This doesn’t mean that everything that has happened to you is a result of your actions. It means that you develop an ability to respond to whatever happens to you, even if you don’t control the consequences of your actions. It means exerting maximal agency towards the things you can directly change (your behavior), and maximum acceptance towards things you can influence but not control (external circumstances, other people’s behavior).

Our responses typically come from patterns and scripts handed down from our parents and our pasts. We are not hostage to those patterns, we can update them. A pattern that's run through your family for generations can stop with you. Vision is bigger than baggage.

A pattern like anxiety may have been helpful in a previous unsafe environment but is maladaptive for our current safe environment.

Cognitive behavior therapy or Byron Katie’s work helps us get new training data by asking questions like: “are you absolutely sure that’s true? How do you react when you believe that thought? Who would you be without that thought?“ This is great for updating limiting beliefs, of which we have many that are often mostly incorrect and holding us back.

loving people and wanting other people to flourish on their own terms, independent of what’s in it for you—even when it’s at your expense.

Write down a list of what you want in your relationships and the types of people you want personal and professional relationships with and then make sure you are bringing those attributes to the table too. e.g. If you want loyal friends, *be* a loyal friend. Focus on “being” rather than “having”, because you can only control the former, and by doing so you can influence the latter.

We want to get that job because we want respect, autonomy, recognition, connection. But there are thousands of ways to meet that need. Acknowledging this makes you more flexible to what life throws at you, and makes it more likely you’ll get what you actually want deep down. A lot of stress in my life came from being set on certain strategies when if I appreciated what need I was trying to meet, I could have been more flexible in switching strategies.

“I’ll be happy once I hit X goal” may be motivating, but it won’t be true—you’ll just move the goalposts. If this is how you’re motivated now, it’s unlikely to last because at some point you’ll figure out that your pattern is unfulfilling and you’ll stop following it. Then you’ll need to find a new way to motivate yourself. A more durable motivation comes from genuinely enjoying the process and the contributions and the relationships that stem from it.

You can’t be in your body and be stuck in your brain at the same time. The way out of the brain loop is through the body. If you feel feel the feelings it might take a few minutes or hours to pass them, whereas if you repress it it might take months or years.

Keep in touch with old friends more broadly. Call them randomly, even if it’s been years. Keep track of what they care about.

Be able to acknowledge when you are not in a secure place, and be able to reset by working out, taking a walk, listening to music, talking with a friend, etc. Wait until the anger or trigger passes before acting. And never fight over text. And if you ever find yourself in a fight, realize you’re in one and calm down and ask yourself why you’re fighting.

Deposits into your own bank account look like being proud of yourself — contributing to others, gaining competence at something that matters, doing the right thing, keeping promises to yourself and others, and taking good care of yourself.

Track what people and activities and habits make you feel better and which drain you. Track when you get triggered or or when you trigger others and see if you can identify patterns.

Do a weekly audit where you can look backwards and reflect on what brings you closer to yourself or and vice versa and readjust how you spend time accordingly.

Although rewiring is worth doing, it's easier to change your environment than to change your insides. Change your environment & then let the new cues do the work.

If you’re going to offend someone, do it on something you care about. Not on an off hand remark or action that didn’t mean anting to you. If you’re unsure, wait a couple days to see if you still mean it. Usually you don’t.

Grudges are ankle weights on your soul.

If you have extended anger with someone, even if they’re in the wrong, you’re both losing.

Empathize with what needs they were trying to meet through their actions and then either reconcile with them or move on with the levity of being grudge-free.

Try other tactics to get curious about other people instead of righteous. If you look at their childhood photos it’s hard to be mad at them. If you have your hands on your heart it’s hard to be angry at them. If you’re hugging your partner it’s harder to fight with them.

One self-connection exercise when triggered is: How do you feel? (vent) How does that feel on the inside? (connect with deeper feeling) What do you want? (suggest strategy, get action oriented) What would that give you? (connect with deeper need)

Use language that emphasizes the fact that people can change: Use verbs over adjectives and observations instead of judgments. For example, instead of saying, “X is always late”, say “X has been late the last three times.”

Don’t bring work mode to relationships and vice versa. For work, you want to be efficient, outcome oriented, and prioritize winning above all. With people, you want to be effective, process oriented, and prioritize connection above all. For work you want to be right (accurate), for relationships you want to be happy (connected).

Don’t keep score, your patience will run out. And equality doesn’t matter. On your death bed you won’t wish things were more fair, but you’ll regret that your insistence on fairness prevented you from connecting with an open heart.

everyone has a micro impact on their families, friends, and local communities and we don’t pay enough attention to making it great.

Use things like politics, sports, social media etc as ways to meet or get closer to other people, but don’t use it as something to make you angry or further from others.

Cultivate what makes you unique. The more distinct your path is, the less competition you’ll have, and the less you’ll compare yourself to others because you’re running your own race.

Envision the highest version of your own success and strive to get as close to it as possible while also being happy with wherever you land.

Your past was what you needed to get here (no regrets), and fretting about what will happen in the future bond what you need to prep for it won’t help either

Most ambitious people on their death beds wish they were less hard on themselves. The happiest people are best at focusing on what they can control and not letting past drama or future worries get in their way.

Asymmetric upside opportunities could lead to new relationships or forms of growth. Asymmetric downside opportunities could lead to sacrificing your health or your relationship or your reputation.

Forget trying to decide what your life’s destiny is. That’s too grand. Instead, just figure out what you should do in the next 2 years.

Try to define yourself by what you love and embrace, rather than what you hate and refuse.

Where you live—what city, what country—has more impact on your well being than any other factor. Where you live is one of the few things in your life you can choose and change.

Once a month take a different route home, enter your house by a different door, and sit in a different chair at dinner. No ruts.

Every now and then throw a memorable party. The price will be steep, but long afterwards you will remember the party, whereas you won’t remember how much is in your checking account.

Most arguments are not really about the argument, so most arguments can’t be won by arguing.

invent your own definition of success. Shoot your arrows first and then paint a bull’s eye around where they land. You’re the winner!

There should be at least one thing in your life you enjoy despite being no good at it. This is your play time, which will keep you young. Never apologize for it.

You have 5 minutes to act on a new idea before it disappears from your mind.

The patience you need for big things, is developed by your patience with the little things.

When you are stuck or overwhelmed, focus on the smallest possible thing that moves your project forward.

For steady satisfaction, work on improving your worst days, rather than your best days.

Your decisions will become wiser when you consider these three words: “…and then what?” for each choice.

If possible, every room should be constructed to provide light from two sides.  Rooms with light from only one side are used less often, so when you have a choice, go with light from two sides.

There is a profound difference between thinking less of yourself (not useful), and thinking of yourself less (better).

Always ask yourself: what would change my mind?

Becoming one-of-a-kind is not a solo job. Paradoxically you need everyone else in the world to help make you unique.

If you need emergency help from a bystander, command them what to do. By giving them an assignment, you transform them from bewildered bystander to a responsible assistant.

The most common mistake we make is to do a great job on an unimportant task.

Don’t work for a company you would not invest money in, because when you are working you are investing the most valuable thing you have: your time.

Fail forward. Failing is not a disgrace if you keep failing better.

Do not cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.

For small tasks the best way to get ready is to do it immediately.

What others want from you is mostly to be seen. Let others know you see them.

When you try something new, don’t think of it as a matter of success / failure, but as success / learning to succeed.

use your honesty as a gift not as a weapon. Your honesty should benefit others.

A good sign that you are doing the kind of work you should be doing is that you enjoy the tedious parts that other people find tortuous.

Celebrating the success of others costs you nothing, and increases the happiness of everyone, including you.

To tell a good story, you must reveal a surprise; otherwise it is just a report.

a long horizon allows you to compound small advances into quite large achievements.

Often ideas are rejected because of the tone of voice they are wrapped in. Humility covers many blemishes.

When you are right, you are learning nothing.

Very small things accumulate until they define your larger life. Carefully choose your everyday things.

If you are impressed with someone’s work, you should tell them, but even better, tell their boss.

Humility is mostly about being very honest about how much you owe to luck.

impatient yet patient; brilliant yet dumb ask questions that make people they talk to smarter and more specific

have specific, correct hot takes (if young, on the path there) delivered a ton of interesting projects that weren’t helpful for anything in particular (whether it’s writing, coding, leading or anything else) learn really fast & you can see it from their behavior actions reflect beliefs have a history of embarrassing cold emails

do what’s required to get where they want to get (rather than only doing what they’re good at)

take ideas seriously type really fast (clearly a spurious correlation but still interesting)

don’t settle for proxies, zoom all the way in & out keep doing what they believe is the right thing in the absence of any positive feedback or only negative (even if only perceived) feedback from others

have thought through everything use first principles when there are no priors & use priors when there are priors extremely curious