Dr Enchi Chang

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@JonAcuff Chip wars. Recommended by a friend working for TSMC

[Jon Acuff @JonAcuff]

Last month at the Greenville, SC airport, the woman selling me the world’s warmest, most expensive bottle of water at the little store had a big tattoo on her forearm.

It was a veritable paragraph of text, so I asked her where the quote was from.

She said, “The third Harry Potter book.” I then responded with, “What do you think is the best Harry Potter book?” At which point she said, “You dumb, dumb business traveler who is about to miss his connecting flight and doesn’t even know it.” OK, she didn’t say exactly that, but her face sure did when she pointed back at her tattoo after I asked that question.

Both things were true. I did miss my connecting flight and that was a dumb question. OF COURSE the third book is her favorite, she has a tattoo about that book.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get a tattoo. At nearly 48 years old, I’m edging into first tattoo = midlife crisis territory. You want to get a Rick and Morty tattoo when you’re 23? Cool. You’re so quirky! You want to get a Rick and Morty tattoo when you’re 48? Is everything OK at home?

But if I did get a tattoo based on a quote from Harry Potter, I know exactly what I’d get. You can argue all you want about which book is best, it’s the Goblet of Fire by the way, but there’s no debating which sentence matters most in that entire series. Here it is:

“You’re a wizard, Harry.”

The reason the words matter.

If you’ve never read the books, here’s a little context for that sentence.

Harry Potter, orphaned as most heroes are (Cinderella, Frodo, Luke Skywalker, etc.), has been having a terrible go of life with his relatives, the Dursleys.

They consider him a nuisance, make him live under the stairs in a small cubby and treat him terribly. On his birthday, Hagrid, a mountain of a man, appears out of the blue to change his entire life. Harry, who felt like a loser, who was told constantly by his uncle and aunt, that he was a loser, has his complete identity flipped upside down with that one sentence.

“You’re a wizard, Harry.”

Why did those words matter? Because it made a nobody feel like somebody and that made everybody feel special.

Let’s repeat that again for the people in the back. It made a nobody feel like somebody and that made everybody feel special. That was Hagrid saying, “I see something in you that you don't see in yourself” and that sentence is one of the greatest gifts you can give other people.

I can think of four people who have given me that gift over the last 48 years of my life.

My 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Harris

She laminated a collection of my poems and that made me feel like a real writer. Her encouragement is a big part of the reason still write today. I even dedicated my most recent book, All it Takes is a Goal, to her.

The retreat speaker

I went on a men’s retreat 15 years ago. The author they hired to speak was walking over to the venue. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was desperate to do what he was doing. I chased him down and told him an idea I was working on. He stopped in his tracks, looked at me and said, “You’re a dangerous man. That’s the kind of idea that’s going to help a lot of people, but culture won’t like it. Stay dangerous.” Whenever my ideas start feeling too safe, I remember that conversation.

Donald Miller

When Donald Miller’s first book, “Blue Like Jazz” came out, he spoke at my dad’s church and stayed at my parent’s house. They said, “Our son is a writer too!” and put him on the phone with me. At the time, I was writing advertising in Atlanta and felt a million miles away from being the kind of writer I wanted to be. I told him what I did for a living and I’ll never forget what he said next, “Working in advertising is great preparation for writing books because it teaches you how to write copy that inspires people to take action.”

Billy Ivey

One of my mentors when I got my first job in Birmingham, AL was another writer named Billy Ivey. He is one of the funniest, most talented writers I’ve ever known. He’s encouraged me a dozen times over the years and recently he wrote a blog post about the first sentences in books. He included the line I started my book “Quitter” with. Here’s what I wrote: “The trick to removing your clothes in a bathroom stall is to start with your shirt.” I’d honestly forgotten all about that line and Billy’s reminder and the kind words about it really inspired me to write more lines like that.

Four different people, four different words of encouragement, but they all essentially said the same thing,

“You’re a wizard, Jon.”

In the moments of doubt, in the moments of insecurity, those words meant the world to me.

