⭐️ Quotes

Trying more gives you more chances to get lucky. Thus, by direction extension, the harder you work the luckier you get.

Calculating your chances of winning, if you have a 1% chance to win on each attempt:

• 1 attempt = 1 - (0.99)^1 = 0.01 = 1%
• 5 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^5 = 0.05 = 5%
• 10 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^10 = 0.096 = 9.6%
• 50 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^50 = 0.395 = 39.5%
• 100 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^100 = 0.634 = 63.4%
• 500 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^500 = 0.993 = 99.3%
• 1000 attempts = 1 - (0.99)^1000 ~= 1.000 ~= 100%

​

You could be the smartest person in the world, but until you materialize that smartness through action it's worthless. You need to be deliberate and ambitious to get the full value out of your intelligence.

​

​

📜 Articles

​Stop Looking for Mentors​

A refreshing read about how corny the whole "finding a mentor" thing is. People think that all they have to do is find some super wise mentor like Yoda or Gandalf, they'll train them, and then boom, success!

But since when has that ever worked in the real world?

Mentorship is actually a lot simpler than that:

1. Pick a subject you're interested in
2. Study it. Learn as much as you can about it. Practice as much as you can too
3. If you hit any roadblocks, find experts who have already had the experiences you are currently going through
4. Ask them questions specifically about clearing your roadblocks
5. You now have a mentor.... profit!

At the end of the day, a mentor is simply someone who answers questions that help guide you on your path to success. They can't do the work for you. They can't give you a good answer if you haven't gone through the study and experiences to be able to ask very specific questions.

Do your part to learn and move forward as much as you can. If you feel that you need help to learn more or go further, then you can ask specific questions to people who have already walked that path. That's how you naturally find mentors.

​

​Nassim Taleb's Way of Life​

Nassim Taleb is a retired options trader turned writer and philosopher. He's well known today for being raw and real, speaking his mind with powerful new ideas, and always seeking the truth.

In this article, Taleb gives rapid-fire answers breaking down how he's structured his comfortable yet flexible and incredibly successful life. My personal favourite lessons:

• I have never, ever borrowed a penny -- Taleb quite literally has no credit record. If he didn't have the money, he just didn't buy it. This can be a challenging thing to wrap your head around in the present day as debt is such a common thing, especially when buying a house or car. But if you can have that mentality, then you will have the ultimate freedom because no one can ever tell you what to do. Debt is modern-day slavery as you're forced to live in a certain way to pay it
• Don’t invest any energy in bargaining -- Focus your energy on the big games, since they're the ones that are going to impact your financial future the most. Don't sweat the little stuff as they're not worth the stress
• Money can’t buy happiness, but the absence of money can cause unhappiness -- It sucks to not have money, but don't make the mistake of thinking it'll solve all of your problems. Money solves the problem of not being forced to do anything. But you still have to have the mindset to do the right things that are going to make you happy, including choosing the right work, developing positive relationships, and being at peace with yourself
• The best money I’ve ever spent has been spent on books -- Books are an extremely high leverage item to spend money on. With each book you read, there's a chance that your mind will be opened and your entire life will change for the better

Taleb is a master of living on his own terms, and writing about it. I highly recommend this article and his books, especially Antifragile.

​

📚 Books

​Finite and Infinite Games​

This book is about two different ways in which one can approach life: as a game with rules and a specifically-defined end (finite style) or a game without rules that goes on forever (infinite style). Carse's main hypothesis is that playing in a finite style isn't nearly as satisfying, or productive, as playing in an infinite style.

There are several key takeaways from the book:

• Infinite play is about staying in the game long-term -- An infinite style of play focuses on staying in the game for as long as possible. If it's for work, you're focused on learning over salary, which maximizes your long-term career trajectory. If it's for a relationship, you're focused on love and support rather than rushing for milestones, which strengthens the bond. If it's for investing, you're focused on buying great assets instead of making a quick buck
• Infinite > finite -- It's better to play the games of life in an infinite style rather than a finite style. This is especially true for the important areas of your life like health, wealth, relationships, and career. With the long-term focus of infinite play, your efforts compound over time as you constantly get stronger and better in all areas: better relationships lead to more happiness, which leads to more productivity in your career, which leads to wealth, which can improve health.... It's a beautifully-connected positive cycle
• Infinite play breaks self-limitations -- When you follow all the rules, you end up forcing yourself to stay stuck on your current path in life; infinite play breaks all of that. Because your goal is to continue playing, regardless of how the play takes place, you simply choose the strategy that suits you best and makes you the happiest. You're not reliant on your commitment to your past job, relationships, or past actions; you just be who you want to be, right now. Change jobs, improve your relationships, or create new habits that redefine who you are in a positive way. It's all up to you at any time
• The world is in a constant state of change -- Only that which can change can survive. Don't be like a rock; strong, but stuck and vulnerable to being broken. Be like water; adaptable to any conditions and unaffected by any strike
• Make your own rules -- Play by the rules and you might win the game every now and then. But if you make your own game, then you'll own it from the beginning and get the win every time. This favours building your career in your own unique way, designing your own investment strategy, and building your relationships how they suit you best, rather than what society thinks is "normal"

​

🎥 Videos

​Why Criticism Can Hurt so Much​

This video by School of Life examines why we find it so hard to take criticism. The main point of the video is that the amount of pain we feel from criticism isn't dependent on how aggressive or severe the criticism is. It is dependent on how much we like ourselves.

When you love yourself a lot, criticism becomes nearly meaningless. It comes and goes like the blowing wind because your love for yourself far exceeds the force of any pain that criticism might cause you. Plus, you understand that not all people are going to like you. Just as you don't love everyone, not everyone is going to love you. And that's OK, you don't care because you have enough love for yourself that you don't need anything else from others.

But when you don't love yourself enough, then you'll be constantly seeking to fill that void with love from others. When it doesn't come, or when the opposite comes (criticism) then you feel absolutely horrible. This often stems from being shamed as a child. To break free of this, you have to learn to love yourself and to be on your own side.

​

​Lessons from the longest study on happiness​

This TED Talk starts off with a powerful question to the audience: "If you were going to invest now in your future best self, where would you put your time and your energy?"

It's a question many of us probably don't spend enough time considering. Most people go about life on the fly, hoping to somehow become happy along the way. But what if there was actual data on what would make us happy and then we could just follow that?

Luckily, we do have that information. The Harvard Study of Adult Development tracked the lives of 724 men for 75 years, asking them questions each year about their work lives, home lives, health, and happiness. Over the years, the men had widely ranging results. Some developed health issues, some became addicted to drugs or alcohol, and yet others climbed the career ladder or started their own successful businesses.

The study found that what made participants happy over the years wasn't the usual things people wish for: money, fame, travel, cars, success. The final conclusion of the study was simply this:

Relationships with your family, friends, and significant other were found to be critically important to happiness. Not so much the quantity, but the quality. Relationship quality includes: closeness, love, support, respect, honesty, and trust. Deep, high-quality relationships keep us happy even in times of physical pain or high stress. It's not sexy, it won't put you on TV, and it's probably not something socially appropriate to brag about at work.... but it works. Relationships support happiness.

There are some really simple ways to increase the quality of your relationships:

• Spend more time with your family
• Put in the effort to get your significant a thoughtful gift
• Give your friend a phone call if you haven't spoken in a while

Simple yet thoughtful efforts go a long way.

​

🖼️ Beautiful Picture

Magnificent tea fields in Vietnam

​

​