UPDATING IDENTITY

You can focus your time locally or globally. If you’re local, you focus on your community, doing things in-person. But this means you have less time to focus on the rest of the world. If you’re global, you make things for the whole world. But this means you have less time to be part of your local community. Neither approach is right or wrong, but you need to be aware of the trade-off. (Location 92)

(Location 94)

Tags: global, local

Note: .local .global you can focus your time locally or globally but its hard to do both at once

When I lived in Woodstock and Portland, people asked what I was doing to promote the local music scene. I argued that I shouldn’t favor Woodstock or Portland any more than Wellington or Prague. But that’s just me. (Location 105)

(Location 107)

Tags: global, local

Note: .local .global

“Yes, I can ignore what you’re saying and just look at your actions. Our actions always reveal our real values.” (Location 117)

(Location 118)

Tags: values, actions

Note: .actions .values actions reveal our true values

Your actions show you what you actually want. There are two smart reactions to this: Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities. Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true. (Location 126)

(Location 128)

Tags: values, actions

Note: .actions .values

But success comes from doing, not declaring. (Location 133)

Tags: execution, success

Note: .success .execution

Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of the others. (Location 146)

Tags: goal, priority

Note: .priority .goal decide what you want and optimise for it

If you want freedom, then own a business but delegate all the work. You won’t be learning or creating or giving as much as you could with a different strategy, but that’s OK. You know freedom is what you’re after. (Location 153)

(Location 155)

Tags: freedom

Note: .freedom

You have to know your preferences well because no matter what you do, someone will tell you you’re wrong. (Location 165)

(Location 166)

Tags: newsletter, preferences

Note: .preferences .newsletter know your preferences well

If you’re not into money, many people will say you’re foolish. If you’re not into charity, many people will say you’re greedy. If you’re not into crowds, many people will say you’re missing out. (Location 166)

(Location 168)

Tags: values

Note: .values people will always say you are wrong. Know your values amd preferences

If you expect criticism in advance and take pride in your unusual stance, you can bash on with a smile, being who you want to be. Then every time they say you’re wrong, that’s a sign you’re doing it right. (Location 173)

(Location 174)

Tags: values

Note: .values accept that you will get criticism for your unusual views

look around at those existing ideas in the world. You can imitate them and still be offering something valuable and unique. (Location 186)

(Location 187)

Tags: copy

Note: .copy

We shouldn’t preserve our first opinions as if they reflect our pure, untarnished, true nature. They’re often just the result of inexperience or a temporary phase. Old opinions shouldn’t define who we are in the future. (Location 202)

(Location 203)

Tags: opinions, change

Note: .change .opinions its ok to change our opinions. Dont feel obligied to maintain your original point of view

So the conclusion is this: Public comments are just feedback on something you made. They’re worth reading to see how this thing has been perceived. You can even take it as feedback on the public image you’ve created. All people know is what you’ve chosen to show them. So if your public persona is coming across wrong, try tweaking it. Never forget that the public you is not you. (Location 216)

(Location 219)

Tags: feedback

Note: .feedback public comments are not feedback on the real you

Character is the result of your little choices and little actions. How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters. (Location 227)

(Location 228)

Tags: character

Note: .character character is the sum of our little choices And actions

book The Time Paradox, (Location 251)

(Location 252)

Tags: toread

Note: .toread

Future-focused people: Delay gratification Are driven with self-discipline because they vividly see their future goals Tend to live in their minds, picturing other selves, scenarios, and possible futures Especially love their work Exercise, invest, and go for preventative health exams Are better at helping themselves, but worse at helping others Are more likely to be successful in their careers, but often at the expense of personal relationships, which require a present focus (Location 258)

(Location 263)

Tags: futurefocused

Note: .futurefocused

SAYING NO

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. (Location 296)

(Location 297)

Tags: commitment

Note: .commitment

In fact, I’ll tell you a secret. When someone wants to interview me for their show, I ask them to send me some questions a week in advance. I spend hours writing down answers from different perspectives, before choosing the most interesting one. Then when we’re in a live conversation, I try to make my answers sound spontaneous. (Location 329)

(Location 331)

Tags: interview, sivers

Note: .sivers .interview derek sivers asks podcast hosts to sennd him all questions in advance, he then spends hours thinking of the most interesting answer

Personal change needs some space to happen. To bring something new into your life, you need somewhere to put it. If your current habits are filling your day, where are these new habits supposed to go? (Location 356)

(Location 357)

Tags: change, habits

Note: .habits .change you need space in your life to enable change

Before you start something, think of the ways it could end. Sometimes the smart choice is to say no to the whole game. (Location 376)

(Location 377)

Tags: exit

Note: .exit before you start something think about the scenarios for ending/exiting

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

Kimo’s high expectations set a new pace for me. He taught me that “the standard pace is for chumps”—that the system is designed so anyone can keep up. If you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects. And this principle applies to all of life, not just school. (Location 443)

