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## Highlights
Here’s how to live: Be independent. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmet4jwje09sfnc9bvs04kxh))
Never agree with anything the same day you hear it, because some ideas are persuasively hypnotic. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmet5734ss4rd58kdepqqway))
Live where you feel most free.
Move symbolically far away from where you grew up.
Living in a foreign place helps make it clear that this culture’s rules don’t apply to you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmet6va1zkte339bmyg8s190))
Be a perpetual traveler, living out of a suitcase.
Move to a new country every few months, never a registered resident of anywhere.
Spread the different aspects of your life across different countries to avoid depending on any one country. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmet7as9grg31gx87skkd3c8))
you can appreciate everything from a healthy distance.
You can appreciate your country from abroad, once it’s not your only option.
You can appreciate family, once they’re not forced upon you.
You can laugh at the hysteria of the crowd, and learn from it too.
You can take sides in a fight, with a smirk.
You can even take responsibility for someone else.
Being fully independent is how to live. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetbw9s1rxcchhj5pvmnbv6))
Here’s how to live: Commit. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmet8jx8avrvvtc7ywgv2wv2))
We say we want freedom, in theory.
But we actually prefer this warm embrace. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmeta56smq4nbvrfc101sctc))
Marry.
Marry someone full of kindness who is committed to putting you in the center of their life.
Marry someone you don’t want to change, who doesn’t want to change you.
Someone that doesn’t punish you for mistakes.
Someone who sees you as your highest potential.
Commit completely. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetb9bg46wjacz41ea1kh79))
Commitment gives you integrity and social bonds.
Commitment gives you expertise and power.
Commitment gives you love and happiness.
Committing is how to live. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetc0anttryxtgkyp7x03df))
Here’s how to live: Fill your senses. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetc7ta25f5cfzf7p272jtp))
Appreciate this wonderful physical world. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetcgemk1taqqbaz4qy90fk))
Life is short.
How to experience it all?
Here’s the key:
Here’s your mission:
Nothing twice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetcpwb64wb0qz29mwg66av))
Here’s how to live: Do nothing. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhc4mk4nfnb5ksste0010jw))
How amazing that everything you’re doing is both the first and last time.
The thrill of the first.
The sentimentality of the last. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmetdmrdg3zy05atpganv9ek))
People make bad decisions because they felt they had to decide. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhc5b1e6tw95anrx8rewbqp))
When everything feels perfect, you say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
So, live your whole life in this mindset. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhc6tz59wk5f3es3z544gsx))
Here’s how to live: Think super-long-term. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcb41yt28q4w50v0q9w0s0))
When you choose a behavior, you choose its future consequences. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhce0ecnh3c7kt2z3vw9asp))
Here’s how to live: Intertwine with the world. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcg402qmwx70a3f107znv3))
The way to live is to spread your seeds widely before you die. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcm183d1p0681q93tq5h05))
Here’s how to live: Make memories. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcmf1kcwgm9mmbeke854es))
If you can’t remember something, it’s like it never happened.
You could have a long healthy life, but if you can’t remember it, it’s like you had a short life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcmxv38dbqa42vd44htr1z))
Being nostalgic makes you less afraid to die. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcs1b1z2perhr61te2jj49))
By telling good stories, your memories can last longer, because people will echo them back to you occasionally, or ask you to tell them again. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhctt4htjaby7ngjq4gak54))
Summarize a painful time into a tiny story — under a minute.
Tell this belittled version a few times to make it stick.
This is the version you’ll remember — stripped of pain and power. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcw5tgg2cysn03nkraa138))
Here’s how to live: Master something. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcwvjxrrynjrd0dfrxww2p))
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. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcxf3rktbeevxt4vcg7x2w))
You spend time intentionally.
Every month has a milestone.
Every day has a goal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhcyxmzyknqz1mf73dv73zg))
Goals don’t improve your future.
Goals only improve your present actions.
A good goal makes you take action immediately.
A bad goal doesn’t.
A goal shows what’s right and wrong.
What moves you towards your goal is right.
What doesn’t is wrong. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhd01vs05z6xg4amszjeyv8))
Move to the most ambitious place in your field. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhd2b7bk8zehzbzy33b633a))
You don’t get extreme results without extreme actions.
If you do what most people do, you’ll get what most people get.
Don’t be normal.
Society’s guidelines are for the lost — not for you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhd2qt2q0599khdb8nsvndk))
Here’s how to live: Let randomness rule. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhd7cqnjseb6mw8xakfw7hb))
Choose a life where you choose nothing.
Let the random generator decide what you do, where you go, and who you meet. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhd8fkgtp8vvt5w1h31jn3n))
Randomness helps you learn acceptance. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdat5ay0y8tgk8krztj7pk))
Every day, you’ll practice how to react to chaos: with dignity, poise, and grace. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdc6n050t5pbvaakngbn4h))
Here’s how to live: Pursue pain. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdc9way0kjgw1bts1jd671))
Improvement is transformation.
