Inspiration & Wisdom
Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment
Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment. James Clear
Consumers don’t want more choices, they want more confidence in the choices presented
The average American adult makes 35,000 decisions every day — from what we wear to what size coffee we order. Each decision puts some degree of strain on our mental capacity. As the day goes [...]
Embrace the shit
You might have to wade through a lot of shit, which sucks, but that same shit can become the fertilizer that helps you grow and in ways that you may have never thought. Embrace the [...]
Are you solving problems at the branch level or the root level?
"Remove the branches of a thorn bush today and you'll avoid a scrape this year. But next year, you'll face the same problem again. Remove the root of the bush today, and the entire plant [...]
Research shows that power dulls you to risk
That is, it decreases the cognitive resources dedicated to recalling and anticipating constraints. Where are your guardrails? Are they decreasing such that your power is dulling you?
Not being busy is a competitive advantage
Most people are so strapped for time they can't take advantage of lucky opportunities or quickly resolve unexpected problems. Maintain a bias toward action, but leave room for the unexpected.
To take advantage of your brain’s natural gardening system, simply think about the things that are important to you
Your gardeners will strengthen those connections and prune the ones that you care about less. It’s how you help the garden of your brain flower. See more here.
What or who might trip me up or cause stress and how can I respond in a positive way from my highest self?
This is a question I ask myself at the start of everyday so that I can prepare mentally for challenging situations that can cause me to respond inappropriately.
Look at every action, task, situation, opportunity, event, person you meet and figure out how to leverage that beyond what is is on the surface
How can you extend that to help others? Where can you apply leverage for asymmetric gains today? See this post for more: Composable and leverage – both mean the same and important to consider in [...]
What would you have done differently today and why?
A question I ask myself at the end of every day so that I can improve on my actions in the future when the same or similar circumstances occur.
Will you regret doing or not doing this at end of life?
An important question I ask when planning each day and deciding if I should do certain things or not.
Winning an argument
What research on reframing shows is that the key to winning any argument is to understand your opponents’ perspective first, and then to link the beliefs supporting their perspective to your argument. The point is [...]
An emotional example will convince more people than any set of statistics ever could
When people say “tell stories” what they really mean is “make your audience feel an emotion” An emotional example will convince more people than any set of statistics ever could. What things can I say [...]
Who can I surprise today with a thank you a gift or a moment of appreciation
What can I do for someone to "make their day" today?
Be the best version of yourself
That manifests in not compromising your truth, being you and living based on what you were designed to do. Embrace yourself and who you really are. Don't live based on other's expectations.
The secret to success is rejection or specifically the willingness to endure it
Scott Galloway. Read this article for more context
Find a game where the probabilities favor you and keep taking shots
"Just because it didn’t work doesn’t mean it was the wrong choice. The world is full of probabilities, not certainties. Find a game where the probabilities favor you and keep taking shots." James Clear
A few things you need to achieve exceptional results
Quantity: you take lots of shots; Quality: you take thoughtful shots; Consistency: you keep shooting for a long time; Feedback: you take better shots over time; Luck: you get a few favorable bounces. Ray Dalio
Do not tolerate problems
"Once you identify a problem, don’t tolerate it. Tolerating a problem has the same consequences as failing to identify it. Whether you tolerate it because you believe it cannot be solved, because you don’t care [...]
You drown not by falling in a river but by being submerged
The river might not necessarily be the threat you think it is.
40 percent rule
When your mind tells you that you're exhausted, fried, totally tapped out... you're really only 40 percent done. You still have 60 percent left in your tank. That's the 40 Percent Rule, a concept popularized [...]
Your energy should go into building better habits not chasing better results
"New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is not an outcome, it is a process. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing [...]
Habits are crucial – they cast repeated votes for being a certain type of person
"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your [...]
How to define wealth
Real wealth is not having to do things certain things, like: not worrying about jerks claiming your attention, time and energy; not being locked into status games and living based on other's expectations; not feeling [...]
Define what’s meaningful
Something I can do or create that would bring me more meaning in life is . . . The activities that I currently do that bring me the most meaning are... The activities or projects [...]
Definition of an expert
"An expert is a person who has found out by painful experience all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow field." Niels Bohr
If your choices don’t match other’s expectations, that is their concern, not yours
"The way someone else perceives what you do is a result of their own experiences (which you can’t control), their own preferences (which you can’t predict), and their own expectations (which you don’t set). If [...]
Awareness is often enough to motivate change.
Awareness is often enough to motivate change. Merely writing down your problems may spark ideas for possible solutions. The process starts with seeing reality clearly. Via James Clear and Atomic Habits.
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Via James [...]
To make something great, the right way is the hard way
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld on what it takes to make something great: INTERVIEWER: You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable [...]
Fighting against the existing reality
You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete. Via Buckminster Fuller Click Here [...]
People will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel
People will forget what you said People will forget what you did But people will never forget how you made them feel. Click Here To See All Of [...]
On persistence and luck
The American entrepreneur and investor Sam Altman on persistence and luck: "A big secret is that you can bend the world to your will a surprising percentage of the time—most people don’t even try, [...]
Consumption leads to thoughts leads to action – make better consumption choices
Your actions are a consequence of your thoughts Your thoughts are a consequence of what you consume. And in the modern age, what you consume is largely a consequence of how you select and [...]
All the good stuff happens when we act even if we don’t know for sure
Seth Godin said "All the good stuff happens when we act even if we don’t know for sure" Take the plunge. That's Loki in this clip showing us how its done. [...]