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Every aphorism here is about a Procrustean bed of sorts—we humans, facing limits of knowledge, and things we do not observe, the unseen and the unknown, resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas, reductive categories, specific vocabularies, and prepackaged narratives, which, on the occasion, has explosive consequences.
To understand the liberating effect of asceticism, consider that losing all your fortune is much less painful than losing only half of it.
An erudite is someone who displays less than he knows; a journalist or consultant, the opposite.
Work destroys your soul by stealthily invading your brain during the hours not officially spent working; be selective about professions.
If you know, in the morning, what your day looks like with any precision, you are a little bit dead—the more precision, the more dead you are.
There is no intermediate state between ice and water but there is one between life and death: employment.
They will envy you for your success, for your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status—but rarely for your wisdom.
The characteristic feature of the loser is to bemoan, in general terms, mankind’s flaws, biases, contradictions, and irrationality—without exploiting them for fun and profit.
We ask “why is he rich (or poor)?” not “why isn’t he richer (or poorer)?”; “why is the crisis so deep?” not “why isn’t it deeper?”
You remember emails you sent that were not answered better than emails that you did not answer.
along the same lines as "creditors have better memories than debtors"
It is as difficult to avoid bugging others with advice on how to exercise and other health matters as it is to stick to an exercise schedule.
You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible objective, with no justification and, above all, outside the dictatorship of someone else’s narrative.
One categorical: it is easier to fast than diet. You cannot be “slightly” kosher or halal by only eating a small portion of ham.
Success is becoming in middle adulthood what you dreamed to be in late childhood. The rest comes from loss of control.
The fastest way to become rich is to socialize with the poor; the fastest way to become poor is to socialize with the rich.
You will be civilized on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing, learning nothing, and improving nothing, without feeling the slightest amount of guilt.
Contrary to what every writer on Medium would say
Someone who says “I am busy” is either declaring incompetence (and lack of control of his life) or trying to get rid of you.
Those who do not think that employment is systemic slavery are either blind or employed.
It seems that it is the most unsuccessful people who give the most advice, particularly for writing and financial matters.
There are two types of people: those who try to win and those who try to win arguments. They are never the same.
I need to keep reminding myself that a truly independent thinker may look like an accountant.
The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.
You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits.
Only in recent history has “working hard” signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse, and, mostly, sprezzatura.
Decomposition, for most, starts when they leave the free, social, and uncorrupted college life for the solitary confinement of professions and nuclear families.
The English have random Mediterranean weather; but they go to Spain because their free hours aren’t free.
Most so-called writers keep writing and writing with the hope to, some day, find something to say.
The sucker’s trap is when you focus on what you know and what others don’t know, rather than the reverse.
Wit seduces by signaling intelligence without nerdiness.
You are only secure if you can lose your fortune without the additional worse insult of having to become humble.*
Upon arriving at the hotel in Dubai, the businessman had a porter carry his luggage; I later saw him lifting free weights in the gym.
Those who have nothing to prove never say that they have nothing to prove.
