsy succeeded. A year earlier it would have been too hard a sell for galleries; a year later and we would have been followers, not leaders.”

Don’t adopt your father’s workweek

“We have as few rules as possible. We don’t have mandated vacation, and we don’t have specific working hours. It’s impossible to know what the ‘best way’ is to achieve goals. It’s up to the individual.”

Relinquish control

“Our head of product suggested purple as our brand colour. I hated purple, so drafted an email arguing against it. Then I realised that you don’t hire the best person just to overrule them. I never sent the email.”

Be strict about your bedtime

“I began Artsy working 120 hours a week and staying in the office until 4am. I worked weekends and felt guilty getting more than four hours sleep. In the end, my body shut down and I was unable to type.”

The post Top Tips From The Horses Mouth appeared first on Otis Dyke.

from The Otis Dyke Lifestyle Blog https://www.otisdyke.co.uk/top-tips-from-the-horses-mouth/

#Business #Lifestyle #Things I Want To Do #Things I'm Doing

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im-invisible-erased · 7 years

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Very Old Story...

Misconceptions of Life

By Ashley

Freak, loser, bitch, slut. I’ve heard them all before and this school will be no different. Every school I’ve been to tells the same story, just change the faces and the names. This is my third high school, and I am only in the 10th grade. I just hope I can lie low here. I can’t take the treatment that I had at my last two schools. Letting out a long drawn out sigh I shut off my beaten down, old 79 Chevy Silverado truck and slam the door. The duct tape holding the mirror comes loose and falls on the pavement. F my life, seriously? Why did I get stuck with this piece of junk? Mumbling a few choice curse words under my breath I gingerly pick up the side mirror and inspect it for cracks; it was fine. I put the mirror in the bed of the truck and walked through the deserted student parking lot. I was 45 minutes early; I walked in the school and looked around, nothing I hadn’t seen before. I picked up my schedule and found my locker. The combo didn’t work. Letting out another sigh, I took a quick look to my right, then left, then at the ceiling. No teachers and no cameras, good. I fish in the back pocket of my skinny jeans and pull out a bobby pin. I pick the lock to my locker and close it again.

The day goes by without anything else going wrong. Boring syllabi and those dumb get to know everybody’s name games which are totally pointless. I’m the only new person to this school in seven years! I drive home, unlock the front door, and go straight to my room. I shut the door quietly behind me. Finally, a connection to a cell phone tower. That entire school is one giant black hole for cell phones. I had learned quickly that the school had put up a cell phone jammer. It was said to increase the productivity of the students; less distractions or something. It was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard. I didn’t even know cell phone blockers existed until today. I checked my phone for the first time since last night. The scratched up black flip phone with the pink-stripped case started to vibrate on my desk. 4 new messages.

Katie-1:42 AM Hey, don’t get too down about going to a new school sometimes being the unknown is the better option, and from what you told me about your last schools (which is terrible BTW) that you could use being the unknown. Cheer up, I hate seeing you this way T~T. Katie-1:52 AM Alli…You there? Katie-2:14 AM you better not be doing what I think you are, I absolutely HATE when you do that to yourself. :/ Katie-2:24 AM

Night, talk to you tomorrow after school.

I finish reading the texts from last night when my phone gets another text. Katie-3:42PM

-Massive Hugs-. How was your first day at the new school? Alli-3:44 PM

Not terrible… I guess but the first week or so is always the same, ya know what I mean?

Katie-3:45 PM Yea it pretty much is, so are you out of this god awful town now since you switched schools?

Alli-3:47 PM

Nope, I just drive further to and from school now. Katie-3:48 PM

That sucks. I’m sorry :( Alli-3:50 PM It’s fine. I was able to keep my job and Nick said he would be giving me more hours to help out my gas bill. Katie-3:50 PM You’re lucky that your boyfriend is also your boss ;) Alli-3:53 PM He’s NOT my boyfriend! He is just my neighbor. Katie-3:54 PM Suurre he’s not :P Alli-3:59 PM If I didn’t have to be at work soon I would drive over there and show you what I think of your sarcasm. ♥

I was only kidding of course, but Kate knew me well; I had known her since we were in our little Sunday dresses as kids. She still keeps a picture from that day and always says, “Look how cute you used to be, what happened to that?” She knew I hated those dresses ever since I was forced into them by Momma, back when we went to church. I checked my email before I left for work. 4 junk emails and 30 hate emails that I sent to the delete folder. I shut down the computer and grabbed my keys and locked the house behind me. 5:55 PM, I was early. The daytime hostess got off at 6:00, which was when my shift started. I assumed my position and spent the next 5 hours greeting people and showing them to their tables in my sing-song work voice. Work is, well, work; a means of surviving. Chef Chang gave me some sweet and sour pork and the left over rice from that night’s batch. Night shifts are terrible, but I get free food. I love working at Sakura but it can be hectic at times. I left my uniform in my locker and went out to my car. He was there leaning up against the hood of my car smoking a cigarette. “What are you doing here?” “Oh I just wanted to see how my favorite neighbor was doing.” He gave me one of his I have other intentions smiles.

