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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Timing and uncontrollable circumstances play more of a role than any of us care to admit.
given an unlimited amount of choices, we make none.
The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.
If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
Money can always be regenerated. Time and reputation cannot.
“The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”
Are you squandering your unique abilities? Or the chance to find them in the first place?
If I’m not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, then I say no.
How Much of Your Life Is Making Versus Managing?
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
“He who suffers before it is necessary suffers more than is necessary.”
We’re all navigating some superstructure that we humans created.”
“Life is a continual process of arrival into who we are.”
creating something that is rewarding and sustainable over the long run requires, most of all, keeping yourself excited about it….
“The culture of news is a culture without nuance.”
DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM
“Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have.”
Balancing those two things—the courage of exploring and the commitment to staying—and getting the ratio right is very hard.
“THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS A LIFE OF PURPOSE.”
Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
a person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
“Don’t be a donkey” rule. In a world of distraction, single-tasking is a superpower.
Memento mori—remember that you’re going to die. It’s a great way to remember to live.
“If something offends you, look inward…. That’s a sign that there’s something there.”
I think ultimately, sometimes when we judge other people, it’s just a way to not look at ourselves; a way to feel superior or sanctimonious or whatever.
“Happiness is wanting what you have.”
“When people seem like they are mean, they’re almost never mean. They’re anxious.”
DON’T ATTRIBUTE TO MALICE THAT WHICH CAN BE EXPLAINED OTHERWISE
“To blame someone for not understanding you fully is deeply unfair because, first of all, we don’t understand ourselves, and even if we do understand ourselves, we have such a hard time communicating ourselves to other people. Therefore, to be furious and enraged and bitter that people don’t get all of who we are is a really a cruel piece of immaturity.”
This busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness:
“What are some of the choices you’ve made that made you who you are?”
doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.
“Thanks for the feedback. I’m always trying to improve. In the meantime, I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
You can’t reason someone out of something they didn’t reason themselves into.
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”—Epictetus
You always have three options. You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it.
Be present above all else.
Total honesty at all times. It’s almost always possible to be honest and positive.
once you lose your calm, everything else starts falling apart fast.”
Never serve anything you wouldn’t want to eat.
‘Step back and come up with a plan. Look at what dishes you have, and figure out the most efficient way to cook them.’
always try and come up with a trick question that throws them off. They kind of have to answer, or have to think about
Don’t bow to the gatekeepers because I think, in essence, there are no gatekeepers. You are the gatekeeper….
if you don’t regularly appreciate the small wins, you will never appreciate the big wins.
the ‘spotlight effect,’ [as if] everybody must be caring about what I do. And the fact is: Nobody gives a crap what I do.”
TO TURN IT ON, LEARN TO TURN IT OFF
internal locus of control—to not be reliant on external conditions being just so.”
“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”
did I choose courage over comfort?’”
