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July 5 - July 11, 2022
Life favors the specific ask and punishes the vague wish.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” —Richard P. Feynman
His 2015 TED talk, “What Really Matters at the End of Life,” was among the top 15 most viewed TED talks of 2015.
“Don’t believe everything that you think.”
We both create our own indices at the beginning of books on near-blank pages, like the title page. This makes review later much faster. For instance, I might have “PH 8, 12, 19, 47” to indicate the pages where I’ve found great turns of phrase, and I’ll add in more page numbers as they pop up.
“My mantra is a very simple one, and that’s ‘Discipline equals freedom.’”
One of my favorite Franz Kafka quotes is related: “Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have.”
That’s a book called About Face, by Colonel David H. Hackworth. The other book that I’ve read multiple times is Blood Meridian [by Cormac McCarthy].”
On Most “Writer’s Block” in NonFiction “It’s not that I’m blocked. It’s that I don’t have enough research to write with power and knowledge about that topic.
and you never want to solve a research problem with language.
“You can tell the true character of a man by how his dog and his kids react to him.”
Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. This book is a friendly and accessible
The Power of Persuasion by Robert Levine. The ability to be convincing, sell ideas,
Secrets are a buffer to intimacy.’
Define your nightmare, the absolute worst that could happen if you did what you are considering.
“Don’t be a donkey” rule. In a world of distraction, single-tasking is a superpower.
Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to paralysis.
The Art of Learning [by Josh Waitzkin,
Most-gifted or recommended books? The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera,
“What are some of the choices you’ve made that made you who you are?”
* Advice to your younger self? “To be kinder to myself, because I think I’ve beaten myself up a lot.
putting thoughts on paper is the best way to A) develop ideas, and B) review and improve your thinking. The
when I’m going into a conflict or a difficult situation with my parents or an argument with Neil [Gaiman, her husband] is, ‘Say less.’ That’s it. Just say less.”
General fame is overrated. You want to be famous to 2,000 to 3,000 people you handpick.”
it is so much less work just to be yourself.”
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” —Pablo Picasso
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (5 mentions)
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman (3)