It brings the pain of loss of the comfortable previous self.
It brings the pain of a new set of problems.
Wealth brings the pain of responsibility.
Fame brings the pain of expectations.
Love brings the pain of attachment.
If you avoid pain, you avoid what you really want. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhddmtxwmabcagyycs827b9))
But don’t be a masochist.
Be a scholar of pain.
Every pain has a lesson inside, and a reason why it hurts.
Analyze it.
Understand it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdghtp89ycr08wr5152b1j))
Here’s how to live: Do whatever you want now. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdk8a6n0z2zch125ng9yxz))
If you don’t want to do it now, then you don’t want to do it at all, so let it go. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdrbfaqej7v81ycnv5a805))
Here’s how to live: Be a famous pioneer. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhdwnt33y0m7y5af07jkf6h))
Pursue massive media attention, not for vanity or ego, but so your stories can open minds, spark imaginations, and lead to further explorations. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhe2xpfv114cs6n68vcgker))
Here’s how to live: Chase the future. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhe5gwg6mckkkr76ngghk5y))
Tradition is the opposite of what you want.
Nothing worshipped will change. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhe9kk53gck8rvtcyd0xc9g))
Here’s how to live: Value only what has endured. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhec0nkpzxheeyk7cbyggek))
Ignore all marketing and advertising.
Nobody is pushing what really matters.
Friendships, nature, family, learning, community.
The best things in life aren’t things. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmheddhv0b99pmr3q9m8vy70))
Live in the past.
Watch the greatest movies of all time.
Read the classics.
Listen to the legends.
These things have lasted because they work so well.
Time is the best filter. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmheek9xt9nvhhh23en49x43))
Here’s how to live: Learn. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhegygrwbzjqe1y0krr2t3s))
Don’t be consistent with your past self.
Only idiots never change their mind. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmhek3ym2tqw4sr64tgbfcep))
Don’t expect to just look it up when you need it.
Integrate it into how you think. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkx91gwhb1vj0ye2qf84dk4))
Here’s how to live: Follow the great book. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkxaq3p2pmvg5wax5trt0fc))
Bring your book with you everywhere as a constant reminder and reference.
Refer to its rules in every situation, every day.
Memorize its crucial sentences.
Keep them at the forefront of your mind.
Following rules is smart.
It’s efficient.
You don’t need to stop and re-think every situation. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz0yg0feth933698hm12jw))
Don’t follow your heart.
Your heart has been hacked. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz1x3sgxpfz265xt88mq0r))
Rules give you freedom from your desires. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz2vvtn47yg5ys518p8kz5))
Rules must be absolutely unbreakable.
If you try to decide, each time, whether it’s OK to break the rule or not, then you’ve missed the whole point of rules. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz5fkymyhyjmycyt34991y))
If someone challenges your choices or asks you to explain, just say “the book says so ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz8c7p2san3969den9e3bj))
Define a good life as more than shallow pleasure.
A good life is contribution.
A good life is resisting temptation.
A good life is being the best you can be.
A good life is diligently following your book. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz8sfvq7sx4mwmawe3z3nj))
Here’s how to live: Laugh at life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz8y3xsgexpcjbzj4q91fe))
To laugh at something is to be superior to it.
Humor shows internal control ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkz9vaxht89swgj3s39mg4m))
They win by being playful, creative, adaptive, irreverent, and unbound by norms.
Those who take life too seriously are the opposite, and at a disadvantage. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkzafd04n8ks0qvh6tcn92w))
No matter what you need to do, there’s a playful, creative way to do it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkzanz20gr9717ee7d407ap))
To play is to be free from constraints ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkzaxa4wv9m7948rt1vxz7k))
Here’s how to live: Prepare for the worst. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmkzbmjffwsnv1gqqfk4x9ef))
Vividly imagine the worst scenarios until they feel real.
Accepting them is the ultimate happiness and security.
Realize that the worst is not that bad. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmkpm9tthnamhfc1a0mqe0x))
Visit your favorite places.
Listen to your favorite music.
Taste your favorite food.
Touch your favorite people.
This might be the last time you do all these things, so appreciate each moment fully.
All of this appreciation is practice for death.
When death comes, you’ll treat it with the same indifference as everything else.
You’ve been preparing for it all alon ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmkwba08s0fdhpkjp6bbhyr))
- đź’ stoicism, negative visualization, control
Here’s how to live: for others. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmkw40c3hq3sw6en5v21cwh))
After age twenty, you need deliberate effort to make new friends.
Friends are made, not found.
If you sincerely appreciate someone, and really engage with their interests, you will become friends ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmky9hr81grd9pfw3p3hf5b))
Imagine if you found out someone was going to die tomorrow.
Imagine how much attention, compassion, and generosity you’d give them.
Imagine how you’d forgive their faults.
Imagine what you’d do to make their last day on Earth the best it could be.
