I also find it helpful to remind myself that every human is a mess on the inside. It’s easy to assume the good-looking and well-spoken person in front of you has it all together and is therefore your superior. The reality is that everyone is a basket case on the inside. Some people just hide it better. Find me a normal person and I’ll show you someone you don’t know that well. It helps to remind yourself that your own flaws aren’t that bad compared with everyone else’s. I.
Lately... the Peter Principle has given way to the “Dilbert Principle.” The basic concept of the Dilbert Principle is that the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management.
Managing your personal energy is like managing budgets in a company.
You should also try to figure out which people are thing people and which ones are people people.
Everyone is an idiot, not just the people with low SAT scores. The only differences among us is that we’re idiots about different things at different times. No matter how smart you are, you spend much of your day being an idiot.
The only way to succeed in the long run is by using a system that bypasses your need for willpower.
The grand illusion of life is that our minds have the capacity to understand reality. But human minds didn’t evolve to understand reality. We didn’t need that capability. A clear view of reality wasn’t necessary for our survival. Evolution cares only that you survive long enough to procreate. And that’s a low bar. The result is that each of us is, in effect, living in our own little movie that our brain has cooked up for us to explain our experiences.
People think they follow advice but they don’t. Humans are only capable of receiving information. They create their own advice. If you seek to influence someone, don’t waste time giving advice. You can change only what people know, not what they do.
Focus on your diet first and get that right so you have enough energy to want to exercise.
If you believe people use reason for the important decisions in life, you will go through life feeling confused and frustrated that others seem to have bad reasoning skills. The reality is that reason is just one of the drivers of our decisions, and often the smallest one.
In the long run, any system that depends on your willpower will fail.
If you want to understand UFOs, reincarnation and God, do not study UFOs, reincarnation and God. Study people.
If you believe people use reason for the important decisions in life, you will go through life feeling confused and frustrated that others seem to have bad reasoning skills.
I pursued a conscious strategy of managing my opportunities in a way that would make it easier for luck to find me.
On all the important stuff, we are emotional creatures who make decisions first and rationalize them after the fact.
The Knowledge Formula: The More You Know, the More You Can Know.
Good ideas have no value because the world already has too many of them.
Successwise, you’re better off being good at two complementary skills than being excellent at one.
A lie that makes a voter feel good is more effective than a hundred rational arguments.
This was my first exposure to the idea that one should have a system instead of a goal. The system was to continually look for better options.