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    “The purpose of setting goals is to win the game.  The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.  True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking.  It’s not about any single accomplishment.  It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement.  Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

      “Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment.  That’s the counterintuitive thing about improvement.  We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem.  What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results. When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily.  In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level.  Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

        “Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal.  Every candidate wants to get the job.  And if successful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.  It wasn’t the goal of winning the Tour de France that propelled the British cyclists to the top of the sport.  Presumably, they had wanted to win the race every year before—just like every other professional team.  The goal had always been there.  It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

          “All big things come from small beginnings.  The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision  but as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger.  Roots entrench themselves and branches grow.  The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us.  And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

            “Habits often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold and unlock a new level of performance.  In the early and middle stages of any quest, there is often a Valley of Disappointment.  You expect to make progress in a linear fashion and it’s frustrating how ineffective changes can seem during the first days, weeks, and even months.  It doesn’t feel like you are going anywhere.  It’s a hallmark of any compounding process: the most powerful outcomes are delayed.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

              “Time magnifies the margin between success and failure.  It will multiply whatever you feed it.  Good habits make time your ally.  Bad habits make time your enemy.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                “Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits.  Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits.  Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits.  Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits.  Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits.  You get what you repeat.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                  “It doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now.  What matters is whether your habits are putting you on the path toward success.  You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.  If you’re a millionaire but you spend more than you earn each month, then you’re on a bad trajectory.  If your spending habits don’t change, it’s not going to end well.  Conversely, if you’re broke, but you save a little bit every month, then you’re on the path toward financial freedom—even if you’re moving slower than you’d like.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                    “The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding.  Here’s how the math works out: if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.  Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero.  What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                      “To write a great book, you must first become the book.” ~ Naval Ravikant, via Atomic Habits

                        “We all deal with setbacks but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.  With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results.  But with better habits, anything is possible.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits