Category: Quotes

 

“As I came down from the mountain, I recalled how, not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize. Stillness is not just an indulgence for those with enough resources—it’s a necessity for anyone who wishes to gather less visible resources.”

— Pico Iyer in The Art of Stillness

“A learned man once went to a Zen master to inquire about Zen. As the Zen master talked, the learned man would frequently interrupt him with remarks like, “Oh yes, we have too,” and so forth. Finally the Zen master stopped talking and began to serve tea to the learned man; however, he kept on pouring and the tea cup overflowed. “Enough, no more can go into the cup!” the learned man interrupted. “Indeed I see,” answered the Zen master. “But if you do not first empty your cup, then how can you taste my cup of tea?”

-Bruce Lee

“The irony is that this ‘fake it till you make it’ tactic is the exact opposite of how truly successful people live. They live with authentic vulnerability because they know that the world always connects more with your grit than your shine. They might show up for the shine, but they will stay because of your grit.”

-Joshua Medcalf

“The greatest threat to results are boredom and impatience.

The only way to become good at something is to practice the ordinary basics for an uncommon length of time. Most people get bored. They want excitement. They want something to talk about and no one talks about the boring basics. For example, we know that dollar-cost averaging into an index fund is likely to generate wealth, but cryptocurrency will give us a bigger thrill. Boredom encourages you to stop doing what you know works and do something that might work.

Another way to mess up a good thing is to try and accelerate the natural pace of things into an unnatural one. A good idea taken to the extreme is always a bad idea. Working out for 15 hours a day won’t make you healthier, it will get you injured. Investing with a lot of leverage won’t make you rich faster, it will wipe you out. A lack of patience changes the outcome.

It’s hard to be above average if you can’t find a way to do the same thing over and over again. As Bruce Lee observed, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

In a world of social media, we glorify the results and not the process. We see the kick that knocked someone out but not the years of effort that went into perfecting it. We see the results, not the hard work.

The difference between good and great results is often found in consistently doing the boring things you know you should do exactly when you feel like doing them the least.”

Tiny Thought, Farnam Street

Maya Angelou

Once you find your shoulders dropping

And your speech gets slow and hazy

You better change your way of being

Before you found your brain got lazy

You can build a better future when you join the winning team

If you desire a bright tomorrow, you must build a brighter dream

Dare to let your dreams reach beyond you

Know that history holds more than it seems

We are here alive today because our ancestors dared to dream

From Africa they lay in the bilge of slave ships

And stood half naked on auction blocks

From eastern-Europe they crowded in vessels overloaded with immigrants

And were mis-named on Ellis island

From South America and Mexico, from Asia, they labored in sweat shops

From all over the world, they came to America

Many shivering in rags, and still they dared to dream

Let us dream for today and for tomorrow

Let us dare to dream