Reading is like an active form of meditation

Read a story and immerse yourself in your own imagination for a few minutes. Play with your ability to conjure a scene in your mind. Hear the sounds, taste the environment, be there. Reading soothes because you can’t overthink and read at the same time.

Seek out allies

Nobody succeeds alone. Building a circle of people who will be in your corner, even when things are tough, is one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself. Having allies can make all the difference between giving in to self-doubt and climbing to new heights.

Find ways to amplify your superpower

Sometimes you don’t know how much you have to offer until you share your gifts with others. By putting your thoughts out there, you are allowing other people to benefit from your wisdom. Maybe you think you're not qualified to write (I certainly didn’t think I was when I started this blog). Maybe you think you don't have the time, or that your lessons won’t be valued. Odds are, you’re already sharing your superpower with others every day—you just don’t realize it. And trust me when I say that even if your advice only touches one or two people, it's worth sharing.

What are you good at? What brings you joy?

You have something special to offer the world, and if you haven't figured out what it is yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. Maybe you’re a problem-solver, a brainstormer, or an artist. Maybe you’re good at working with people, or maybe you’re able to see things that others don’t.

You have to decide what you want

You have to decide what you want, and you have to find that way of doing it, whether or not the outside circumstances are going to participate in your success. You have to be able to create your own happiness, period. And if you can’t, then you need to find a good shrink who can help you figure out what it’s going to take.

We only worry because...

We only worry because some part of us believes that worry serves a positive purpose. It does not. It makes us feel like crap and decreases our performance. Let go of the idea that worry helps, and you'll experience more peace and effortless wisdom.

When we entertain the idea

When we entertain the idea that we need to 'work' towards getting better, guess what? We inadvertently emphasize the idea that there is something wrong with us. This is the very thing that keeps our attention on the problem and reinforces our suffering.

Most people don't change

Most people don't change. Past actions are most often an accurate predictor of future actions. If they did it before, they can do it again. If they were willing to do it to someone else, they’ll be willing to do it to you.

When you learn that you don’t have to fit into a mold

When you learn that you don’t have to fit into a mold someone else made for you, you can become your authentic self and find those who love you for that.

There are times in life when you have to

There are times in life when you have to stand up and push back. Being true to who you mean more than doing the work and staying quiet. It means finding your voice and standing up for what you believe, even if that makes waves.

Three things you need

Three things you need: The ability to not give up something till it works, the ability to give up something that does not work, and the trust in other people to help you distinguish between the two.

Life is not a straight line for anyone

Ask anyone you admire: Their lucky breaks happened on a detour from their main goal. So embrace detours. Life is not a straight line for anyone.

What is real is the people who love you

If I could go back in time I would tell myself: the things you fear are not real. What is real is the words on the page. What is real is the people who love you. You don’t trust yourself because you don’t think you’re good enough. But consistency always comes before proficiency. The first step is identifying what you’re willing to do every day for the rest of your life.

Reach out to those who have impacted you

Often the people who make the biggest difference in your life will never know the impact they’ve had on you. Reach out to those who have impacted you, who gave you hope when you were lost or showed you that your dreams were possible. Thank them for the profound effect that they’ve had on you.

Even if you never get a chance to thank someone

Even if you never get a chance to thank someone for helping you, you can still make a difference in someone else’s life. Take a moment to think back on someone whose words, advice, or actions have impacted you. As you reflect on this, ask yourself how you can pay it forward. Make time to give to others what someone else gave to you.

There are times when you cross paths with people who touch your life

There are times when you cross paths with people who touch your life in special ways. They come briefly into your life and then depart again, sometimes after just a few minutes, but their words and actions stick with you. Often, your paths never cross again, but if they do, you can thank them for making a difference at an important point in your life, when you were unsure of yourself or your place in the world.

When things change, we must change

When things change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet again and reset the sail to steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail—how we think and how we respond—has a far greater capacity to alter our lives than any challenges we face.

The winds of circumstances blow on us

In life, the winds of circumstances blow on us all in an unending flow that touches each of our lives. It’s one thing to create change. It’s another thing—often unavoidable—to have change foisted upon you when you don’t expect it.

If you want to work with the world

If you want to work with the world rather than against it, one of the major leverage points you can put effort into is how to distinguish between the people who’ve done the work and those who haven’t.

You have to listen and chase down arguments

You have to listen and chase down arguments that run counter to your views. You have to think about how you might be fooling yourself. You have to see the issue from multiple perspectives. You have to think. You need to become your most intelligent critic and have the intellectual honesty to kill some of your best-loved ideas.

Transitions are hard

Transitions are hard, but they are also important because they are a part of your legacy. A long and wonderful stint with someone you love could be soured if you don’t leave things in a good place. For this reason, paying attention at the end is just as important as ensuring a good beginning.

Nothing is an important something

The opportunity lost by increasing the amount of blank space is gained back with enhanced attention to what remains. More white space means that less information is presented. In turn, proportionately more attention shall be paid to that which is made less available. When there is less, we appreciate everything much more.

Knowledge makes everything simpler.

The problem with taking time to learn a task is that you often feel you are wasting time, a violation of the third Law. We are well aware of the dive-in-head-first approach-“I don’t need the instructions, let me just do it.” But in fact, this method often takes longer than following the directions in the manual.

Time Savings

When forced to wait, life seems unnecessarily complex. Savings in time feel like simplicity. A shot from the doctor hurts less when it happens quickly, and even less when we know that the shot will save our lives.

The simplest way to achieve simplicity

The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. When in doubt, just remove. But be careful of what you remove. When it is possible to reduce a system’s functionality without significant penalty, true simplification is realized.

Focus on your own race

Focus on your own race. You may not start in the same place as someone else. You may not have the same equipment. You may not have been born with the same amount of stamina. But you have an opportunity to run the best race for yourself. Stop looking left and right to see how fast the others are running, and don’t let other people define what success looks like for you. Instead, focus on the progress you can make, the challenges you can overcome, and the goals you can set for yourself. You may be faster or slower than others, but the most important thing is finishing the marathon on your own terms. 

We all have anchor points

We all have anchor points: moments that we constantly revisit, whether mistakes we’ve made, opportunities we've missed, or decisions we wish we could undo. Remember, you are more than the worst things that have ever happened to you.

If something isn’t working...

If something isn’t working, despite your best efforts, sometimes the best thing to do is bite the bullet and walk away. Rather than doubling down, think back to when you started down your current path. Ask yourself if you would have still done it, knowing what you know now. If the answer is no, then why do you keep saying yes?

Let go of perfectionism

Perfectionism can be a strong motivator, but it has rapidly diminishing returns. It quickly robs you of time, energy, and attention that you could be putting toward what’s really important in your life and your job. Sometimes just aiming for good enough is the best thing for yourself and your sanity.

Don’t focus on doing all of these things at once

By making small adjustments to your actions, reactions, and ways of thinking, you can get around the roadblocks that are standing in your way. Don’t focus on doing all of these things at once, or the task will feel insurmountable. Instead, consider whether you can make small, consistent changes to your behavior, day by day, week by week. In doing so, you will reduce friction, improve your relationships, and break down the barriers that are holding you.

Sooner or later, you realize everything comes down to mindset

When you focus on what you can control, there is always an action you can take to put yourself in a better position. When you focus on things you can't control you tend to freeze, unsure of what to do, and you wait.