“Your driver side mirror is missing. You know that right?” “I know,” I mumbled. I let out a sigh of relief and put my head on his shoulder. He looked at me, flicks the burnt end of his cigarette, and gives me a deep kiss. We break apart and he smiles at me.

“Love you Alli.”

“I love you too.” He gives me another kiss and a quick squeeze.

“You want me to escort you home, Milady? ‘Cause your mother is going to be furious about that mirror.” He’s such a goofball sometimes, but he’s right.

“Nah, I’m fine. See you tomorrow?”

“Yea, love ya.”

“Love you too.”

I got out of the car and walked toward the front door, hours pass before I hear the screams of Momma coming from the living room rousing me from my sleep.

“Allison! Get in here right now young lady!”

“Yes Momma?”

“What the hell happened to the truck, you’re always so careless!” She raised her hand up to strike me; I winced and covered my face with my arms. Three thuds and a whimper could be heard through the house. Back in my room I check my phone for the time. 1:40 AM. I had to be up for school in 5 hours. I took out the razor I kept in my pocket.

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. It’s only the third week of school and I’m already wishing it was summer. I roll out of bed and check my phone. 1 new message. Cole- 5:50 AM Check your email as soon as you read this. It’s urgent.

I turn on the computer and wait for it to boot up. This thing was ancient it still had Windows 97. I open the email from Cole once the computer has gotten a chance to work. I pull out my phone a minute later. There are only two people to call in a situation such as this and since one is probably asleep, we just got back from work not too long ago I’ll let him sleep and tell him later. The only other person I knew that would listen was Katie. Alli-7:00 AM

Hey! You got some time to chat?!!

Katie-7:02 AM

Sure what’s up? Alli-7:05 AM something terrible…

Katie-7:07 AM why terrible? :( Alli-7:07 AM My reputation has followed me; the rumors will be starting again. Katie-7:08 AM are you serious? How? You’re like going to school two towns over.

I sent the link to the page that was the end of my quiet restart of my school life. It was a link to a picture of my Mom at her work. Next to it was a small caption that read. “Doesn’t this look a lot like Allison Green the 10th grader at our school?�� Underneath were several pages of comments. Katie-7:25 AM

…Oh god…I’m so sorry. Alli-7:25 AM I don’t know what will be worse facing everybody at school or skipping and facing Mamma T-T Katie-7:26 AM I’m not sure either. Pick the lesser of the two evils? I check the time. I had 25 minutes left before I had to be out the door. Might as well get ready for the absolute hell that awaited me at school. Alli-7:27 AM I’ll TTYL. I got to get ready for school. Katie-7:28 AM Bye-Bye, Love ya ♥ Good luck.

I shutdown the computer and got ready for school. I pulled into the parking lot and sat in the truck, my hands shaking, playing with my lip ring. I sat there trying to calm my nerves for several minutes. I eventually got out and entered the school. I kept my head down and walked quickly through the halls but it couldn’t stop the whispers and the pointing. Nothing would.

“You see that girl? You know her mother is a whore.”

“I heard she left her last school because her father sold her into prostitution to feed his heroin addiction.” Lies, lies, all ridiculous lies. I wanted to scream at them to get my story straight, but it wouldn’t do anything. Most people are ignorant idiots who, when even with the facts sitting right in their face don’t accept them. And do they bother to find out the truth? No, they just believe the outlandish rumors and don’t even second guess any of it. The sound of my own name roused me from my swirling emotions and thoughts.

“Hey Allison, will you give me a discount on the mother daughter special if I help you with math?” it was the smart-aleck, know it all guy that sits in front of me in my math class. He saw my test scores and how I struggled in math. I flipped him the bird and stuck out my tongue.

“Why you little bitch…” The rest of his words were drowned out by the warning bell. I ran off to the bathroom. I checked in the stalls to make sure I was alone. I went into the first stall and started sobbing. I can’t deal with this abuse again, I just can’t. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you. What a load of crap. Words are the things that cut you the deepest they penetrate the mind and wage psychological warfare. I pull out the razor I had put in my bag, rolled up my sleeves.

I walk into history class late. I get a tardy but nothing more. I block out the whispers and peoples’ stares. Thank God for my MP3 player and decent headphones. By the end of the day, I’m ready to leave so badly. I stop by my locker. Somebody has put a sign up that says: You already have a career why bother staying around for an education. Leave! I crumple up the paper and leave the prison that my school life has become yet again.

