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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Paul Millerd
Creativity by nature is an act of boldness and rebellion. – Robert Greene
“critical thinking without hope is cynicism. But hope without critical thinking is naïveté.”
I read a book on writing by William Zinsser. He urged me to “believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.”
if your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all. – Anna Quindlen
In the paycheck world, there used to be a saying: dress for the job you want, not the job you have. The analogous idea in the free agent world is: learn to exercise the freedoms you might acquire, not just the freedoms you have. – Venkatesh Rao
Learning is naturally the consequence of doing.”158
Dolly Parton: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
“time is now currency, it is not passed but spent.”
I sent her $100 via a payment app and walked away. When the thought first popped into my head, I noticed inner voices that told me it was a bad idea: “What if she wastes the money?” “Won’t this make her too lazy to take a job that might help her?” “She doesn’t deserve it.” Until that moment, I had always listened to those voices and leaned away from discomfort. However, this is the whole point of embracing the gift mindset and practicing generosity. It exposes our default scripts about how we think the world should work and opens us up to new possibilities.
I agree with what Eisenstein noted in his study of gift economies “it’s the generous person who is the wealthiest.”
The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action passed by, as a loss of power. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In one significant quote, Morrie reflects on the difference between living and dying: “Dying,” Morrie suddenly said, “is only one thing to be sad over, Mitch. Living unhappily is something else. So many of the people who come to visit me are unhappy.” Why? “Well, for one thing, the culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. We’re teaching the wrong things. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. Create your own.”173 If the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. Create your own.
the gap between what I claimed to care about and how I was living was larger than I wanted. Through reflection, I was able to see that there was a larger “conversation” I was meant to have with the world.
