Words of wisdom for designers. Welcome to the 200th episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast. In celebration of this milestone, I’m going to try something a bit different. For this episode, I’m going to be succinct and to the point as I share 100 wise words with you, in the hopes that some of them will help you grow as a designer and help your business succeed. Before I get to my 100 words of wisdom I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of my journey in reaching episode 200. Maybe you’ve been with me from the start, or have gone back and listened to each and every episode I’ve put out. Perhaps you discovered this podcast somewhere over the past 4+ years, and picked up from there and keep listening. It could be that you’re a casual listener and only listen to certain episodes depending on the topic. Or, this might be your very first episode of Resourceful Designer. Regardless of how much or how little you've listened, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. YOU are the reason I keep doing this. I love helping designers like you. If just a small portion of the things I talk about on this podcast each week, helps you to become a better designer and a better business person. Then I’m a happy guy, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do when I published episode 1 of this podcast four and a half years ago. And I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, as long as there are people like you who are willing to take the time to listen and to grow. So once again, thank you for being part of my journey in reaching 200 episodes. And now, 100 Wise Words To Designers Everywhere. 100 Wise Words To Designers Everywhere. 1. Save your work, often 2. invest in a comfortable chair 3. learn how to give a good handshake 4. splurge when buying your computer. it will last you longer 5. raise your prices. you’re worth more than you think 6. look people in the eyes when talking to them 7. learn keyboard shortcuts 8. make the time to stretch 9. look at application preferences. You may find settings to turn on or off that will make your job easier 10. If you're not sure how to improve a design, try simplifying it by taking something away from it 11. Clean your keyboard 12. Get out of your comfort zone 13. Password protect your computer and other devices 14. Never show a client a design you're not proud of. 15. name your layers. you’ll be grateful whenever you revisit your file in the future. 16. create another user accounts on your computer. never let anyone use your own 17. don’t forget to take breaks 18. turn off distractions 19. avoid open drinks or messy food near your computer. it's called an accident for a good reason 20. smile. it releases endorphins, and that's a good thing. plus, people can hear it in your voice 21. charge for it. you do enough non-billable things. make sure you charge for everything you can 22. step back from your work. literally. stand back several steps. you may notice small details you might otherwise miss 23. eat well. a healthy body creates a healthy mind 24. creative blocks will happen. you will get over them 25. don't forget to drink. it’s harder to concentrate when you’re dehydrated 26. don’t rely on bevels or drop shadows, they rarely make a design better 27 know a good lawyer 28. hire a good accountant 29. find a dedicated place in your home to work 30. claim everything you’re allowed to on your taxes 31. be daring. trends are started because someone dared to try something no one had done before 32. understand the license for whatever you use. know what it allows you to do and what it doesn't 33. empty your trash 34. befriend other designers 35. trust your gut. it often knows better than you do 36. always use a contract. even for free work 37. buy lifetime deals. they're more expensive up front, but they'll save you money in the long run 38. proofread. don't rely solely on spell-check. this goes double for headlines, they’re were most errors are missed 39. make time for exercise 40. doodle whe