So far

August 1st, 2021. Here’re distilled versions of some ideas from more than 600 posts. Each stands alone. They aren’t in order of importance.

Most quotes don’t have attributions because the quotes are impactful on their own, plus I’ve rewritten a few to make them clearer, so some are slightly different from their original form.


Money is the most effective tool for navigating the complex, technical world we live in. You don’t need lots of it. But you do need enough, and to be able to deal with it.

Here’s something from J. Collin’s site that I’ve shortened. His book is, “The simple Path to Wealth.” Nothing is more valuable than your freedom. Life choices are not always about the money, but always be clear about the money choice you’re making.

Simply do the following and you’ll wind up rich: Spend less than you earn, invest the surplus, and avoid debt. If your lifestyle is exceeding your income you’re just a gilded slave.

Sound investing is not complicated (complicated investments make money for those selling them).

Ninety percent of people can’t pick winning stocks, just buy Vanguard index funds. End of story.

Track your expenses for a year.

Save 25 times your yearly expenses and invest it in a very low cost Vanguard index fund.

When you reach that number you can stop working if you want to. You’ll be able to live on 4% of your saving without running out of money.

As individuals we only have one obligation to society: making sure we, and our children, aren’t a burden to others. The rest is your choice. While giving is a fine thing, no one is obligated to do so.  Anyone telling you otherwise is likely trying to sell you something.


Mark Twain observed, “Of the delights of this world, man cares most for sexual intercourse. He’ll go to any length for it – risk fortune, character, reputation, life itself.”

If you agree with that, you should be listening to DanSavage’s Sex Advice shining a light on the extent civilization is built on a renunciation of our instincts.

According to Ed Abbey, “Modern men and women are obsessed with the sexual; it’s the only realm of primordial adventure still left to most of us.”


If I could only give someone one book it’d be “Cool Tools,” by Kevin Kelly. It’s an updated “Whole Earth Catalog,” and sorta like a low tech internet.


Any time and energy spent on events you can’t control or effect, is wasted time and energy. Stop worrying, you can’t control the wind, just what you do with your sail.

Banners saying, “There’s probably no god, so stop worrying and enjoy your life,” should be on every bus in the world.


“If every trace of any single religion died out and nothing was passed on, it’d never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other story in its place, but not that exact nonsense. But if all of science was wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.” -Penn Jillette


Don’t ask a doctor what you should do. Ask him what he would do if he were in your place.


People hear what they see, “Action expresses priorities.


Sex and violence are the only two things that you can’t fake. You can fake wealth, intellect, status, kindness, political acumen, parenting, looks because there’re no objective measures for any of these things. But sex or a fight isn’t a matter of opinion, it’s too real.”
I wish I’d started learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a teen. You can only be non-violent if you can control violence.


Sam Harris described the goal of  meditation as, “awakening from our trance of discursive thinking, and from ceaselessly grasping at the pleasant and recoiling from the unpleasant,  enjoying a mind undisturbed by worry, and effortlessly be aware of the flow of experience in the present.”


Kindness is a choice.


Be a good person, do what you love, and live in an evidence based world.

You can ignore reality, but can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.


Create your own system, or be enslaved by someone else’s.


If you don’t know your own value, someone will tell you your value, and it’ll be less than you’re worth.


Not life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued.

Luxury is being unrushed.


To inform what to do today, look back at our very long prehistory.


If you’re not happy you’re wasting your time.


Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.


Are you after comfort and ease, when all you need to be happy is something to be enthusiastic about?


Never chase a woman, a streetcar, or a deal.


The quality of a society is more important than your place in that society – better being a small fish in a clean pond than a big fish in a polluted lake.


Reframing failure as feedback transforms it into a point of information in the learning process.

 

Life is happening for you.


Say no more often. Focus, ignore, and do one thing at a time.


Of the troubles coming down the road, most end up in the ditch before they reach you.


Learn from everyone, follow no one, look for patterns, and put in the work.


Abstinence is easier than temperance.


Try to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.


Jot down interesting things you hear.


With philanthropy, try to relieve pain, rather than spreading joy.


Lots of sleep is crucial for physical and mental health.


Ignore the social ideal that being worthy is being busy.


We make ourselves either miserable or happy. The effort’s the same for either one.


Comparing yourself to other people is the thief of joy because comparing usually leads to despairing.


For high performance and personal satisfaction, shoot for: Autonomy (the desire to direct your own life), Mastery (the urge to get better at stuff), and Purpose (the feeling and intention that you can make a difference in the world).


The richest person isn’t the one who has the most, he’s the person needing the least.


Disbelief in the authority of others is at the heart of science.


Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, is the secret of creative people.


Master the best that other people have ever figured out. Don’t try to dream it all up yourself, nobody’s that smart.


Marriage, in our time, is the bungled attempt at guaranteeing something no one can do – to go on feeling a certain way. It’s better to promise to continue to be worth loving.


Things are to used and people are to be loved, not the other way around.


What can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.


Do strength exercises, be generally active, get outdoors for some sunshine and fresh air, eat whole foods, get lots of sleep, have plenty of physical and social contact and you’ll probably be as optimized as you can get.

Remember Mark Rippatoe’s observation that Strong people are harder to kill and generally more useful.


Peoples’ lives are made up of stories, and stories are what people relate to. It’s been this way since we began communicating. Information provides a meaningful pattern for data. But a story will provide an even more meaningful pattern to information, making it more accessible.


Present children with a version of adult life that’s appealing and worth striving for.


When you’re able to transfer emotion to another person, whatever it is you use to do that is art.


Not at work? Don’t check work emails. Problems that arise will make your free time useless due to preoccupation so you won’t experience relaxation or productivity. Time without attention is worthless. Value attention over time.


Do any task immediately if it can be done in less than two minutes.


Jonas Salk, said his life’s aim was: “To be a good ancestor.”


Your home should be the place that reflects your authentic self.


Tattoos are like permanent bell-bottoms.


If an atom was the size of our solar system, a neutrino would be the size of a golf ball, to scale.


Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.


If someone offers you a breath mint, take it.