More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
EXERCISE: Sit down with a pen and paper and write down what you value in life.
Authenticity—Be the same person at every occasion in life.
Truthfulness—Tell the truth. Always. Especially when it comes to your own life.
Joyfulness—Life is short. Do things that bring you joy. And NEVER do something you hate for longer than is necessary. Enjoy the small things. Music, other people, working out, walking, laying down, reading, and so forth.
Curiosity—Get to the bottom of everything you do. Not because you must. But because it’s fun to know things. Life is fascinating. Acknowledge it. And then, try to understand it. But leave it at trying.
Responsibility—Own your actions, mistakes, and current life situation. Understand what’s in your control, and fully own it. Don’t like something? Change it. But don’t take responsibility for things that are not on your plate. Focus on yourself. What other adults do is not your concern, nor your responsibility.
Love—Build intimate and deep relationships with a few people. Depth matters more than breadth. Spend more time with your spouse than your co-workers. Get to know your siblings on a deeper level. Choose two or three friends to spend your time with. Love your family. The people you see every day should get your highest priority.
Fearlessness—Don’t fear the future. And don’t be afraid of what people you don’t care about think of you. Only care about what you and the people you love think about you. Everything else is noise. Have dignity. Do the right thing and don’t fear the rest.
Loyalty—Even though you might not see your old friends, co-workers, team members, stay loyal. Once you build a bond with someone, don’t break it unless it’s necessary. But most importantly, stay loyal to yourself. Never sacrifice your own mental well-being for others. Treat yourself like you treat someone you love.
Actions: Open a Word document or note on your favorite note-taking app List a maximum of 10 core values Explain what you mean for each value in two or three sentences Print your list and put it on your desk or digitally pin it at the top of your favorites in your app Read your values every day for the next 14 days
“The man who has no inner life is a slave to his surroundings.” — Henri-Frederic Amiel
“For a man to act himself, he must be perfectly free; otherwise he is in danger of losing all sense of responsibility or of self- respect.”
A big part of becoming free is to acquire skills that you can always rely on. That requires a learning strategy.
First, you need to establish what skills you will acquire or improve.
Second, you need to establish how you will go about acquiring and i...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Remember to acquire skills you’re passionate about. And focus on things you have a natural talent for.
Continuous improvement is the only way to stay relevant. That’s why learning equals freedom.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
Phase 1: From Nothing To Something
Phase 2: Not Spending Money On BS
Phase 3: Getting Comfortable
During this time you can relax more and spend some money on yourself. But never save less than 30% during this phase.
Phase 4: Growth So you’ve saved at least six months of expenses.
The truth is that personal finance is easy once you take some time to learn about it. Basically, everything is common sense. You know everything I’ve mentioned in this chapter.
The challenge is executing it.
“Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose.” — Simone Weil
Working out doesn’t only make you stronger so you can deal better with the stresses and uncertainties of life—it will also give you more energy.
“It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” — Socrates
We all know that we will have setbacks and hurt sooner or later. But when all is well, we don’t want to think about. Oddly enough, good times are perfect for preparation. When everything in your life is going well, you can take the time focus on what you want to do to improve yourself.
That’s why this exercise is so important. When everything is going well, you want to meditate on what could go wrong. Let’s do a thought exercise. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down Close your eyes
Think about a person that’s close to you and who you rely on for support Imagine having a good time with them Feel the joy you experience from being with that person Now, imagine that you’re alone in a room Imagine you’re receiving a call from someone You pick up the phone The person you love just died Feel the sadness in your stomach
Now, snap out of it. It’s not necessary to get stuck in that feeling. The point is to temporarily feel negative emotions, so you don’t experience shock when you have to deal with grief in the future. Repeat this exercise for whatever you fear. I regularly meditate on losing my business and money.
I imagine that I made a wrong investment and that everything is gone.
I’ve done that so often in my mind that if it happens, it’s not new to me. I will...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Isn’t it better to take five minutes to prepare? If it happens, you will be prepared. And if it doesn’t happen, you didn’t lose anything. You only gained mental strength.
“I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” ― Benjamin Disraeli
“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” — Richard Cushing
“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ― Warren Buffett
The less you own, the better you feel.
I think that saying goodbye is a natural part of life.
Most of us gradually learn that no matter what happens, you have to move on. But you can also train yourself to become better at saying goodbye to things voluntarily. The easiest way to do that is to rid yourself of material possessions.
Decluttering is also an exercise to cope better with loss.
“Nobody really owns anything. We give back our bodies at the end of our lives. We own our thoughts, but everything else is just borrowed. We use it for a while, then pass it on. Everything.” ― Deborah Ellis
Without plans, we will remain trapped by our surroundings.
Be prepared for anything, have no expectations, and make the best out of every situation.
You simply have to work with the resources you have. A free person has no time to be disappointed. A free person makes a plan and then takes action. And if the plan fails? Draw up another plan. We can’t overcomplicate things. There’s no time to ask, “What about this? What about that?”
Anyone can make a plan. Sure, some plans are not thought out well and others are fiercely researched. But I’d rather execute a good enough plan than never execute the perfect plan.
The truth is that you only need what you need. I need nothing. If you adopt that mindset, everything is better than nothing. That doesn’t mean you should settle for mediocrity. It simply means you don’t need anything. You don’t need to wait.
If you get your shit together, there’s not much you need in life.
