May 2017
George Bernard Shaw
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.
June 2018
Hal Elrod — The Miracle Morning
Where you are is a result of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be. We mistakenly believe that who we were is who we are, thus limiting our true potential in the present, based on the limitations of our past.
Your level of success, will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.
Even when life is difficult or challenging — especially when life is difficult and challenging — the present is always an opportunity for us to learn, grow, and become better than we’ve ever been before.
Keep in mind that you’re not supposed to “figure out” what your purpose is, you get to make it up, create it, decide what you want it to be. Always remember that when you are committed to a life purpose that is bigger than your problems, your problems become relatively insignificant and you will overcome them with ease.
It really doesn’t matter who is at fault — all that matters is that you and I are committed to leaving the past in the past and making our lives exactly the way we want them to be, starting today.
Now matters more than any other time in your life, because it’s what you are doing today that is determining who you’re becoming, and who you’re becoming will always determine the quality and direction of your life. Always remember that who you’re becoming is far more important than what you’re doing, and yet it is what you’re doing that is determining who you’re becoming.
Seek out people who believe in you, admire you, and can help you get where you want to go in life. You must actively seek out such people to improve your circle of influence — they rarely just show up by chance.
“Whose fault is it that it’s boring? And whose responsibility is it to make it fun again?” It’s our responsibility to actively and continuously make life the way we want it to be.
Give up the need to be perfect for the opportunity to be authentic. Be who you are. Love who you are. Others will too.
If you want your life to be different, you have to be willing to do something different first.
Natsume Sōseki — “My Individualism”
There may be some who are satisfied to travel the old, proven routes behind others, and I do not say you are wrong in doing so — if it gives you genuine, unshakable peace of mind and self-confidence. If it does not, however, you must continue to dig ahead with your very own pick until you strike that vein of ore. I repeat, you must do it, for anyone who is unable to strike home will be unhappy for life, straying through the world in an endless, uneasy crouch.
More simply stated, individualism is a philosophy that replaces cliquism with values based on personal judgment of right and wrong. An individualist is not forever running with the group, forming cliques that thrash around blindly in the interests of power and money. That is why there lurks beneath the surface of his philosophy a loneliness unknown to others. As soon as we deny our little groups, then I simply go my way and I let the other man go his, unhindered. Sometimes, in some instances, we cannot avoid becoming scattered. That is what is lonely.
Paul Graham — “How to Get Startup Ideas”
Live in the future and build what seems interesting. Strange as it sounds, that’s the real recipe.
Michael Simmons — 5 Hour Rule
Knowledge is the new money. When you use knowledge or give it away, you don’t lose it. Transferring knowledge anywhere in the world is free and instant. Its value compounds over time faster than money. It can be converted into many things, including things that money can’t buy, such as authentic relationships and high levels of subjective well-being. It helps you accomplish your goals faster and better. It’s fun to acquire. It makes your brain work better. It expands your vocabulary, making you a better communicator. It helps you think bigger and beyond your circumstances. It puts your life in perspective by essentially helping you live many lives in one life through other people’s experiences and wisdom.
Scott Adams — The Dilbert Blog
If you want something extraordinary [in life], you have two paths:
1. Become the best at one specific thing.
2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.
Richard Feynman
When we speak without jargon, it frees us from hiding behind knowledge we don’t have. Big words and fluffy “business speak” cripples us from getting to the point and passing knowledge to others.
Nicolas Cole — “19 Things They Don’t Teach You About Business in School”
Just focus on what you’re working on. Everything else is just noise.
The people who tell you that you can’t, couldn’t themselves.
Unknown
We all have the same 24 hours every day. It’s what we do with them that makes us different.
July 2018
Tim Ferriss — The 4-Hour Workweek
“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.” — Oscar Wilde
“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” — John F. Kennedy
“I can’t give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” — Herbert Bayard Swope
Don’t follow a model that doesn’t work. If the recipe sucks, it doesn’t matter how good a cook you are.
Focus on being productive instead of busy.
If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually”, just do it and correct course along the way.
Many a false step was made by standing still.
“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” — Benjamin Disraeli
Resolve to do one thing every day that you fear.
Paul Axtell — “How to Respond When You’re Put On the Spot”
Making an impact is about sincerity, not necessarily polish; if you value your own thinking, others will respect it as well.
Chris Hadfield—An Astronaut’s Guide to Life On Earth
There is no problem so bad you can’t make it worse.
Gary Vaynerchuk
When you learn how to enjoy being underestimated… it gets real good.
January 2019
Bob Ross
Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you’re willing to practice, you can do.
February 2019
Tyler Kleeberger — A Technique for Deciding When to Say No
Being busy, then, might just mean a lack of priorities.
It takes humility, strength, and fortitude to acknowledge your limits.
Weak, naïve, and disingenuous is the person who wants to appear as if they can do all while not actually engaging wholeheartedly with anything.
Derek Sivers — Anything You Want
If it’s not a “HELL YEAH!”, it’s a “No”.
March 2019
Anthony Moore — “Why You Shouldn’t Take Advice From (Almost) Anyone”
Most of the people you know have no idea how to achieve the goals you have. This doesn’t stop people from giving advice, though. In fact, a lack of knowledge seems to spur people to give advice even more. The truth is, most people would choose to feel important than admit they don’t know the answer.
