James Clear on a process for almost anything

vutran | Nov. 11, 2020, 1:53 p.m.

"A 5-step process for nearly anything:

1) Explore widely. Find out what is possible.

2) Test cheaply. Run small, quick experiments. Sample things.

3) Edit ruthlessly. Focus on the best. Cut everything else.

4) Repeat what works. Don't quit on a good idea.

5) Return to 1."

— James Clear

James Cear on when to simplify your thoughts

vutran | Nov. 11, 2020, 1:52 p.m.

"To simplify before you understand the details is ignorance.

To simplify after you understand the details is genius."

— James Clear

James Clear on being proactive on behavior that pays off in 10 years

vutran | Nov. 11, 2020, 1:51 p.m.

"Be radically proactive about any behavior that pays off in 10 years."

— James Clear

Lin Yutang on the magic of reading

vutran | Nov. 9, 2020, 8:21 a.m.

"Compare the difference between the life of a man who does no reading and that of a man who does. The man who has not the habit of reading is imprisoned in his immediate world, in respect to time and space. His life falls into a set routine; he is limited to contact and conversation with a few friends and acquaintances, and he sees only what happens in his immediate neighborhood. From this prison there is no escape.

But the moment he takes up a book, he immediately enters a different world, and if it is a good book, he is immediately put in touch with one of the best talkers of the world. This talker leads him on and carries him into a different country or a different age, or unburdens to him some of his personal regrets, or discusses with him some special line or aspect of life that the reader knows nothing about. An ancient author puts him in communion with a dead spirit of long ago, and as he reads along, he begins to imagine what that ancient author looked like and what type of person he was...

Now to be able to live two hours out of twelve in a different world and take one's thoughts off the claims of the immediate present is, of course, a privilege to be envied by people shut up in their bodily prison."

— Lin Yutang on the magic of reading

Trevor Kletz on how he accomplished so much in his career

vutran | Nov. 9, 2020, 8:19 a.m.

“If one asked permission there was a 50% chance it would be refused. If one just got on with it, 19 times out of 20 nothing was said.”

— Trevor Kletz on how he accomplished so much in his career

James Clear on building up successful outcomes over time

vutran | Nov. 9, 2020, 8:18 a.m.

"Successful outcomes are never the result of a single choice. They are built up through good choices over time.

A profitable business is never a choice, it is a series of choices.

A fit body is never a choice, it is a series of choices.

A strong relationship is never a choice, it is a series of choices."

— James Clear

James Clear on the the trick to writing well

vutran | Nov. 9, 2020, 8:18 a.m.

"The trick to writing well is to...

- take long sentences and make them short

- take confusing ideas and make them clear

- take unrelated concepts and make them related

...without losing the main idea in the process."

— James Clear