⭐️ Quotes

Problems can look a lot more complicated than they really are when they're large in size. But just because something seems big, has many parts, or has a long timeline doesn't mean it's unsolvable. You can simplify it by applying the "divide and conquer" strategy. Break down the big problem into smaller parts that are more manageable. If they're still big then break them down again. Keep breaking them down until you have a bunch of small, easy to do tasks with clear solutions. Then knock them out of the park!

​

Expectations leave you open to disappointment, pain, and even sadness. Best to expect nothing, but do your best and hope for the best. The rest is up to life.

​

📜 Articles

​How to Work Hard​

To achieve anything truly great, it's a no-brainer that you'll have to work hard. Talent plays a role, but hard work is the real driver.

This essay by Paul Graham talks about what it means to work hard ― it's more complicated than it sounds. It's easy to work hard when the requirements are clear and straightforward like in school. Things are more complex in the real-world where the path to your objective, or even the objective itself, isn't clear.

But there are some things that can help us. Graham identifies a few key elements to effectively working hard:

• Understand the shape of real work -- Our idea of work is often different from what the reality is. For example, being an actor might look like it's all glamour, fun, and games, but what about behind the scenes? There's a tremendous amount of practice and repetition, hundreds of takes to get it right. Then there's the side effects of always being in the spotlight and never having any privacy. Understand what kind of work you're going to have to do when you go hard
• Find your suit -- It's a lot easier to work hard at something you actually enjoy doing. At a high level you should be passionate about the goal. At a low level you should be comfortable with the shape of the real work
• Aim at the core -- When you've got your head down grinding it out, it's easy to lose sight of the true goal. Make sure that you're working hard at the right things; that is, work that's going to deliver the most value for your objective. It may not always be perfectly clear what that right things are, but the point is to make a regular effort to keep the primary objective in mind and focus your efforts in that direction
• Put in the hours -- No matter how talented you are, how perfectly you aim, or how well suited you are for the task, you still have to put in the hours of work. Look for every opportunity to put in effort towards your goal. Does watching YouTube or TV get you any closer to your goal? No? Well then it shouldn't be a part of your life. Not even a little bit. That's if you're serious about working hard
• Adapt based on energy -- You should work hard based on your energy levels and the nature of the work. Naturally, there will be some days where you're tired or just not into it. That's OK; better to rest and get your energy back than trying to grind it out and burning out. Listen to your body and adapt accordingly. There will be some kinds of work that are suited for grinding and others that aren't. Creative things like painting, writing, or coding can usually only be done for limited hours in a day. More straightforward tasks can be done for much longer

​

​To Change the Way You Think, Change the Way You See​

Creativity, whether it be in art, science, or business, requires you to think differently than you are now. This is evident with many great creatives: no one asked Leonardo Da Vinci to paint in the way he did; no one asked Steve Jobs to create the iPhone. Yet somehow, such people have come up with incredibly creative inventions. How?

The answer is eloquently delivered by the great French mathematician Blaise Pascal:

Creativity doesn't come from magically imagining something new; it comes from looking at simple, ordinary things in a new way. The article here talks about the story of how velcro was invented. The inventor George de Mestral was curious as to why certain plants hooked onto his clothes when he walked through the woods, so he looked at it through a microscope. He then replicated that same effect to make velcro. Albert Einstein came up with his famous theory of Relativity when he imagined himself standing on the side of the train vs another person standing on it. New perspectives lead to new inventions.

Thus, the key to creativity is to deliberately put yourself in a different perspective. There are a few ways:

• Imagine yourself physically in a different position
• Do thought experiments where you say "imagine if X were true, then what would happen?"
• Deliberately seek out details that you might be missing
• Make an effort to explore every possibility no matter how crazy it seems

To create differently, we must see differently. Get deliberate with getting different perspectives.

​

📚 Books

The Great Mental Models is a series of books that present the fundamental mental models of the world from different domains. A Mental Model is a method of thinking that describes how something works in a simplified, application-oriented way.

