Advice from Notes to Strangers creator Andy Leek

Introduction

Andy Leek, creator of “notes to strangers” 6000 notes and counting pasted on streets of over 40 cities across the world, offers some advice for things he has learnt since graduating Graphic Design in 2008.

Quotes from Andy

• Bravery will take you further than Intelligence.
• Academia only teaches you how to learn in theory, the same processes don’t work in reality.
• Hard work will take you further than intelligence.
• It doesn’t matter as much as you think which uni you studied at and what grade you got.
• Persistence will take you further than intelligence. The most important life, business and career decision I ever made was to never take cocaine.
• Kindness will keep your heart young.
• You are going to be bad for a while, that is the price of getting good at something.
• Life is not a box ticking exercise and some of the most miserable people I’ve met, have followed blindly what society expected of them.
• Money is a tool to be used, not a prize to aspire to.
• Don’t be afraid to burn some bridges, a bridge back to somewhere you don’t like is not needed anyway.
• Keep moving forward, but no matter how fast you do, life is moving faster. So take rest too. Find how you rest best. Good rest is often the difference between a success and failure. Not that failures are bad, they are the stepping stones, each one propelling you forward much faster than the successes, if you learn from them.
• Being a good listener will take you further than intelligence.