“Nothing stays still. Relative to the rest of the world, even something that’s not moving is changing. It’s tempting to talk about not making fast enough progress. But it’s far more useful to ask which direction we’re progressing. Often, people will point to the velocity of the change they’re making without pausing to consider the direction of that change. Strategy is the hard work we do before we do the rest of the hard work. Where to?”
Seth Godin
“Another way to spell ‘perfectionism’ is p-a-r-a-l-y-s-i-s. An obsession with getting it perfect misses the forest for the trees, because ultimately the biggest miss of all is failing to get your shot off. What you don’t ship, what you’re too afraid or strict to release, to try, is, by definition, a failure. It doesn’t matter the cause, whether it was from procrastination or perfectionism, the result is the same. You didn’t do it.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 132)
“The Bible says that through our patience we come to possess nothing less than our souls.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 129)
“Epictetus reminds us that when you say, I’ll get serious about this tomorrow or, I’ll focus on it later, ‘what you’re really saying is, ‘Today I’ll be shameless, immature, and base; others will have the power to distress me.””
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 125)
“These days, I try to treat my attention like the precious resource that it is. I keep my phone on Do Not Disturb, 24/7/365. Only my wife and mother can get through. And everything else can wait. I schedule one hour of ‘thinking time’ every week. Just me, a pencil, and a notebook. No devices. I use an auto-responder on most social channels. This helps set clear expectations, and I’ve found people usually respect boundaries when you lay them out. I say no to 100% of ‘brain-pick’ requests. My mental space is non-negotiable. I’ve shared almost everything I know through social media, podcast interviews, and my digital products. My auto-responders redirect people to my content when they want advice. I protect my sleep religiously. I’m in bed by 9:30 pm most nights. And I’ve started leaving my phone in the kitchen. One of the surprising parts about all this is that my business hasn’t suffered. Because clear thinking leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to better outcomes.”
Justin Welsh
“The muses never bless the unfocused. And even if they did, how would they notice?”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 124)
