November 10, 2024 | #602 | read on fs.blog | Free Version

Welcome to Brain Food, a weekly newsletter full of timeless ideas and insights you can use in life and work.

Tiny Thoughts

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The truth is whispered while opinions are shouted.

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The world's greatest works weren't commissioned; they were created by people who couldn't bear their absence.

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Going all in on something for a month gets better results than dabbling in it for a decade.

The dabbler spreads their energy over many things. The focused person concentrates their effort on one.

The most dangerous competitor is the one with a single goal.

Insights

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C.S. Lewis on the value of starting where you are:

“You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

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Derek Sivers on what money can't buy:

“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.”

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Paul Graham on how writing helps you discover new ideas:

“A good writer doesn’t just think, and then write down what he thought, as a sort of transcript. A good writer will almost always discover new things in the process of writing.”

Mental Model

A mental model is a simplified explanation of how something works.

V3 | Systems | Equilibrium

Equilibrium is the state of balance, where opposing forces cancel each other out. It’s the calm in the center of the storm, the stable point around which the chaos swirls. In a system at equilibrium, there’s no net change. Everything is in a steady state, humming along at a constant pace.

However, systems are rarely static. They continuously adjust toward equilibrium but rarely stay in balance for long. Equilibrium is a ­ double-edged sword, both stability and stagnation. In our lives, we often act like we can reach an equilibrium: once we get into a relationship, we’ll be happy; once we move, we’ll be productive; once X thing happens, we’ll be in Y state. But things are always in flux. We don’t reach a certain steady state and then stay there forever. The endless adjustments are our lives. The trick is to find the right balance, to strive for equilibrium where it’s needed, but to also know when to break free, to embrace the dis-equilibrium that drives progress.

— Source: The Great Mental Models v3: Systems and Mathematics

+ Learn more about Mental Models here.

Repository

Sara Blakely on not letting a temporary defeat turn into a permanent loss.

"I believe that defeat is life’s way of nudging you and letting you know you’re off course. There’s always some sort of hidden opportunity or lesson in each episode—a chance to build your character. Spanx wouldn’t exist if I had aced the LSAT.”

— The repository is a compendium of highlights from the books I'm reading. Learn more or join now to get access.

Thanks for reading,
— Shane Parrish

P.S. This was a clever way to do it.

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