“Never ask advice of someone with whom you wouldn’t want to trade places.” — Darren Hardy
A lot of the time, you may think you need “more information” before moving forward with your goal. But the truth is, a lot of the time you don’t need advice and wisdom. Much of the time, all you need to do is take another small step. If you don’t have a mentor or guide to give you help yet, that’s fine — you can tell when you’re moving in the right direction. The right advice will come. Just do what you need to do to move forward.
For every source, ask yourself: Do they have what I want? If they do, follow them.
James Altucher
When I am unsure if I am making a good decision, I tend to ask too many people, “am I making a good decision?”
And then I get frustrated with their answers.
It turns out I was only asking them because I wanted validation for what I knew deep down was the decision I wanted to make. I never really cared about their advice.
My own dreams are deep inside, my secret wishes since I was a little boy. I can tell when I am moving in the right direction.
I get a feeling in my upper chest. A warmth and excitement. No matter what the advice is, that warmth and excitement and playfulness is the thing I listen to.
kickstand — /r/photography
Photography is not a test of your ability to edit files without help. It’s certainly not a test of your ability to create everything in-camera. It’s only about the results.
In computer programming, people use libraries all the time. Rather than writing a routine from scratch, they often use a routine they know works, from a library. There are libraries for Javascript, for CSS, for all kinds of things.
October 2019
Jim Jarmusch
Nothing is original.
Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.”
James Keller
A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
November 2019
Yoshihiro Togashi — Hunter x Hunter
“I do not fear death, I fear only that my rage will fade over time.”—Kurapika
“If you want to get to know someone, find out what makes them angry.” — Mito Freecs
“When apologizing to a friend, there is a rule. You promise to do things differently next time, and you keep that promise no matter what.” — Ging Freecss
“You should enjoy the little detours. To the fullest. Because that’s where you’ll find the things more important than what you want.” — Ging Freecs
Albert Einstein
I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
February 2020
Self
Be a better version of myself than I was yesterday — every day. Become a person would look up to. That is true success.
March 2020
Paul Graham — “Beating the Averages”
If you do everything the way the average startup does it, you should expect average performance. The problem here is, average performance means that you’ll go out of business. The survival rate for startups is way less than fifty percent. So if you’re running a startup, you had better be doing something odd. If not, you’re in trouble.
Panda Express Fortune Cookie
The goal should be growth, not perfection.
April 2020
Beverly Clark — Shall We Dance
We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.”
December 2020
Victor Porter — “Zach’s Week 8 Bulletin”
Yes, these are young adults. They are fully capable of anything they put their efforts towards, they only need to feel as if they are trusted. As if they won’t be assumed to be incompetent simply because of their age.
Kenny Beats — “Upsilon Side Hustles (Austin)”
Don’t add any salt to the fried rice when there’s already a bunch of soy sauce in there.
Ethan Hawke — “Give yourself permission to be creative”
You just have to follow your love. There is no path. There’s no path till you walk it, and you have to be willing to play the fool.
Satori Tendou — Haikyuu!!
Isn’t what drives most people childish in general?
Tashiro Hidemi — Haikyuu!!
Opportunities present themselves to those who have prepared.
January 2021
Norimune Kurosu — Haikyuu!!
Even the best team in the world would lose if they kept doing the same thing. If we keep holding onto yesterday, what are we going to be tomorrow? You just need one thing. Challenge yourself today.
Alexander Berkman
Equality does not mean an equal amount but equal opportunity. It does not mean that every one must eat, drink, or wear the same things, do the same work, or live in the same manner. Far from it: the very reverse in fact. Individual needs and tastes differ, as appetites differ. It is an equal opportunity to satisfy them that constitutes true equality. Far from leveling, such equality opens the door for the greatest possible variety of activity and development. For human character is diverse.
February 2021
Shinichiro Watanabe
I aspire to be somebody who sees their recent work as their best ever work made.
Hayao Miyazaki — The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
The world isn’t simple enough to explain in words.
July 2021
Herbert Spencer
The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.
Leonardo da Vinci
To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.
Mortimer J Adler
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.
August 2021
Vision — Avengers: Age of Ultron
A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.
Vision — WandaVision
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Keanu Reeves
I don’t want to be part of a world where being kind is a weakness.
PrestigiousTaste9489 —/ r/drugs
People aren’t inherently good or bad, but the things they do are.
September 2021
Tim Urban — How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)
We can’t test this, but I’m pretty sure that you can select any 80-year-old alive today, go back in time 80 years, find them as an infant, throw the infant in the trash, and then come back to the present day and find a countless number of things changed. All lives make a large impact on the world and on the future… Whatever shape your career path ends up taking, the world will be altered by it.
On the other side, it’s about self-acceptance and self-compassion. Sometimes you’ll have strong undeniable yearnings that you’re not super proud of — whether you like it or not, those are part of you, and when you neglect them, they may cause a continual stink and make you miserable.
Remembering that you’re kind of dumb is also a critical humbling exercise. The insecurity of humility doesn’t feel very good, and the burden of having to continually invent your own life map is never easy — but insecurity and difficulty are the feelings of driving your own ship. It’s when we feel too good that we run the risk of becoming overconfident, intellectually complacent, and set in our ways. It’s exactly when we think we have life all figured out that we end up losing our way.
May 2022
[deleted] — /r/nosurf
If you try to keep up with everything, you will be left with nothing.
Before you say that the internet is useful and educational, ask yourself, “What has all this ‘research’ done for you? What do I have to show for it?”
Bruce Lee
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.
Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.
te4mrocket — /r/AskReddit
I’m not half of a whole, I am complete on my own.
