“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
“Why avoid TV news? The thing is, most people are addicted to a constant flood of what is passed off as news but is mostly just superfluous nonsense about celebrities, politicians, and minor events. Additionally, because of the ‘scare factor’ necessary for keeping eyes glued to the screen (which in turn attracts advertisers and income), TV news is notoriously negative and will have a big impact on your subconscious over time—as with any high-functioning computer, the output of your mind is shaped by what you put into it.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“The morning ritual is particularly effective in its ability to set the tone for a positive, energized day during which you are more likely to use spot practices and implement your new skills to greater effect. The evening ritual provides the perfect complement, helping you lock in the achievements of your day, glean the most important lessons or insights, and go to bed with a feeling of satisfaction and confidence in what the future holds.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you take no action, there will be no results.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi, via The Way of the Seal
“I might intuit that someone feels uneasy or distrustful, and so I would focus on meeting that person’s eyes or speaking warmly and directly to them. Or my gut may feel tight, in which case I’d scan for signs that someone isn’t being fully honest and exercise greater caution in how much information I share. Often I feel someone’s negative, needy energy, and I strive like hell to avoid that person or minimize the impact. I will leave the room when I sense the negativity of a person who has me in his or her radar. If I can’t excuse myself politely for some reason, I visualize a protective shield surrounding my body that won’t allow any negative energy through. This works well to keep me balanced in meetings.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Rutted routines that develop from doing the same thing the same way every time—often unconsciously, or at best without deliberate decision-making—are those that stifle creativity. However, when we create rituals around powerful tools for performance and awareness, such as the morning and evening rituals, or when we train the fundamentals common to our missions or critical nodes, then we are grooving peak performance behavior into our subconscious. These are good routines that will help unlock creativity and success.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“Don’t think about why you question, simply don’t stop questioning. Don’t worry about what you can’t answer, and don’t try to explain what you can’t know. Curiosity is its own reason. Aren’t you in awe when you contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure behind reality? And this is the miracle of the human mind—to use its constructions, concepts, and formulas as tools to explain what man sees, feels and touches. Try to comprehend a little more each day. Have holy curiosity.” ~ Albert Einstein, via Mastery
“Any plan is better than no plan, and a good plan executed now is far better than a perfect plan executed too late.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“If you’re looking for a big opportunity, seek out a big problem.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, via The Way of the Seal
“Failure does not deserve to be addressed with recrimination or pity. Rather, failure must be honored for the insight it provides. Failure is the grist for learning; it is our teacher.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“I believe the world is chaotic and destiny favors the prepared. Unfortunately, sometimes chaos just refuses the harness, no matter how well you bulletproof your mission and how committed you are to finding a way. Moving forward despite chaotic conditions—and sometimes because of them—is inherently risky, and since we don’t shy away from risk, you will inevitably experience failure, probably more often than you succeed, actually.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“The tougher things get, the smaller your goals should become.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
“I don’t think that people realize that you’re not supposed to go peacefully. After I came out of almost dying, it really dawned on me how distorted people’s concept of dying is because they think that if they can go peacefully that that means that they’ve lived a good life. That if you can just let it go and you can be completely detached to the outcome, that that means you’re more spiritually enlightened, or that you’re doing it better, or that you’ve had a better life—the truth is, the whole point of dying is to be scared. Because that means that your life meant something to you. You should fear dying. You should be terrified of it. Even though it’s natural, even though it’s going to happen, even though you should come to terms with it in a certain way and go through the feeling of it and have a relationship with it—you also should acknowledge the fact that when it’s going to happen, no matter how much you prepare, you’re going to be terrified. Because life does mean something. And there’s a part of your brain that knows you’re letting it go. And you’re always going to grieve that when it happens. And that’s okay. It’s okay to be terrified.” ~ Claire Wineland, YouTube