I bet right now, you can think of someone who did that for you. What if today, you told them thank you? It doesn’t have to be complicated, you don’t have to get out a quill and a fancy piece of paper to create something elaborate. It can just be a text message. Here’s the one I sent Donald Miller:

“This is random, but I’m working on a piece of content about people who have encouraged me over the years and when you stayed with my folks during the Blue Like Jazz tour, your phone call with me was really helpful. You told me, ‘Working in advertising is great preparation for writing books because it teaches you how to write copy that inspires people to take action.’ And that really meant a lot to me. Thanks for doing that!”

I’ve sent a number of those texts over the years and no one ever responds back, “Today was the worst day for you to send this to me.”

They usually say just the opposite.

“Thanks for thinking of me!” or “You don’t know how much I needed that today.”

So action one I would love you to take is to thank someone who told you that you are a wizard.

Action two is to tell someone they are.

You could be Hagrid in someone’s story right now.

You could tell a friend, “You’re a great mom. Whenever I’m with you, it inspires me to be a great mom, too!” That will take you thirty seconds but that friend is going to remember it for the rest of the day.

I also guarantee you have at least one friend who isn’t feeling like a great mom today. Text them.

You could tell someone any of the following:

“You’re a great leader.”

“You’re a great writer.”

“You’re a great runner.”

“You’re a great friend.”

“You’re a great artist.”

“You’re a great entrepreneur.”

There are a thousand ways you can make someone’s day with a simple bit of encouragement. And unlike Hagrid, you don’t have to find a flying motorcycle or journey to an island in the middle of a raging storm to deliver it.

You’re a wizard, Harry.

Tell someone today.

- Jon

(I wrote this for my free newsletter, the “Try This!” Sign up today to get ideas just like this, twice a month. https://t.co/wjtIQL5tu9)

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@jeremyutley Learn from small mistakes and in the next try do them in the right way

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@PTurian Bei der Online Befragung sind die Probanden immer ein Thema. Dazu ist die Anzahl auch ein Problem.

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@jeremyutley Thank u for always sharing ur words of wisdom! My thoughts - An English idiom comes to my mind when reading the article: against all odds. And I like Nike's slogan when I am chicken in doing things : Just Do It.

[Dr Abdul Ali @dr_abdulali125]

The basics of R - The Ultimate Guide and Cheat Sheet

Part 2

Bookmark this Tweet and Follow for More

#DataAnalytics #DataScience #rstats #data #BigData

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@jeremyutley Would be interested in doing this for every class, but every assignment seems to include 2 tasks? And how long should each task be?

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@MindaHarts Everything everywhere all at once - really entertain in ng and philosophical.

[Linus ✦ Ekenstam @LinusEkenstam]

Which one is AI generated ?

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@jeremyutley To me, creativity is like using Lego bricks - dissemble and reassemble to get something new.

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@canva Hold your breath!😉

[Anime News Network @Anime]

Spy×Family's final episode earned a 2․3% rating. https://t.co/SpfjcvNv3I

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@canva I am using Canva to summarize students' assignment as a feedback of students generated content

[Genry @Henry_DeFi]

It's been a long year

[Ahrefs @ahrefs]

Your 14-step SEO audit + checklist 🗒️

There's no universal approach to conducting an SEO audit—but these are some basic issues all site owners should look out for.

Let's take a closer look at each step 🧐

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@businessbotafly @canva https://t.co/9RcZUdYJd5 has short free projects. I benefited from them. FYI

[Dr Enchi Chang @drecchang]

@jeremyutley I am enjoying #ideaflow.It inspires me to read this old HBR article. The story of developing 2009 iPhone camera with bekoh is a great example of collaborative innovation!😲🧐 https://t.co/LKM6MrlgZz

[Canva @canva]

Our new Text to Image app is here and we couldn’t be more excited!

Create unique images and art from a simple description in seconds, for free - read more about our latest release 👇
https://t.co/LPrBSee3ZG