Work, school, home, the vicious cycle continues for the next six weeks. The only times I’m actually not depressed now are when I’m with him, and even then the time is so short that it doesn’t even seem worth it now. I’m a terrible secret girlfriend. He could do better than me. Maybe I should just break it off with him. I’ll talk to him after this shift is over. I send him a quick text while there are no customers coming in.

Alli-10:45 PM

Same time same place, kay?

Nick-10:55 PM Alright.

I’m sitting in the bed of my truck waiting for him to show up. He’s late.

“Hey, really sorry I’m late I had to do some last minute things.”

“It’s fine,” I say starting to play with my lip ring. He looks at me with concern.

“What’s wrong? School again?” I nod looking down at the pavement. He puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head. “So wanna get going? Don’t your finals start next week?” I nod again not wanting to move or say what had to be done next. He hops down from the bed of my truck and offers me a hand. I just sit there, on the verge of tears. “Okay Allison, seriously what’s the matter?” he frowns at me.

“I have to break up with you. You can do so much better then some high school girl like me. I’m sorry”. Tears start running down my face, and I jump off the bed of the truck, get in, and start the ignition. He’s just standing there dumbfounded. I speed off towards my house, wiping my eyes. I arrive home. Momma won’t be home for another hour. I go to my room, slamming the door behind me, and collapse on my bed crying. I didn’t want to break up with him, but it had to be done. I’m not good enough for him. I’m ugly, stupid, and a complete failure. Plus he’s 3 years older then I am. He should be dating people his own age. The sound of my phone vibrating breaks my chain of thought. He’s calling. I take out the battery to my phone and curl up into a ball hugging myself crying softly.

I’m jarred awake to the sounds of screaming. I can hear Momma yelling at someone on the other side of a phone. I fall back asleep.

Fifth period lunch, I’m sitting in my usual corner, headphones on, music up full blast. I hate lunch period. It’s full of people doing idiotic things. At least nobody has come up to me today. Just as I finish my optimistic thought, nameless upperclassman jerk with his band of idiots stands in front of me. I look up at them. Their lips are moving, but I can’t hear them. I remove my headphones and give them a piercing stare.

“Hey, what’s up slut? How’s your mother doing in that stripper bar of hers?” I ignore the comment and mouth the words “Leave me alone.”

“So I was thinking this should be enough for one night of fun for me and the boys, right?” He tossed a roll of cash in my lap. I stare at the bills, a hundred dollars wrapped in a bunch of singles probably. I let out a sigh and hand the idiot back his money.

“Sorry, I don’t do that.” I turn to walk away but the nameless idiot grabs me by the shoulders.

“Hey, now not so fast. Now I promised the guys here a good time, and since you already have so much experience doing things for cash, I figured you would oblige.”

“I said I don’t do that. Are you hearing impaired?” I mumbled. His face shoots with rage at my comment. Great. Good job Alli, your smart mouth has gotten you in a sticky situation. He whispers into my ear.

“You should be a good little girl and keep that mouth of yours shut.”

“Let me go, or you will be in a world of pain.” I growled menacingly. He laughed at my comment. I let out a sigh; I warned him. I scream at the top of my lungs. “Get off me you deranged pervert!” The lunch room got deathly quiet, and teachers who had been completely oblivious until that moment spotted the group of boys surrounding me. The guys scatter like rats from a flashlight. I ran out of the lunch room and hid in the bathroom. I can’t deal with this crap anymore. I just can’t. Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? Can I help it that everyone is an ignorant fool? Can I control who my parents are and what they choose to do with their lives? Why am I constantly tortured by other peoples’ vices and peoples’ misconceptions. It just isn’t fair, this world isn’t fair. I never did anything to deserve this kind of treatment, and yet here I am living each day for no reason at all. My life has no purpose. I would be doing the world a favor if I just disappeared.

It’s past midnight, and I can’t sleep. I quit my job after that idiot at school tried to pay for a... A shiver runs up my spine at the thought. I would be doing the world a favor if I just disappeared... The next day Momma was angry that I had quit my job. She yelled at me for over three hours saying that I was just dropping out of society and that I was overreacting and that I should go to Mr. Chang and beg him to hire me again. I just couldn’t face “Him” again. That was why I didn’t want to go back to work and why I quit. I wasn’t worth his time or effort. I’m just not good enough for him. People say it constantly when they think I can’t hear them, that I’ll never amount to anything and that I’m going to end up worse off than Mama working as a prostitute for the rest of my life. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I will amount to nothing and that I’m just a worthless piece of trash that is a drain on society. I lazed around most of Saturday morning; I didn't know what I was going to do with myself anymore. School wasn’t an option. I was passing, yes, but it had become a living nightmare that I couldn't keep returning to. Home, well it’s mostly quiet until nighttime. But home is no better than school. Where else is there to go? What other options did I really have? I can’t survive in the world with only a 9th grade education and the little money that I have saved up won’t last very long either. I just don’t know what to do anymore.

