Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

by Tiago Forte

letting go of low-value information that seems important, but that doesn’t make us better people.

putting down the protective shield of fear that tells us we need to protect ourselves from the opinions of others, because that same shield is keeping us from receiving the gifts they want to give us.

The purpose of knowledge is to be shared.

Knowledge is the only resource that gets better and more valuable the more it multiplies.

Your Second Brain starts as a system to support you and your goals, but from there it can just as easily be used to support others and their dreams.

“Polanyi’s Paradox.” It can be summarized as “We know more than we can say.”

we are relying on tacit knowledge, which is impossible to describe in exact detail. We possess that knowledge, but it resides in our subconscious

The jobs and endeavors that rely on tacit knowledge will be the last ones to be automated.

You search outside yourself to search within yourself, knowing that everything you find has always been a part of you.

Self-expression is as vital to our survival as food or shelter. We must be able to share the stories of our lives—from the small moments of what happened today at school to our grandest theories of what life is about.

there is no reason to wait. The world is desperate to hear what you know. You can change lives by sharing yourself with others.

Keep what resonates (Capture) Save for actionability (Organize) Find the essence (Distill) Show your work (Express)

Scale back to only the notes you need to move those priorities forward.

Decide what you want to capture.

Choose your notes app.

Choose a capture tool.

Get set up with PARA.

Get inspired by identifying your twelve favorite problems.

Automatically capture your ebook highlights.

(see my recommendations at Buildingasecondbrain.com/resources

Practice Progressive Summarization.

Experiment with just one Intermediate Packet.

Make progress on one deliverable.

Schedule a Weekly Review.

Assess your notetaking proficiency.

Join the PKM community.

chase what excites you. When you are captivated and obsessed by a story, an idea, or a new possibility, don’t just let that moment pass as if it doesn’t matter.

Run after your obsessions with everything you have. Just be sure to take notes along the way.

You can download this chapter at Buildingasecondbrain.com/bonuschapter