Now treat everyone like that, every day. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm0trk4xy2zxjs71pv8m02))
The most extreme version of living for others is becoming famous.
Do everything in public, for the public. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm28xh8tgw1dbmpr5yjw4r))
Here’s how to live: Get rich. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm2nyqkv298hfb54faytez))
Money is nothing more than a neutral exchange of value.
Making money is proof you’re adding value to people’s lives.
Aiming to get rich is aiming to be useful to the world.
It’s striving to do more for others.
Serving more.
Sharing more.
Contributing more.
The world rewards you for creating value.
Pursue wealth because it’s moral, good, and unlimited. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm3n2cqsefhgyxah8b0x2f))
Don’t aim to just be comfortable.
You don’t make the world a better place by just getting by.
If you aim to be comfortable, you won’t get rich.
But if you aim to be rich, you’ll also be comfortable.
Aiming to be rich makes you think bigger, which is more exciting, more fun, and less conventional since most people don’t think big. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm5cgecbnrq6qkxdpg99ts))
Don’t buy too many things, too big of a house, or hire too many people.
Rich people who do this feel trapped and miserable. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm8cdeqwnkz4r6gzw852x0))
Forget lifestyle.
Forget yourself.
Stay 100% focused on creating value.
Everything else is a corrupting distraction. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmm8j2h7c5rg885km0x5cy9))
You only need to get rich once.
When you win a game, you stop playing. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmacmj9eng8hj75b015dr6))
Don’t lose momentum in life.
Once you’ve done it, take it with you and do something else. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmajfvzp8xvsb8292ss791))
- đź’ good idea
Here’s how to live: Reinvent yourself regularly. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmaz221g0e56px1vvdfkgp))
Here’s how to live: Love. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmcsqrzrew13k216nny3cn))
Love is a combination of attention, appreciation, and empathy. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmd3afj689tkddfnbm3dd2))
Actively listen to people.
When they’re succinct, ask them to elaborate.
People aren’t used to someone being sincerely interested, so they’ll need some coaxing to continue. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmme1m7w37gj51yryb35scg))
Flirting and romance is like eating dessert first.
After you come down from the sugar rush, you get to the more nourishing part of the meal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmh3b0m7vxk5rffdr8f9zc))
Instant obsessive love is a bad sign that you’re thinking of someone as the solution.
Projecting perfection onto someone is not love.
You say “I love you” but really mean “I love this”. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmgghgb7enyhagrekxneav))
When one of you is being childish, the other needs to be the adult. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmhkmhyt59e7c0hg065kwa))
You must both be free and able to live without each other.
Be together by choice, not necessity or dependence.
Love your partner, but don’t need your partner.
Need is insatiable.
Need destroys love. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmjhcs0te6hc67snrchxjb))
Here’s how to live: Create. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmk8wvav8e3k4ez61844cw))
The most valuable real estate in the world is the graveyard.
There lie millions of half-written books, ideas never launched, and talents never developed.
Most people die with everything still inside of them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmkdhfxy72wk8gtsddqasm))
The way to live is to create.
Die empty.
Get every idea out of your head and into reality. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmmkjdes5yesz0pkn8bbdf0))
Keep a counterweight job.
Something effortless that covers your bills.
Something you can do a few hours per day, but otherwise not think about.
It gives discipline and regularity to your life.
It gives deadlines and freedom to your art. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmn8tgqhmdgg1b68z9gev30))
Here’s how to live: Don’t die. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmn948kxxs1kx81mb2pcgrz))
Keep your eye on death.
Avoid the mistakes that end life.
Avoid the negatives that wreck life.
Avoid the time-wasting that brings death sooner. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmnwa6g1df7qjs3qs39cxt8))
Here’s how to live: Make a million mistakes. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmnwemvsdtjzannhkjrcw2d))
Here’s how to live: Make change. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmnya7n5n8a0f0n7rs048gx))
you go through life without changing anything, what have you done?
Just observed?!
The world doesn’t need more audience.
The world needs changing.
What’s broken needs fixing.
What’s OK needs improving.
What’s harmful needs destroying. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmnz2c1yej6txc9s8k533r5))
Here’s how to live: Balance everything. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmp1w7v050z02hpeetmk3mc))
Imagine the different aspects of your life as the spokes in a wheel: health, wealth, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, or however you divide it.
If any of these are lacking, it makes a lopsided, wobbly wheel, causing you to crash. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmp8va4ha84tn30j6z6zcej))
A schedule makes you act according to the goals of your highest self, not your passing mood. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmpa1n0tawghfgqn8e6ftff))
Once you’re living a balanced life, find new layers.
The wheel has infinite spokes.
Balance your needs versus the needs of others.
Balance your knowledge. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmpampwj5ds9v33hy6dyv5n))
Balance the abilities of your body. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmpatkrpj2r8vz0dn1chp8r))
Finally, balance the world. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmmpb16f8qvd62ey1e6sz8hf))