(Location 446)

Tags: progression

Note: .progression

Comparing up versus comparing down: Your happiness depends on where you’re focusing. (Location 525)

(Location 526)

Tags: comparison

Note: .comparison conpare down rather than comparing up

Great insight comes only from opening your mind to many options. Brainstorm them all, from the hybrids to the ridiculous. It takes under an hour, but has always helped my friends feel less stressed, think clearly, and get excited about decisions that used to feel like dilemmas. (Location 566)

Life is like any journey. You need to change directions a few times to get where you want to go. (Location 586)

CHANGING PERSPECTIVE

I actually love being wrong, even though it cracks my confidence, because that’s the only time I learn. I actually love being lost, even though it fuels fears, because that’s when I go somewhere unexpected. (Location 645)

(Location 647)

Tags: learning

Note: .learning embrace being wrong, its when you learn

WHAT’S WORTH DOING?

Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them. (Location 726)

the lifestyle of the happiest people I know: Have a well-paying job. Seriously pursue your art for love, not money. (Location 759)

Most full-time artists I know only spend an hour or two a day actually doing their art. The rest is spent on the boring work that comes with trying to make it a full-time career. So skip the art career and just do the art. (Location 778)

(Location 779)

Tags: career

Note: .career have a passion that doesnt need to finance your life. If you do your passion fulltime you will sppend a lot of time on admin tasks rather than your passion

Don’t expect your job to fulfill all your emotional needs. Don’t taint something you love with the need to make money from it. Don’t try to make your job your whole life. Don’t try to make your art your sole income. Let each be what it is, and put in the extra effort to balance the two, for a great life. (Location 781)

(Location 783)

Tags: career

Note: .career

A new college campus was built, but one thing was still debated: Where in the grass should we put the paved walkways? Some people thought the walkways should go around the grass, to leave it green. Some thought the walkways should cut across diagonally. One professor had the winning idea: Don’t make any walkways this year. At the end of the year, look where the grass has worn away. That shows where the students are walking. Then just pave those paths. (Location 806)

(Location 809)

Tags: agile

Note: .agile delay decisions until you know more

So when should you make decisions? When you have the most information, when you’re at your smartest: as late as possible. Like the college campus, you can do without walkways for a year. Resist the urge to figure it all out in advance. Realize that now, in the beginning, is when you know the least. (Location 812)

(Location 814)

Tags: agile

Note: .agile We know least at the start

“Don’t start a business until people are asking you to.” (Location 820)

Tags: startup

Note: .startup wait until you have clear customer demmand before starting a business

Time really is limited. We can’t pretend it’s not. Time spent doing one thing is time spent not doing something else. (Location 860)

Tags: newsletter, quote, time

Note: .time .quote .newsletter

My friend was a brilliant conversationalist, one of the brightest minds I’ve met, but he never put his thoughts into writing. It’s extra-sad that his thoughts are gone, too. (Location 865)

(Location 866)

Tags: mortality

Note: .mortality documenting your thoughts leaves them behind for others when you die

FIXING FAULTY THINKING

The adding mindset is deeply ingrained. It’s easy to think I need something else. It’s hard to look instead at what to remove. (Location 893)

Tags: minimalism

Note: .minimalism look to subtract rather than add

Being smart means thinking things through. It means trying to find the real answer, not the easiest answer. Being stupid means avoiding thinking by jumping to conclusions. Jumping to a conclusion is like quitting a game. You lose by default. (Location 902)

(Location 904)

Tags: stupid, smart

Note: .smart .stupid being stupid means jumping to conclusions

what matters is what I get out of their work, not the person who made it. (Location 915)

You are the way you are because of what you’ve experienced. Your country, family, town, random circumstances, and friends have shaped the way you think. If you had grown up on the other side of the world, you would have a different set of values and thought patterns. (Location 928)

(Location 930)

Tags: culture, values

Note: .values .culture

You really learn only when you’re surprised. If you’re not surprised, then everything is fitting into your existing thought patterns. So to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives. (Location 932)

(Location 934)

Tags: learning

Note: .learning

At first, their values and methods will feel wrong. You’ll feel the urge to tell them how their lives or ideas could be better—more like what you know. But try to understand a perspective where they are right and you are wrong. Eventually you’ll realize that your beliefs were not correct—they were just the local culture of where you grew up. You’re a product of your environment. (Location 939)

(Location 942)

Tags: environment, culture

Note: .culture .environment

To make a change, you have to be extreme. Go all the way the other way. It will feel like overcompensating, but you have to stack a huge pile of bricks on the other side. (Location 963)

(Location 964)

Tags: change

Note: .change when attempting to make a change you may need to over compensate to undo existing habits

SAYING YES

Judge a goal by how well it changes your actions in the present moment. (Location 1023)

(Location 1024)

Tags: goal

Note: .goal a goal should change your action in the present moment

Whatever scares you, go do it. (Location 1068)