Stopping a runaway train

It feels urgent because it is. But by the time the train is running away, it might be too late. The better strategy is to not sign up for trains that are likely to run away. The first principle of risk reduction is to figure out if you can stop it later. If you can’t, don’t start.

Resilience can be found

Resilience can be found by holding onto our certainties just a little less tightly. One way to do that is to remember just how often the old ones fade away.

More preparation, focus, and effort

Focus on activities where you’re in the sweet spot of the curve, where more preparation, focus, and effort lead to huge benefits. This means walking away from competitions against people who are committed to being unreasonable. Embrace the unreasonable and accept that your competitors will as well.

Quitting gives you tomorrow back.

Shrug your shoulders. Care less, phone it in. Giving up is a waste. Quitting, on the other hand, is a fine thing to do. Because quitting gives you tomorrow back. It opens the door for the next contribution you can make. In or out.

It’s better when we’re on the cusp

A philosopher can spend a month, a year or a career thinking about one knotty problem. Making assertions, testing theories, understanding how others are thinking about it as well. But this exercise shouldn’t be reserved for academics. What are you working on? When will you change your mind? What can you learn, what can you challenge?

Those who lack the courage

Direct your energy toward figuring out how to start what you want to do rather than thinking about how to shorten what you don't want to do. Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.

The blame that bullies spread is divisive

The blame that bullies spread is divisive. As a result, the bully separates the community instead of connecting it, using the power of the mob to harm the outliers. And a bullied community often cowers in fear instead of leaning into possibility. Most of all, bullies are weak. They can’t tolerate change and refuse to listen or improve. Resilient, generative and productive approaches to problems are always a better path forward.

Bullies use intimidation and power

Bullies use intimidation and power to force others to act against their best interests. Bullies blame the victim, assuring everyone that they wouldn’t have to use force if people would simply go along with what they want. Effective bullies organize a small mob to enforce their wishes. Living and working with bullies is no fun. And it’s not productive or resilient.

Making a new decision

We’ve managed to lionize, celebrate and elevate the mindset of “CHARGE!” Even when better judgment and experience would indicate that we’re often more likely to succeed with a strategic re-evaluation of the situation. Making a new decision based on new information isn’t weakness.

We need effort to find patterns

Finding a pattern that explains events that seem like chaos is a breakthrough. It offers us understanding and a lever we can use to make an impact. Sometimes, though, the breakthrough lies in understanding that there is no pattern, simply unpredictable noise. We need effort to find patterns. We need humility to accept the chaos.

Worried you are too late?

Worried you are too late? You'll be even later tomorrow. If you are thinking about doing something: just start.

The beauty of enough

Beware of overconcern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are. Never let the quest for more distract you from the beauty of enough.

Life rewards action

Stop waiting for the world to recognize your potential; start giving the world something positive. Don't wait for a friend's apology; reach out and reconnect. Instead of waiting for the perfect partner, become that partner. Rather than waiting for motivation to exercise, start small and build momentum. Don't complain about something; change it.

The necessity of being frank and honest

I have spoken of the necessity of being frank and honest with oneself about one's own affairs: many people assume that they can get away from the truth by avoiding thinking about it, but the natural law is inevitable, and the sooner it is recognized, the better.

Who are they?

When you have haters, it’s easy to worry that everyone hates you — and that’s scary! But your haters aren’t big and abstract. They’re actually small and specific. And the closer you look, the smaller they’ll seem.

Avoid falling into crappy coping habits

When you’re overwhelmed, now is the worst time to treat yourself poorly, even if you feel pleasure from the instant gratification of whatever dastardly habit you’ve chosen to reignite. Sure, you can treat yourself with some ice cream and a bubble bath, but your biggest priority now is getting out into nature, avoiding junk, and getting plenty of rest.

Jump before you’re ready

Jump before you’re ready. Caution prevents progress. It's always good to be seen. The more you can expose yourself to different situations the more you can learn about valuable insights as well as yourself. The best way to learn is by putting yourself in the fire, even if you're not ready for the heat.

Embrace their weirdness

Rejecting the full range of your character and personality traits is an effective way to stifle your creativity. When you can’t fully express yourself, standing on the hose while waiting for water is like standing on the hose. We are all connected in our weirdness, but we are all enlivened by embracing what makes us different. Instead of hiding those things you feel are at odds with society's expectations, use them.

Cultivate your Truth Tellers

As you become more successful, most of the people around you will become afraid to tell you the truth. They will pat you on the back and tell you what they think you want to hear. Find the Truth Tellers in your life—the rare few who are willing to give you honest perspectives from a place of love. Create an environment where they know they are safe to do so. If you cultivate your Truth Tellers, you'll always find a way to grow.

Keep dreaming

The important thing isn't to achieve all your dreams, but to keep dreaming. Your desires change as you learn and grow. Old dreams will spawn new dreams. And eventually, one of these newer, more refined visions will find its moment and become reality.

Your Starting Line

Your entire life will change the moment you stop fearing failure as a foe and start embracing failure as a friend. The world isn't run by perfect people who never fail. The world is run by imperfect people who failed over and over again—but who used every failure to set the conditions for their future success. Maybe that failure you just experienced isn't the end after all. Maybe that failure you just experienced is your starting line.

Information is nothing without action

Information is nothing without action. In the wake of a failure, default to action. Remember: Action doesn't have to be perfect to be right.

The space between stimulus and response

Give yourself a fixed amount of time (~24 hours) to feel frustrated or angry about the failure. During this time, you don't need to do anything but sit with the feelings and emotions. Allow yourself the grace of that period, but when the time is up, you move forward to the next step.

Maintaining a healthy level of paranoia

Maintaining a healthy level of paranoia can actually be helpful. It reminds you to remain nimble, agile, and adaptable. It reminds you that success isn't an end state, but something that requires continuous, disciplined effort. The water may look calm, but the crocodiles are always lurking. 

Be Meaningfully Informed

Community requires individuals to have the option of speaking up. If we’re in this together, we ought to be able to chime in. But while every member of the community can speak out, the ones that are heard also have something useful to say. Being informed is a requirement to be heard.

Throws are far more important than catches

Focus on the work at hand. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Establish a spec, and ignore perfection. Devote a significant amount of time to hone your craft. Consistently add incremental challenges. Frantic leads to more frantic. Let it drop and begin again.

In every challenge or even tragedy

In every challenge or even tragedy, there is an opportunity. And if you train yourself to look for the opportunity, you will be able to take control of the situation and even turn it into a positive, or if it can't be turned into something good, at least something good could come out of it.

It's easy to want the public rewards

You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and evident, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It's easy to want the public rewards, but also have to want the hidden costs.

Stop overvaluing your importance

We hurt our feelings by thinking we mean more to people than we really do. Stop overvaluing your importance in other people's lives.  Assume you're just a small chapter in their book, not the entire story.  It's liberating.

To be good at something

It's tough to be good at something you're not interested in. It's nearly impossible to be great at something you're not obsessed with.

Big ideas come from the unconscious

Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.