Mental Models create an effective consistency in the way you work. If you encounter a situation that looks like a mental model can apply, you can quickly use it with the confidence that the model is solid and will help you accomplish your goal. No need to do any complicated thinking since you already have an established model.

There are three volumes for The Great Mental Models, each one tackling the mental models from a particular set of domains.

​Volume 1 -- General Thinking Concepts​

The first volume presents general thinking concepts. Some highlights include:

• Circle of Competence -- Success isn't about being great at everything; excelling in one specific area is enough to accomplish quite a lot in life. The greatest chess players in the world are great at chess, but maybe not cooking. The greatest investors in the world are great at making money, but maybe not at maintaining good relationships. Find your favourite thing, become an expert in it, dominate it, and that's all you need to succeed
• Probabilistic Thinking -- It's more realistic to think of the world in terms of risk and probability. Very few things in life are black and white, good or bad, a win or a loss. That might be the final outcome but it doesn't describe the thing in its entirety. The future is inherently unpredictable so the best thing you can do is estimate. Make your calculations, have a margin of safety, take your risk, and protect your downside
• Inversion -- It's a lot easier to avoid bad things than it is to aim for perfection. Instead of trying to have the perfect diet, start by eliminating soda from the house. Instead of trying to pick the perfect stock, just diversify and hold for as long as possible. As the great investory Charlie Munger said: “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”

Those are the best three, but there are a total of nine mental models in the whole book

​Volume 2 -- Physics, Chemistry, and Biology​

The second volume focuses on mental models that have come from various domains in science. It's fascinating to see how many structures and patterns can be taken from science and re-applied to other areas in life. Some highlights include:

• Relativity -- From Einstein's Theory of Relativity which essentially describes the way that the same thing seen from different perspectives looks different. We can apply this to life in general: everyone has a different perspective so they understand things differently and therefore act differently. This is great for learning: interact with people whose lives are different from yours as their contrastive lifestyle will give you a more holistic understanding of the world
• Reciprocity -- Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The same is true of people: if you treat people poorly then you can't expect them to treat you well in return. If you treat people well then you will be treated well too. There may be the rare bad person, but that shouldn't discourage you from making the effort to be good
• Inertia -- Newton's second law states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest while an object in motion tends to stay in motion. We can apply this understanding to our habits: they will always be hard to start but you can move forward knowing that the start is the hardest part. Once you get going it'll be easy. If you have a long-standing bad habit, then go in with the mindset that it will take time to reverse, just stay the course

​Volume 3 -- Systems and Mathematics​

I haven't read this one just yet as it was very recently released on September 14, 2021 but it looks super interesting. Some intriguing chapters from the contents:

• Feedback Loops to constantly adjust and improve
• Bottlenecks to identify the key blockers for growth
• Compound Interest to reap exponential gains by investing in knowledge, relationships, and experiences
• Randomness to take advantage of the dynamic nature of the world for fun and creativity

Nerd stuff!

​

🎧 Podcasts

​The Science & Practice of Perfecting Your Sleep​

Dr. Matthew Walker is a scientist and sleep expert. In this podcast with Huberman Lab, Walker discusses the biology of sleep including sleep cycles, the effect of naps, and how to get the best sleep.

Sleep is incredibly important for both physical and mental functioning. Simply put, better sleep leads to better performance in life. The best parts of this podcast were the discussions of how different things affect sleep quality and how to get an optimal sleep.

The benefits of sleep

Sleep helps your health in a few important ways:

1. Almost of your muscles shutdown when you are a sleep, allowing your body to regain its strength and energy
2. Deep sleep allows you to save memories in your brain
3. Better sleep is positively correlated with a happier mood and overall life satisfaction
4. Better sleep is linked to growth hormone and testosterone levels

Ways to get a better sleep

1. Sex -- It increases prolactin which is thought by scientists to be a natural sedative
2. Have a wind-down routine -- It takes time for your body to go from the awake to the sleep state. Thus, it's good to have a regular routine that you use to slowly relax the body
3. Keep it consistent -- Don't change your routine when you have a bad night of sleep. Keep the timing and environment of your sleep as consistent as possible. Also, keep your morning wakeup and evening wind-down routines consistent
4. Unload your mind -- An hour or two before bed, write down your pressing thoughts and concerns in a notebook. This will help you get out of your own head and relax. Anything you do to relax your mind will help with sleep
5. Set the environment -- A pitch black room with no clocks or noises is the best setting for getting a good night's sleep