The doorbell rings. It’s Kate, she drags me outside and we get in her car. We end up at the mall, walking around, people and mostly window shopping. Trying on clothes and just having a girl’s day out. Kate really cheered me up and it was nice to be away from all the worries of the world, I was genuinely happy for the first time, in a long time. It was a good day.

I return home exhausted and go straight to bed. A crash breaks my light sleep, and I sit up in my bed. Someone is yelling at Mama over the phone and she’s yelling back, I get up and sit in the hallway to hear her better. “I wish we never would have been so foolish back in the day, I regret ever dating you, I didn’t want this for my life. I had to drop everything that I had going for me and take care of the baby. I wake up every day and work a shitty job to provide for my family that I wish I had never made. I told you back then that we should have waited. We weren’t ready for a child and the second I told you I was pregnant you up and leave like the cowardly son of a bitch you are! Oh, you’ve changed huh? Want to come back into your daughters’ life after 15 years? I've managed to survive for 16 years on my own I’m sure we can survive two more until she graduates. We’ll be fine. And after that it’s her decision whither she wants you to be a part of her life or not.”

Mama was just saying that to make herself look stronger than she really is. We weren’t gonna be fine, and I knew that she was just telling him what he wanted to hear, so he would leave her alone. We barely scrape by every month. I didn't think that my paycheck made any difference most of it was spent on gas money and the rest I put in the bank. A sudden realization hit me, Mama must have been stealing the money from my account to help pay for the bills. “Allison! Get in here now.”

“Umm, yes Mama?” I stood in the doorway. “What were you doing in the hallway? Eavesdropping, how many times have I told you not to listen to my conversations?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn't fall back asleep and I heard you two talking.”

“How dense are you, I’ve told you over and over to not eavesdrop do you learn from anything that I tell you? How many times do we have to have this same conversation?” I stood there blankly staring at the ground messing with my lip ring, I could tell that she hadn’t calmed down from the phone call. Mama took a deep breath, “So, why did you quit your job?” I was silent. “You aren’t pregnant are you?” I shook my head no. “If I find out that you’re lying you won’t be welcome in this house, now please go to bed.” I couldn’t tell if that was a serious threat. I froze for a second trying to figure out the words that she had just said would she really kick me out just like that? “I said go to bed!” I returned to my room and lay there on the bed staring at the ceiling my heart racing.

Another week passed and there was no point to anything anymore I showed up to school out of fear and returned home for lack of a better place to be. Everything had become pointless and monotonous. I feel numb every second of every minute of everyday I want this feeling to end. I just want to disappear. I start crying softly as I pull out my phone and a piece of paper.

Alli-12:48 AM

To my best friend, what can I say? It’s been an interesting life and you’ve always made me smile when I was sad. I’m glad that I met you all those years ago. But this is it for me I can’t take living in this world anymore. I’m sorry about everything. This is my last farewell.

I turned off my phone and turn my attention to the piece of paper on the desk.

Dear Everyone,

I’m sorry for everything that has gone wrong on my account. I’m sorry that I was the daughter that you never wanted and that I ruined your life by being born. I’m sorry that I forced you to work at the bar again as a waitress Momma. I’m sorry that I’m such a worthless soul and a nuisance on everyone that I come in contact with. But that will all be solved tonight. I’m fixing your mistake that you made when you were no older than me. I’m a nobody, and honestly nobody will miss me after today. I was a mistake, and there is no other way out of this world of sorrow...Goodbye, Your welcome. You weren’t always the best parent, but I loved you more than you will ever know, even though you never showed me any in return.

Sincerely,

Allison

I picked up the razorblade and started to make a deep cut in the tenants in my right wrist. I continued until there were three very deep cuts in my wrist and anywhere else I could see a vein. Blood was dripping from the wounds. I passed out shortly after that.

I woke up with a sharp pain shooting from all over my body. Katie was sitting next to me crying hysterically saying. “Please don’t die, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.” Over and over crying on the bed in the unknown room I was now laying in. I made a faint whimpering sound and she looked up. She looked at me and started crying more. I sat up slowly and she hugged me tightly.

I was in the hospital for a week getting “help.” Katie visited me everyday for those seven days. She was the high point of my day inside that terrible place. I was released after I had been claimed, “not a threat to my own self anymore.” I went to live with Katie after being released her mom had talked with my mom and they agreed to the deal. Maybe life would be better away from my house and school for a while.

#personal #senior year of high school writting #circa 2010 #my writting #misconceptions #trigger warnings #abuse #smoking #self harm #suicide #bullying #long post #delete later #probably...#short story #its actually not that good #lms if you read

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