Principles

A

  • Abuse is most effective when delivered from within.
  • Acknowledging that things aren’t going well creates the opportunity to improve them.
  • Actions, especially the small ones, are votes for the types of people we want to be (Atomic Habits).
  • All that matters is what’s in my head right now.
  • “Amateurs built the arc; professionals built the titanic” (Tools of Titans).
  • Anxiety and depression are diseases; we have tactics to mitigate their symptoms.
  • Artists need audiences and vice versa.
  • Asking quality questions yields a quality life (Tony Robbins).

B

  • Backlogs won’t ever be empty— that’s not what they’re designed for.
  • Behaviors are driven by incentives.
  • Believing precedes achieving.
  • Books on the shelf are not the same as books in the brain.
  • Boring solutions are exciting when they are effective.

C

  • Committing to action before exploring is ineffective.
  • Comparison is the thief of joy.
  • Competition is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for success.
  • Computers are stupid. They do exactly what we ask them to do, no more and no less. People are different. They do exactly what they want to do, no more and no less.
  • Context is king.
  • “Control what you can” is better used as a weapon to advance than as a shield to withdraw.

D

  • Delaying and denying are not the same.
  • Discontent is a sign of growth.
  • Don’t project; do empathize.
  • Dreading and dreaming are often confused for one another.

E

  • Emotions are contagious (Supercommunicators).
  • Endings ought to be celebrated.
  • Energy is a finite resource.
  • Every problem we solve creates another one.
  • Everyone has a lesson to teach everyone else.
  • Everyone is working through something.
  • Everyone has an internal universe.
  • Explaining is only necessary after a loss.

F

  • Faking it does not lead to making it. Making it does.
  • Fans and friends are different groups.
  • Feedback loops are the most efficient pathway to stay aimed at our targets.
  • Feelings trump questions. Questions trump claims.
  • Fundamentals enable us to take next steps when we have no clue where we are or what we’re doing.

G

  • “Ghosts are make believe, but hauntings are very real” (Record of a Spaceborn Few).
  • Good content is substance that comes to your mind unbidden years after experiencing it.

H

  • Help is only an ask away.
  • Hours of effort is not equivalent to ability. It matters what one can do, not what one has done.
  • How is more important than What (Yvon Chouniard). Why is exponentially more important than How (Simon Sinek).

I

  • If you’re winning, someone is coming for you.
  • If you don’t like how you’re being treated, try behaving differently.
  • If you help someone make their first million they’ll likely keep you around for their next million.
  • If you want fans win games.
  • Ignorance is a beginning.
  • Incentives drive behavior.
  • It doesn’t ever get easier; you get better.
  • It only takes one “yes” to break a streak of “no’s.”

K

  • Knowledge comes with a curse. One forgets what it was like to not know. Skill comes with the same curse.

L

  • Learning effectively (and quickly) enables me to consistently update what’s in my head to match the problems I need to solve now.
  • Leverage is the variable most correlated to impact, not effort (Shane Parrish).
  • Life is exactly as complicated as you make it.
  • Life is meant to be enjoyed.
  • Life’s not fair.
  • Local improvements may damage the global system (The Goal).
  • Loneliness can be a sign you’re doing it wrong; it can also be a sign you’re the only one doing it right.
  • Luck is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for extraordinary results.

M

  • Maintenance matters over the long haul.
  • Mental health disorders are stigmatized.
  • Mental models drive behaviors.
  • Moments build movements.

N

  • Naming a problem precedes solving it.
  • New information changes priorities.
  • Nobody cares how smart you are or how much you make.
  • Nobody knows what they’re doing. We’re all trying to figure it out by measuring our own results.
  • Now, held properly, can be leveraged to honor Before.
  • Now is a rough draft for Next.

O

  • Only I can make myself feel small.
  • Only I know what I need in any given moment.
  • Opinions must be earned.
  • Opposing viewpoints can both be true.
  • Options always exist (Naval Ravikant).
  • Outcomes and intentions both matter.

P

  • Pen and paper are technology.
  • People matter most.
  • People will follow the path of least resistance, just like water.
  • Permission is not coming from someone else.

Q

  • Quitting is a good idea, especially on the road to rock bottom.

R

  • Reading changes our mental models, if we let it.

S

  • Stepping forward, even the barest fraction, generates more forward motion than all the thinking in the world.
  • Success is never a surprise to those who achieve it (Saquon Barkley).
  • Superpowers introduce vulnerabilities.

T

  • Talk less; say more.
  • Tension can be constructive.
  • Telling someone they’re in Crazy Town does not help them escape.
  • “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you” (Williamson, 1992).
  • There will always be more work to do.
  • Together is better.
  • Tools are designed for specific purposes. You’re either using the tool or it’s using you.

W

  • We all aspire to belong.
  • We are what we consume.
  • We don’t need more; we need more quality (TODO: attribution).
  • We made the world we are living in.
  • What is rewarded gets repeated.
  • When it’s working keep doing it (Nassim Taleb)!
  • Words change meaning over time and place (Steven Pinker).

Y

  • You get what you give (Zac Brown Band).

A short list of superpowers

  • Acknowledgment
  • Awareness
  • Comprehension
  • Connection
  • Curiosity
  • Focus
  • Honesty
  • Humility
  • Identification
  • Intensity
  • Listening
  • Messaging
  • Mindfulness
  • Openness
  • Patience
  • Positivity
  • Storytelling
  • Synthesis