The person is free who lives as they wish, neither compelled, nor hindered, nor limited—whose choices aren’t hampered, whose desires succeed, and who don’t fall into what repels them. Who wishes to li...
The more time kids spend online, studies show, the worse their grades are. According to Nielson, active social networkers are 26 percent more likely to give their opinion on politics and current event...
The little compulsions and drives we have not only chip away at our freedom and sovereignty, they cloud our clarity. We think we’re in control—but are we really?
The line from the Obamas was When they go low, we go high. It’s a dignified and impressive mantra, if only because for the most part, whether you liked them or not, it’s hard to deny that they followe...
The job of a journalist would be unbearable if one was always to put oneself in the shoes of a subject.
The investor and serial entrepreneur Ben Horowitz put it more bluntly: The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal.… The...
The gating resource here was not capital, Thiel said. The gating resource was the ideas and the people and executing it well. It’s not like lawsuits haven’t been brought in the past. It’s something th...
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. —RICHARD FEYNMAN M
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. — RICHARD FEYNMAN
The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this.
The essayist and investor Paul Graham, a peer and rival of Peter Thiel’s, has charted the trajectory of a start-up, with all its ups and downs. After the initial bump of media attention, the rush of e...
The cucumber is bitter? Then throw it out.There are brambles in the path? Then go around.That’s all you need to know. — MARCUS AURELIUS
The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that. —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.6 How much better to heal than seek revenge from injury. Vengeance wastes a lot of time and exposes you to many...
The Way Through Them Objective judgment, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need. —MA...
The Russians call this maskirovka—the art of deception and confusion. It is as old as strategy itself. Undermine your enemy, Sun Tzu advised 2,500 years ago. Subvert him, attack his morale, strike at...
The Obstacles That Lie Before Us There is an old Zen story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, he hoped to teach them a lesson. His plan was...
That on which you so pride yourself will be your ruin, Montaigne
That on which you so pride yourself will be your ruin, Montaigne had inscribed on the beam of his ceiling.
That is, when you can break apart something, or look at it from some new angle, it loses its power over you.
Take inventory for a second. What do you dislike? Whose name fills you with revulsion and rage? Now ask: Have these strong feelings really helped you accomplish anything? Take an even wider inventory....