There's nothing wrong with...

There's nothing wrong with watching Netflix. There's nothing wrong with playing video games. But if they prevent you from creating the future you want, there's something wrong. This is the case for most and they aren't aware of it.

Reflect upon your...

Reflect upon your blessings, of which everyone has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which everyone has some.

We often make choices based on...

We often make choices based on immediate outcomes. What can I do to experience a little joy in the next 30 minutes? What can I accomplish in the next hour? But if you always expect to get a little bit of reward for a little bit of effort, then you often overlook actions that lead to greater payoffs down the road. The relationship between input and output is rarely linear. The course of action that could provide greater happiness, meaning, or satisfaction, in the long run, may not make you happy in the next 30 minutes.

The things that matter most can't be...

The things that matter most can't be copied. You can copy goals, you can't copy discipline. You can copy ideas, you can't copy execution. You can copy answers, you can't copy understanding. You can copy thinking, you can't copy thinking for yourself.

The problem with obsessing over productivity is...

The problem with obsessing over productivity is that the kind of curiosity that leads to big breakthroughs rarely feels productive at the moment. Spend the best hours of your day on the biggest opportunity, not the biggest problem.

I think people are afraid

I think people are afraid. They don’t recognize the power of this rule. And they’re afraid that by going first and giving resources, giving time, giving attention, giving samples, and so on, they might just be losing that. They’re not cognizant of the fact that there’s such a strong rule in every human culture that says you must not take without giving in return.

You’re going to...

You’re going to die one day, and none of this is going to matter. So enjoy yourself. Do something positive. Project some love. Make someone happy. Laugh a little bit. Appreciate the moment. And do your work.

Work for the balance to...

Work for the balance to embrace the wonder and potential of the horizon while maintaining focus on what’s in front of us.

We have to be willing to do...

We have to be willing to do hard, laborious, ungratifying things today — the kind of things that make little sense in the short term — so we can enjoy exponential results in the future."

1. Independence - Stray away from people-pleasing tendencies and learn how to be true to yourself. Place your bets and see them through.

2. Curiosity - Although we might not know the exact path we should take (no one does at first), curiosity can lead us on the right track.

3. Resilience - It’s rare that anything works out the first time, or in the way you originally envisioned it.

Wisdom is knowledge gained from...

Wisdom is knowledge gained from experiences, and to be wise is to have deep insight and understanding. Here are some habits of wise people:

1. Rely on facts, not assumptions - Observe your thoughts and ask yourself, “How do I know what I’m thinking is true?”

2. Think from first principles - Constantly ask, “Is there a better way we can do this?”

3. Read a lot and read widely - Feed your brain as most mental stimuli come from learning about new things.

4. Learn from your mistakes - The smartest people in the world don’t necessarily make fewer mistakes. They just don’t let their mistakes go to waste.

If we are sincere in wanting to...

If we are sincere in wanting to learn the truth, and if we know how to use gentle speech and deep listening, we are much more likely to be able to hear others’ honest perceptions and feelings. In that process, we may discover that they too have wrong perceptions. After listening to them fully, we have an opportunity to help them correct their wrong perceptions. If we approach our hurts that way, we have the chance to turn our fear and anger into opportunities for deeper, more honest relationships.

The Greek language has...

The Greek language has 4 words for love — Agape: charitable love; Eros: sexual love; Philia: love between friends; and Storge: family love.

When it comes to status, we are...

When it comes to status, we are all investors. Some invest their identities in fashion brands; others invest their time in musicians so they can say they were fans from the early days, and others invest their travel chops in up-and-coming destinations so they can say they visited before it was popular. After all, there’s a unique kind of high status you get for staking your reputation on something before it was cool.

We tend to think that...

We tend to think that what we think is true. And because we think something is true, we ignore information that might tell us it’s not true.

Charles Darwin deliberately looked for thoughts that disagreed with his own. He wrote, “whenever a published fact, a new observation or thought came across me, which was opposed to my general results, to make a memorandum of it without fail and at once; for I had found by experience that such facts and thoughts were far more apt to escape from memory than favorable ones.” Darwin was out for truth, not to confirm his view of the world.

“If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change,” Marcus Aurelius said. “For I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed. Harmed is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance.”

It had long since come to...

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.

Nothing will last forever

Nothing will last forever, stop worrying so much. The ability to pick yourself up and move forward is essential. Things break, life happens. The choice is to get over vs. start over.

Take your time

Take your time. Recharge and come back stronger. After a defeat, accept the loss. Consider it a battle and prepare for the war. Improvise, adapt and overcome.

Hope is like a road in the...

Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.

Life is like a...

Life is like a river. At first, you think that if you’re successful, you get to take many things out of the river, products people have made or ideas they’ve come up with. But eventually, in life, you realize that it’s not what you get to take out of the river, it’s what you get to put into the river.

People are insecure

People are insecure. Don't let them know about your smartness. They will start hating you without any reason. One of the smartest moves you can make is to let other people feel smarter than you.

Excellence is mundane

Excellence is mundane. Superlative performance is really a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learned or stumbled upon, which have been carefully drilled into habit and then are fitted together in a synthesized whole. There is nothing extraordinary or superhuman in any one of those actions; only the fact that they are done consistently and correctly, and all together, produce excellence.

Move more, with more...

Move more, with more intensity, and sit less. Your body and mind will thank you for the effort, not the comfort.

Just because people are kind-hearted and...

Just because people are kind-hearted and gentle-natured doesn't mean they're weak. Those are usually the ones who've endured the worst type of hell and come out the other end shining. Never confuse kindness for weakness - they've survived the worst battles alone and are strong.

You have to first understand yourself, when you...

You have to first understand yourself, when you do this, you won’t allow someone to have control over your thoughts and actions. You are peaceful because you will have no time to worry too much. When you quit worrying about someone who isn't worrying about you, you'll be at peace.

Your inner voice, soul, sixth sense...

Your inner voice, soul, sixth sense anything you call it, will let you know when you need to move on to a new chapter in life.

Be aware of the signal.

In pursuit of our goals...

In pursuit of our goals, we inevitably give up things that matter. We sleep less. We spend less time with our friends. We eat unhealthily. We skip workouts. We cancel dates. We miss dinner with the family. When it comes to living a meaningful life, the only scoreboard that matters is yours. Don’t let your ego get in the way of the person you really want to be or the life you really want to live.

Your network is very important to...

Your network is very important to your success in life. What money can not easily get, the good network can get it for you. Work on your cycle and build a great network.

I belong everywhere I go...

I belong everywhere I go, no matter where it is, or who I am with, as long as I never betray myself. The minute I become who you want me to be, in order to fit in and make sure people like me, is the moment I no longer belong anywhere.

Each day offers a...

Each day offers a fresh start, the chance to begin something that will move you forward. It’s not simply another day to get through. So, make it count. Do at least one thing today that moves you closer to how you want things to be in your life.

We accept the voice in our head as the...

We accept the voice in our head as the source of all truth. But all of it is malleable, and every day is new. Memory and identity are burdens from the past preventing us from living freely in the present.

Don't spend money in your mind before...

Don't spend money in your mind before you get it. Think about the investments you will make when you get it.