- Focus helps me say no, because once you can clearly see where you’re heading, you’re less likely to let anything get in your way.
- Creating, learning, improving, whatever. It’s the ten-year-plan type of stuff. Clearing the clutter helps me see the horizon.
- Empty time has the potential to be filled with great things. Time filled with little things has little potential.
- Raising the bar not only gives me a huge feeling of self-worth, but also empties my time. Empty time helps me think clearly, because there’s more time to process and reflect.
- When I’m feeling cloudy, my decisions and actions will be cloudy too. So I wait a few days before acting on anything. I watch the emotions pass by like a thunderstorm. And the longer I wait, the smarter I get.
- We know about quitting something that’s bad for you, or something you hate. But what about quitting something you love?
- The English word “quit” comes from old French, meaning “to free” or “to release”.
- When you notice that something is affecting your drive, find a way to adjust your environment, even if that’s a little inconvenient for others.
- When you’re less impulsive and more deliberate like this, it can be a little inconvenient for other people, but that’s OK. Someone asks you a question. You don’t need to answer. You can say, “I don’t know,” and take your time to answer after thinking. Things happen. Someone expects you to respond. But you can say, “We’ll see.”
- People say that your first reaction is the most honest, but I disagree. Your first reaction is usually outdated. Either it’s an answer you came up with long ago and now use instead of thinking, or it’s a knee-jerk emotional response to something in your past.
- Saying no to everything else
- Though it’s good to say yes when you’re starting out, wanting any opportunity, or needing variety, it’s bad to say yes when you’re overwhelmed, over-committed, or need to focus. Refuse almost everything. Do almost nothing. But the things you do, do them all the way.
- Then, when you find something you’re actually excited about, you’ll have the space in your life to give it your full attention. You’ll be able to take massive action, in a way that most people can’t, because you cleared away your clutter in advance. Saying no makes your yes more powerful.
- If you’re not feeling “Hell yeah, that would be awesome!” about something, say no. It’s an easier decision. Say no to almost everything. This starts to free your time and mind.
- The solution is to say yes to less.
- Most of us have lives filled with mediocrity. We said yes to things that we felt half-hearted about. So we’re too busy to react when opportunities come our way. We miss out on the great because we’re busy with the mediocre.
- If you’re not feeling “hell yeah!” then say no
- The world treats you as you treat yourself. Your actions show the world who you are.
- Your actions are completely under your control, and seem to be the best indicator of future success.
- How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters.
- Like a funhouse mirror that distorts what it reflects, your imitation will turn out much different from the original. Maybe even better.
- You know that existing business that you wish you had thought of? Copy it.
- Then every time they say you’re wrong, that’s a sign you’re doing it right.
- Some people are into money. Some aren’t. Some people are inspired by helping the needy. Some aren’t. Some people are into fame, power, and prestige. Others are into anonymity and freedom from responsibility.
- Sometimes your best strategy is counter-intuitive. If you have a high paying job, but realize that charitable giving is what matters most to you, then the best strategy is not to quit your job to go hang mosquito nets in Africa, but actually to keep your job and make as much money as you can, while funding organizations in Africa that hang thousands of mosquito nets.
- Once you realize what you really want and admit it, you need to pursue it.
- The richest people in Hollywood are the ones you’ve never heard of, because they’ve optimized their careers for money. They know that others are willing to take less money in return for more fame, so they profit from the other side of that deal.
- one way to make money is to take on a lot of responsibility, which means letting go of some freedoms.
- Holding on to an old title gives you satisfaction without action. But success comes from doing, not declaring.
- Someone who played football in high school can’t call himself an athlete forever. Someone who did something successful long ago can’t keep calling himself a success. You have to keep earning it.
- Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true.
- Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities.
- had been fooling myself for years, telling myself I wanted to do this, but my actions proved otherwise. Yes, I wanted it a little bit, but I wanted something else more.
- they really wanted to do it, they would have done it. You’ve been talking about this new company idea since 2008, but never launched it. Looking at your actions, and knowing you, I’d say that you don’t really want to start another company. You actually prefer the simple life you have now, focused on learning, writing, and playing with your kid. No matter what you say, your actions reveal the truth.
- Our actions always reveal our real values.
- Hell yeah or no
- So look around at those existing ideas in the world. You can imitate them and still be offering something valuable and unique.
- But whatever you choose, brace yourself, because people are always going to tell you that you’re wrong.That’s why you need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Know it in advance. Use it as your compass and optimize your life around it. Let the other goals be secondary so that when those decision moments come, you can choose the value that you already know matters most to you.
- If you want freedom, then own a business but delegate all the work.
- Maybe the most important thing to you is learning, or creating, or giving.Maybe it’s how many people’s lives you can influence. Maybe it’s how deeply you can influence just a few people’s lives.
- One way to get famous is to let others make more money, while you take the spotlight.
- Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of the others.
- It’s crucial to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.Most people don’t know. They just go with the flow.
- You can’t diffuse your energy, trying to do a little bit of everything, or you’ll always be in conflict with yourself.
shape-up
No content.