Quotes

that the “easy” life is a mirage.
People who choose easy end up living a much harder, less joyful life. We know this from science, and from experience. They are more likely to have diabetes, heart problems, Alzheimer’s, aches and pains, low energy — you name an ailment that people complain about, and not exercising and eating crappy food makes it a certainty. That devil on your shoulder wants the best for him, which is the worst for you.
The great news is, like John and me, all of you have the power to fight.
All you need is the will.

He’d quote Wilder: “Give the audience two plus two and let them make four.” 

"A falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest."
 
African Proverb

GOGGINS: [Laughs] But what has brought me an extraordinary amount of peace in my life is when I finally fell in love with myself. Genuinely, I think that is the path of all spirituality. You can say it’s about finding god, but when you find your god you’re still going to have to face yourself. And either you’re going to cross that Rubicon or you’re not, but that in and of itself is a theology. The moment where I finally loved myself in a way that I could actually forgive myself and forgive the people in my life that may have caused me trauma and have that currency going forward to forgive and have compassion and empathy for other people—that is, I think, spirituality in a nutshell.

“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.”– Japanese proverb, featured in Ikigai

Craig Mod on the Creative Power of Walking

“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”

Waiting for perfect conditions is how otherwise intelligent people keep themselves stuck.

Two entrepreneurs spot the same opportunity. One builds elaborate plans; the other tests crude prototypes. The planner is still planning when the tester sells their company.

While you wait for perfect conditions, others are creating them.

I don’t know why people expect art to make sense when they accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense.
— to the Los Angeles Times, 1989

I get it. We all want easy. But that’s the devil talking, because the reality is that the “easy” life is a mirage.
People who choose easy end up living a much harder, less joyful life. We know this from science, and from experience. They are more likely to have diabetes, heart problems, Alzheimer’s, aches and pains, low energy — you name an ailment that people complain about, and not exercising and eating crappy food makes it a certainty. That devil on your shoulder wants the best for him, which is the worst for you.
The great news is, like John and me, all of you have the power to fight.
All you need is the will.

“If you need 10 of something, make 30. Then pick the best.”

In a way failure is a beautiful thing, because when the dust settles there’s nowhere to go but up, and it’s a freedom. You can’t lose more, but you can gain.
— from Room to Dream, 2018

"It’s a healthy practice to approach our work with as few accepted rules, starting points, and limitations as possible. Often the standards in our chosen medium are so ubiquitous, we take them for granted. They are invisible and unquestioned. This makes it nearly impossible to think outside the standard paradigm."

The patient inherit everything the impatient leave behind. — Shane Parish

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light, and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.’

They’re like fish. If you get an idea that’s thrilling to you, put your attention on it and these other fish will swim into it. It’s like a bait. They’ll hook on to it and you’ll get more ideas. And you just pull them in.
— to the Guardian, 2018

Andrew Schulz, ‘Podcast Bro,’ Might Be America’s Foremost Political Journalist

When you fall in love with the process rather than the outcome, you don't have to wait to be happy.

“If I’m the smartest person in the room, I’m in the wrong room.”

“You can’t bore people into buying your product, you can only interest them.” - David Ogilvy

Don't work for people you don't want to become.

Apple co‑founder Steve Wozniak on why invention is a solitary sport:

“Most inventors and engineers I’ve met are like me ... they live in their heads. They’re almost like artists. In fact, the very best of them are artists. And artists work best alone .... I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone... Not on a committee. Not on a team.”

"A falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest." - African Proverb

if you try to please everybody, you’ll excite nobody

The problem with success is that it teaches you the wrong lessons. What worked yesterday becomes religion, and religions don't adapt.

Going Home, by Ram Dass & Mirabai Bush | Parabola Essay

"It's better to be a pirate than to join the Navy." 
—Steve Jobs, 1982

All the time you spend worrying about the opportunities you don't have comes at the expense of maximizing the opportunities you do have.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance.”

Taste is often dismissed as something shallow or subjective. But at its core, it’s a form of literacy—a way of reading the world. Good taste isn’t about being right. It’s about being attuned. To rhythm, to proportion, to vibe. It’s knowing when something is off, even if you can’t fully articulate why.