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“If I’d had more time I would have written a shorter letter”.
I have created a life I love. My job doesn’t feel like work. I love and respect the people with whom I spend time. And I’m also passionate about my life outside work. I’ve learned how to create a balance that makes me happy between work and other interests, including my family, friends and exercise.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while you could miss it. - From the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Some ways allow more time to think, to be creative, to do what’s important, and to spend time with friends.
the busiest people on his team were always the people to whom he could give more work, while the ones who accomplished less had little time for anything (often including their existing responsibilities).
The trick is people who are most productive tend to say no to things that are unimportant to them and focus on what they believe matters.
if I wanted to do my best work, I needed to do fewer things, and really focus on what mattered.
Focusing on what matters means saying no to things that don’t matter. Otherwise, your life becomes cluttered with distractions.
Albert Einstein said: It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.
You might be able to afford a smaller home closer to your job rather than a bigger one with a long commute. And, if you do that, you might have significantly less stress on a daily basis.
people who tend to be the most creative have three things in common: They’re incredibly well prepared in their fields -- they become masters of their domains by practicing for many years, day after day. They spend time deeply focused on solving a key problem or key set of problems, no matter the obstacles. They allow themselves to step away from the problem(s) on which they’re focused, so that insights can come to them in activities such as walking, or looking out on a beautiful scene.
In taking walks these days, I try to notice the beauty around me; it helps me think and relax. In fact, I regularly take pictures with my cell phone camera (some are included here) as a reminder to stop and look. It’s a simple thing (and my pictures won’t win any prizes) but it works.
So to make the most of your life, say no to things that don’t matter, work hard at what you love, and occasionally take time away from your core focus to rest so that your mind can be quiet for great insights to come.
If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep. -Dale Carnegie
The lesson to me is that you can focus on something going well, or something beautiful, or something interesting -- even amidst terrible times.
As Winston Churchill said: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
All I want to know is where I'm going to die so I'll never go there. - Charlie Munger
try to avoid too much debt, drinking too much, staying away from people who are bad influences, eating poorly, and not exercising. I should probably make the distinction here between really dumb things, and routine mistakes made in the course of your life.
What you choose to do each day matters.
forming the right habits early is critical, whether that means eating well, exercising, saving money or being honest.
Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. - Abraham Lincoln
Do what you think is right. Don't follow other people blindly. Be honest and keep your word. Admit your mistakes.
if you have children, try to be sure their peer groups are healthy ones.
think about the values and habits you want to have, and then ensure you choose your friends, colleagues, mentors and bosses carefully.
I was able to succeed as an investor in the early years because a super smart mentor was willing to share his knowledge with me, and encouraged me to have faith in my convictions.
To build trusting friendships, I’ve learned, it’s critical to be true to my passions, and express how I feel and what I want.
No matter how much wealth or fame you accumulate, if you don’t have true friends it’s unlikely you’ll be happy.
you can imagine how much richer and easier your life would be with even a handful of true friends like that.
Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. - Plato
So if you want to feel good, be as productive as possible, live longer, reduce stress, be more creative, and be happier then you need to exercise regularly.
run for about eight minutes every morning
I now take an hour at lunch to bike, play tennis, r...
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Thousands of years ago, getting calories was tough; we like sweets and fats now because it was tremendous work getting them then, and we never knew when our next meal would come.
one small trick I’ve adopted is to try to eat dinner early. I’ve found that just doing that helps keep me at a healthy weight. And, when I eat dinner a bit later, I try to take a walk afterwards.
getting a good amount of sleep on a regular basis.
I perform best when I’m well rested.
If you can manage to sleep well no matter where you are, you'll find you have more energy and are able to think more clearly.
Stay active. People are like sharks: if we don’t move constantly, we’ll die.
Taking care of yourself extends beyond your body to your mental health. Many people don’t feel good about themselves psychologically.
This may start in childhood when their parents may not give them enough care and attention (so they don’t feel lovable); or they may get too much, too easily from their parents (so they end up feeling undeserving). Or their parents may be overly critical; nothing is ever good enough (so they end up constantly trying to please other people, or feeling inadequate, or both).
It’s only by loving, celebrating, and appreciating what makes you unique that you can fully enjoy your life, and truly love others.
Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with. -- Mark Twain
I’ve found you can choose to let all the things that go wrong in life depress you. Or, you can accept that things will go wrong, try to laugh, and then look at what you can do. There’s a Japanese proverb that gets right to the point: We’re fools whether we dance or not -- so we might as well dance.
A sense of humor is also useful when you make mistakes.
The payoff is the physical act of laughing actually improves your mood.
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
There are but three events in a man’s life: birth, life and death. He is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain, and he forgets to live. - Jean de la Bruyere
Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.
If you lie to yourself about who you are, or hide your identity from others, it will inevitably create stress, and it’s unlikely you’ll be either productive or happy.