Things that inhibit sleep

1. Light and noise -- Both disrupt your body and block it from resting. Think about how our ancestors evolved to sleep: pitch black in the wilderness with no sound (except a tiny bit moonlight and natural background noise)
2. Sunglasses -- When you wear sunglasses for too long they throw off the visual information that your brain processes to determine the time of day and when rest is needed
3. Caffeine -- Dr. Walker recommends that your last caffeine intake be no later than 8 to 10 hours before the time when you would like to sleep. Any later than that and it will throw off your sleep cycles
4. Alcohol -- It's a sedative but not a sleep aid. It will make you fall asleep but your body won't actually be in the right rythmic state to get its proper rest. So you're asleep but not actually resting. The specifics of how much alcohol effects sleep are unknown, but the general advice is "less is better"

​

🎥 Videos

​Admiral William McRaven's Speech at The University of Texas at Austin 2014​

Admiral William McRaven is a formal United States Navy Admiral and Navy SEAL. Notably, he organized Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. In this speech to the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin, McRaven delivers 10 life lessons that he learned from his SEAL training about how to change the world. Navy SEAL training is well-known for being one of the toughest on the planet.

1. Make your bed -- Start your day off by completing a simple task like making your bed. It'll give you the confidence boost and momentum to execute the harder things later.
2. Find someone to help you paddle -- Life is going to be really hard if you go at it alone. Find the people you want to do life with and stick with them. You will bring each other up
3. Measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers -- Life is a long-term game which means that basic things like physical prowess or talent won't get you very far. It's the heart and will of a person that counts
4. Get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward -- Things are hard and unfair, that's just a part of the game. What are you going to do about it? The only way to achieve your goals is to suck it up and keep pushing
5. Don't be afraid of failure -- Failure is a requirement for growth. You learn from that experience and become better because of it. Embrace it
6. Sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first -- There will be times when you are forced to take risks due to the uncertainty of life. Make sure that at such times you remain emotionally grounded. Use your head, make your calculations, and then commit to your decision with full confidence
7. Don’t back down from the sharks -- There are all kinds of mean, malicious people in the world. They will try to hurt you, decieve you, block you from achieving your goals. Don't be afraid, stand your ground, and fight back.
8. Be your very best in the darkest moment -- Your greatest opportunities will come when life is hard. It's a challenge for you to rise up, grow, and become the best person that you can be
9. Sing when you’re up to your neck in mud -- Hope is a powerful thing. You only need a bit of it, whether for yourself or for others, to drive powerful change. No matter what happens, stay hopeful
10. Don’t ever, ever ring the bell -- No matter what, never quit. If you never quit then you'll always have a chance to succeed, no matter how small. That is the way of the SEAL

Plus a few awesome quotes from the speech:

​

​

​

​Become an intellectual explorer: Master the art of conversation​

This video is about conversation and how to get the most out of it.

Think back to some of the really great conversations you've had in the past. Chances are they were intellectually stimulating, they taught you something or made you curious. Mastering conversation means being able to have more of those stimulating conversations effortlessly.

To do so, Emily Chamlee-Wright, CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies suggests that we practice humility. In the context of conversation, practicing humility means acting and communicating in such a way that recognizes your natural limitations. Each of us has a particular vantage point from which we see and understand the world. Therefore, by definition, we cannot know everything there is to know; someone else will know more just because of their vantage point.

Enter conversations with the mindset of "I need you to help fill in my knowledge gaps, and you need me to help fill in yours." Having this mindset encourages the participants to add substance. It creates an intellectually stimulating environment because everyone recognizes the mutual value it creates so they genuinely want to be involved. It's a positive cycle where everyone wins.

​

🖼️ Beautiful Picture

The gorgeous city streets of Austria

​