It’s hard to break the worry habit if...

It’s hard to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying has a positive purpose: Worrying helps you avoid bad things, prevents problems, prepares you for the worst. But once you realize that worrying is the problem, not the solution, you regain control of your mind.

If you think too much about a...

If you think too much about a problem it’s easy to over-complicate it and end up more confused than when you started. Go with what feels right for now. You can only make decisions from where you are now.

A critical quality for success is...

A critical quality for success is the ability to change your mind. A lot of ideas are bad until they're good. And a lot of ideas are good until they're bad. You only need to know the direction, not the destination. The direction is enough to make the next choice.

You don’t need to catch every break if...

You don’t need to catch every break if you’re willing to keep trying. Every winner has an archive of losses, but each attempt creates the chance for a victory. You need to be patient, but not passive. Active patience.

The unchanging element is change

The unchanging element is change— by mastering the first four elements, you can change the way you think and learn. You can always improve, grow, and extract more out of your education, yourself, and the way you live your life. Change is the universal constant that allows you to get the most out of living and learning.

Look back to see where ideas came from and...

Look back to see where ideas came from and then look ahead to discover where those ideas may lead. A new idea is a beginning, not an end. Ideas are rare— milk them. Following the consequences of small ideas can result in big payoffs.

Constantly create questions to...

Constantly create questions to clarify and extend your understanding. What’s the real question? Working on the wrong questions can waste a lifetime. Ideas are in the air — the right questions will bring them out and help you see connections that otherwise would have been invisible.