“The muses never bless the unfocused. And even if they did, how would they notice?”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 124)
“Too much value is placed on the guidance and advice that others give you while the internal guidance that you can give yourself is highly underrated. It is important to have the humility to hear the perspectives of others, but when it comes to seeking answers that are relevant and specific to the changes you want to make in your life you really have to get comfortable with trusting yourself.”
Yung Pueblo
“Everything we say yes to means saying no to something else. No one can be two places at once. No one can give all their focus to more than one thing. But the power of this reality can also work for you: Every no can also be a yes, a yes to what really matters. To rebuff one opportunity means to cultivate another. This is the key not just to professional success but also personal happiness. When someone takes ‘just a few minutes of your time,’ they aren’t just robbing you. They’re robbing your family. They’re robbing the people who you serve. They are robbing the future. The same goes for when you agree to do unimportant things, or when you commit to too much at one time. Except this time, you are the thief.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 118)
“Television doesn’t want you to get up and take action, they want you to sit through the commercial break. A news outlet doesn’t want you to be so outraged by an article that you do something, no, they want you to stay and click another article at the bottom…or one of those scammy AI-written Taboola ads at the bottom. Stop falling for it. When I’m not feeling great physically—tired, irritable, sluggish—usually it’s because I’m eating poorly. In the same way, when I feel mentally scattered and distracted—I know it’s time to clean up my information diet.”
Ryan Holiday
“The number of people who stand ready to consume one’s time to no purpose is almost countless.”
Booker T. Washington, via Discipline Is Destiny (Page 116)
“The job of the teacher is to create the conditions for the student to explore their incompetence long enough to learn something useful.”
Seth Godin | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜
“We know that between every stimulus and its response, every piece of information and our decision, there is space. It is a brief space, to be sure, but one with room enough to insert our philosophy. Will we us it? Use it to think, use it to examine, use it to wait for more information? Or will we give into first impressions, to harmful instincts, and old patterns? The pause is everything.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 113)
“A weak mind must be constantly entertained and stimulated. A strong mind can occupy itself and, more importantly, be still and vigilant in moments that demand it.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 104)
“No one who is a slave to their urges or to sloth, no one without strength or a good schedule, can create a great life. Certainly they will be too consumed with themselves to be of much good for anyone else. Those who tell themselves they are free to do anything will, inevitably, be chained to something.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 92)
“People pay for what they do and still more, for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it simply: by the lives they lead.”
James Baldwin, via Discipline Is Destiny (Page 90)
“Sadness, anxiety, grief, loss, fear and all other heavy emotions are a normal part of life. Trying to erase them is unrealistic. Instead, your energy is better spent feeling them in a balanced manner. Knowing that there is something in them for you to learn, to process, and to eventually let go. Letting yourself feel the heavy things is not the same as getting stuck in them. Being okay with not being okay is a skill that helps you not get dragged down by challenges.”
Yung Pueblo
“Toni Morrison came home one day complaining about her job cleaning someone’s house to her father. She expected him to get angry on her behalf or to pity her. Instead, he said, ‘Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.’ What he was teaching her, Morrison later wrote, became a set of principles she based her life around. (1) Whatever the work is, do it well—not for the boss but for yourself. (2) You make the job; it doesn’t make you. (3) Your real life is with us, your family. (4) You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.”
Ryan Holiday
“…Play the game of appearances without being distracted or consumed by appearance. We dress well… but not too well. We take care to take care of ourselves… but never at the neglect of the people or things in our care. We take our appearance seriously… without taking ourselves seriously. As they say in fashion circles, we wear the suit, the suit doesn’t wear us. We look sharp to stay sharp, to be sharp… because we are sharp.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 70)
“Nobody does their best in their bathrobe… which is why we ought to take a shower and get ready in the morning, even if we’re not going to leave the house. Shine your shoes… until you are the one glowing.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 69)
“Some ask, What is the reward for all this labor? They are incorrect if they think it’s awards and fame and weeks on the bestseller list. Others want a guarantee: If I put in my ten thousand hours, then I’ll get the job? Then I’ll be able to go pro? Then I’ll be rich? No, that’s not how this goes. Always and forever, the reward is the work. It is a joy itself. It is torture and also heaven—sweaty, wonderful salvation. And that’s how you manage to do prodigious amounts of it—not grudgingly, but lovingly.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 64)
“Doing things badly does not give you the right to demand haste from the person who does them well.”
Juan Ramón Jiménez, poet, via Discipline Is Destiny (Page 57)
“After years of reflecting on the stories I have heard, delving into scientific data, and convening researchers, I have come to see there are three essential elements that fuel our fulfillment and well-being: relationships, service, and purpose. Relationships keep us grounded and bonded to each other. Service, from formal volunteering to informal small acts of kindness, is about helping each other. And purpose gives our life a sense of direction and meaning. Together, these elements form the triad of fulfillment.”
Vivek H. Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, via People
“Hustle isn’t always about hurrying. It is about getting things done, properly. It’s okay to move slowly… provided that you never stop. Do we not understand that in the story of the tortoise and the hare, that it was actually the turtle who hustled?”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 57)
“Show up…
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page 44)
…when you’re tired
…when you don’t have to
…even if you have an excuse
…even if you’re busy
…even if you won’t get recognized for it
…even if it’s been kicking your ass lately.
Once something is done, you can build on it. Once you get started, momentum can grow. When you show up, you can get lucky.”