The Bi-Monthly #1
I’ve fiddled with all kinds of ways to share what I’m reading and what I’ve enjoyed. As I read, I write what I like in a journal. Below is everything I’ve written from April 1 - April 16, 2025.*
The most powerful productivity tool ever invented is the word “no”
If you want to understand someone, figure out the narrative they tell themselves about themself
To find perspective think of both content + context
Progress does not come from revolutionary advances, but from the patient accumulation of small, earned advances.
The first and most essential element in our Life’s happiness is what we are - If for no other reason than it is a constant factor coming into play under all circumstances
The man who is cheerful and merry has always a good reason for being so - the fact, namely, that he is so
If you laugh a great deal, you are happy. If you cry a great deal, you are unhappy
Men are not influenced by things, but by their thoughts about things -epictetus
No man ought to expect much from others or, in general, from the external world
What is worth doing is difficult to do
-The Wisdom Of LIfe by Arthur Schopenhauer
You get more of whatever you give attention to
encourage what makes someone else larger
Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest -Hermann Hesse
Rejection isn’t a verdict. It’s data. Use it.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing -Strangest Loop
While you wait for perfect conditions, others are creating them
Don’t hope for a life without problems. Hope for a life full of good problems
Happiness is a constant work in progress, because solving problems is a constant work in progress. The solutions to Today’s problems will lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems, and so on
If you want to change how you see your problems, you have to change what you value and/or how you measure success
Growth is endlessly iterative. We don’t go from “wrong” to “right.” We go from wrong to slightly less wrong
-The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
No random actions, none not based on underlying principles
My values determine my actions and my actions show what I value
The tranquility that comes to you when you stop caring what they say
Make your way through life no one’s master and no one’s slave
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts
Things have no hold on the sould. They have no access to it, cannot move or direct it. It is moved and directed by itself alone. It takes the things before it and interprets them as it sees fit.
The mind is the ruler of the soul
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself
Good fortune: Good character, good intentions, and good actions
The best revenge is to not be like that
If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining
Just pay attention and resolve to live up to your own expectations. Our business is with things that really matter
It’s quite possible to be a good man without realizing it
Live your last day, every day
You have to assemble your life for yourself - action by action
A healthy mind should be prepared for anything
Stop what you’re doing and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?
You have to know an awful lot before you can judge other people’s actions with real understanding
It never ceases to amaze me that we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
If you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right
How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham
*I’ve done my absolute best to attribute to correct sources
