On Happiness and Success
Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.
Linus Pauling
The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.
Linus Pauling
On “Dreamlining” (a la Timothy Ferriss)
Definition by citation: If I had 100 million dollars in the bank right now what would I want to do, be or have over the next 12 months?
Timothy Ferriss
Why? You don’t want to be rich and bored. You want rich and happy. Boredom is the antonym of happiness. If there were no hold-backs, what do you want to do, have, or learn in the next 3 months, 6 months or 1 year? If you don’t know what to do, determine what do you want to be? We can rewrite be as actionable steps towards doing.
You must name your enemy before you can defend against it. You must define your future before you can take action. Only after this identification process can you move towards your goals. If you so much as complete one dream, that’s a dream that wouldn’t have come true without taking action. Do it. It’s doable. Think Nike®.
JFK on Setting Goals
Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.
John F. Kennedy
Niels Bohr on Expertise
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner
Founding Statement
I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.
Ludwig van Beethovan
I wish that this noble statement were true for me as well, but that’s not often the case. When I try to be humble, I spare the details, often at great expense to the lesson. When I try to be overly showy, I don’t get to the point.
In just the past month alone, I have been hesitant to write out my thoughts, and have lost any possibility of pursuing those endeavors further, as I can no longer remember them. I failed to ask questions in fear of projecting uncertainty. What I have succeeded at doing is completely passing on the opportunity to reflect later on.
I don’t write because I don’t re-read. This post has already grown so long. Will I read it later? So let the lesson be this: Write often, write succinctly, and reflect.
