Nothing is unnatural

 From a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural.

There is no person that knows nothing

In life, there isn’t a single person that knows everything and there is no person that knows nothing. It’s not too late to learn because you just need to develop that interest, talk to people, share with them what you have and learn from them. There is no breakthrough in this world if you are isolated, you can only make a breakthrough by talking to people.

I do not like the idea of happiness

I do not like the idea of happiness — it is too momentary. I would say that I was always busy and interested in something — interest has more meaning to me than the idea of happiness.

Eliminate the task

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is eliminate the task.

Downsize. The rooms you don't have, don't need to be cleaned.

Donate. The items you don't own, don't need to be organized.

Delete. The projects you don't take on, don't need to be finished.

Is this a problem that needs to be solved? Or is it a problem that can be eliminated altogether?

You still have to deal with things

Sure, at some level, every experience in life boils down to your interpretation of it. And if you can shift your mindset, then perhaps you can turn a negative experience into a positive one. But life is not a hallucination. You still have to deal with things. A healthy perspective can lessen the burden, but so can taking action. A problem that is solved is one that you don't need to mentally reframe.

Sun Tzu on adapting -

A military force has no constant formation, and water has no constant shape: the ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius.

The key to persuasion is to start from a place of curiosity

Sometimes we push on our beliefs so hard that we forget to try to understand where the other person is coming from. We make assumptions about them without knowing their baseline, which takes away our chance to find a middle ground. The key to persuasion is to start from a place of curiosity. Ask questions. Be inquisitive, not judgmental. You may find that you're not as far apart as you think.

Money buys happiness in the same way drugs bring pleasure

Money buys happiness in the same way drugs bring pleasure: Incredible if done right, dangerous if used to mask weakness, and disastrous when no amount is ever enough.

The key is to find the balance

Every good and admirable trait can be taken too far. The key is to find the balance. Optimism without complacency. Confidence without arrogance. Ambition without greed.

If we do act, in however small a way

If we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something

If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

To be hopeful in bad times

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

Raise your ambitions. Lower your expectations

Raise your ambitions. Lower your expectations. The higher your ambitions, the bolder your actions. The lower your expectations, the greater your satisfaction. Achieve more and be happy along the way.

One of the behaviors that humans display a lot of is

One of the behaviors that humans display a lot of is “indirect reciprocity”. Distinguished from “direct reciprocity”, in which I help you and you help me, indirect reciprocity confers no immediate benefit to the one doing the helping. Either I help you, then you help someone else at a later time, or I help you, and then someone else, some time in the future, helps me.

The source of problems is blindspots

The source of problems is blindspots. There is something hidden from us that, if we knew, would change how we thought and acted. One of the best ways to reveal blindspots is simply to lengthen your time horizon. A lot of good advice simply boils down to thinking long-term.

Not judging is another way of letting go of fear

Not judging is another way of letting go of fear and experiencing love. When we learn not to judge others – and totally accept them, and not want to change them – we can simultaneously learn to accept ourselves.

You have to learn to quit

You have to learn to quit being right all the time, quit being smart all the time, and quit thinking this is a contest about how smart you are and how right you are and realize that you are here to make a positive difference in the world. And being smart and being right is probably no longer the way to do that.

What you say and what people hear are two entirely different things

When we speak, we are focused on our end of the conversation: the words we're saying. We see a situation like a scene unfolding in our own minds, and that means that when we speak, we’re using our perspective as our frame of reference. But when others listen to what we’re saying, they may be hearing something completely different.

You can steer yourself

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Early luck has a massive impact

Where you’re born, the caste society puts you in, whether or not you were appropriately precocious in various early ranking systems–these all get compounded. Compounding early luck is generally fine with people who have early luck. What a surprise. But it’s unfair and it’s also a talent-utilization problem that hurts everyone. When we fail to create the conditions for people to persist with resilience until the luck comes along, we all lose.

With the bigger decisions, don't outsmart your common sense

Nothing just happens—that’s for the movies, not real life. You have to kick down the door and blast through to the other side. I also have a—somewhat contrarian—belief that big decisions are better made fast than slow. Slow typically leads to overthinking and paralysis that keeps people from making the leap. Fast allows you to operate from instinct—to trust your gut.

With the bigger decisions, don't outsmart your common sense.

Do the work

Do the work. That's all the productivity advice you need, and the only useful productivity advice you're ever going to get. You can direct your attention to a million optimizations— email, meetings, notes, calendar, time tracking, goals, todo lists, time estimates, prioritization frameworks, quantified self sensors, analytics, apps, documents, journaling. But don't. Ignore all this, and do the work. When you do the work, everything else optimizes itself.

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

Commitment makes good things better and bad things worse

The more "all-in" you are on a good relationship, the better it becomes. The more you commit to a toxic relationship, the deeper you get trapped. The more you invest yourself in fulfilling work, the more your effort fuels you. The harder you work on a bad project or in an unsatisfying role, the more of a grind it becomes.

Money is the only type of wealth? Lie

In reality, there are 5 types of wealth:

Financial (money)

Social (relationships)

Physical (health)

Mental (health, knowledge, faith)

Time (freedom)

The blind pursuit of financial wealth can rob you of the others. Never let that happen.

Complaining is an international pastime

Too often today, we find people who have a problem for every solution. Complaining is an international pastime.  People scream on social media and gnash their teeth and they blame the media and rich people and the haves and the have-nots and corporations and politicians.  But they don't offer solutions.  They want to smash capitalism or kill all the lefties or crush all the conservatives but they don't have a better answer, just rage and deranged conspiracies.  To tackle the challenges of tomorrow, we need more thinkers and doers and inventors and less angry idiots.

Could be better

When we care enough to say, “could be better,” we’re putting ourselves on the hook to create. You need to care enough to describe an improvement. Because once you’ve announced how something can be better, you get the chance to show that it can be done.

Each of us experiences a lifelong tug-of-war

Each of us experiences a lifelong tug-of-war between our money interests and the calling of our soul. When we’re in the domain of soul, we act with integrity. We are thoughtful and generous, allowing, courageous, and committed.

Questions are the means by which we explore ourselves

Questions are the means by which we explore ourselves, each other, and the world. We all have it in us to formulate questions that invite honesty, dignity, and revelation. There is something redemptive and life-giving about asking a better question.

If I’ve learned nothing else, I’ve learned this:

A question is a powerful thing, a mighty use of words. Questions elicit answers in their likeness. Answers mirror the questions they rise, or fall, to meet. So while a simple question can be precisely what’s needed to drive to the heart of the matter, it’s hard to meet a simplistic question with anything but a simplistic answer. It’s hard to transcend a combative question. But it’s hard to resist a generous question.

We’ve all been trained to be advocates for

We’ve all been trained to be advocates for what we care about. This has its place and its value in civil society, but it can get in the way of the axial move of deciding to care about each other.