Hell Yeah or No

No matter what you tell the world or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values. Your actions show you what you actually want.

Someone who played football in high school can’t call himself an athlete forever. Someone who did something successful long ago can’t keep calling himself a success. You have to keep earning it. Holding on to an old title gives you satisfaction without action. But success comes from doing, not declaring.

You have to know your preferences well because no matter what you do, someone will tell you you’re wrong.

If you expect criticism in advance and take pride in your unusual stance, you can bash on with a smile, being who you want to be. Then every time they say you’re wrong, that’s a sign you’re doing it right.

We shouldn’t preserve our first opinions as if they reflect our pure, untarnished, true nature. They’re often just the result of inexperience or a temporary phase. Old opinions shouldn’t define who we are in the future.

Public comments are just feedback on something you made. They’re worth reading to see how this thing has been perceived. You can even take it as feedback on the public image you’ve created. Never forget that the public you is not you.

How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters.

This is how I feel about culture. We’re so surrounded by it that it’s impossible to see. Many things we think are true are really just our local culture. We can’t see it until we get outside of it.

The world treats you as you treat yourself. Your actions show the world who you are.

If you’re not feeling “Hell yeah, that would be awesome!” about something, say no.

Saying no makes your yes more powerful.

A simple tweak can make all the difference between achieving something or not.

Before you start something, think of the ways it could end.

If you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects.

Even if just for a few hours. Unplug. Turn off your phone and Wi-Fi. Focus. Write. Practice. Create. That’s what’s rare and valuable these days.

Conventional wisdom tells us to do the important and difficult thing first. But doing this boring work moves me from a state of doing nothing to doing something. It makes me feel like doing something important again.

Instead of comparing up to the next- higher situation, compare down to the next-lower one.

If we love doing something, it seems simple. We think of it as one fun step.

Try changing “and” to “or.”

Great insight comes only from opening your mind to many options.

Ultimately, only you know what to do, based on all the feedback you’ve received and all your personal nuances that no one else knows.

Early in your career, the best strategy is to say yes to everything. The more things you try, and the more people you meet, the better. Each one might lead to your lucky break.

Then when something is extra-rewarding, it’s time to switch strategies. Focus all of your energy on this one thing. Don’t be leisurely. Strike while it’s hot. Be a freak. Give it everything you’ve got.

Eventually your focus on something will pay off. Because you’re successful, you’ll be overwhelmed with opportunities and offers. You’ll want to do them all. But this is when you need to switch strategies again. This is when you learn to say “hell yeah or no” to avoid drowning.

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they can do in ten years.

To assume you’re below average is to admit you’re still learning. You focus on what you need to improve, not your past accomplishments.

Now you’re the person who made things happen, made a mistake, and can learn from it. Now you’re in control and there’s nothing to complain about.

I actually love being wrong, even though it cracks my confidence, because that’s the only time I learn. I actually love being lost, even though it fuels fears, because that’s when I go somewhere unexpected.

Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them.

Smart people don’t think others are stupid.

The purpose of goals is not to improve the future. The future doesn’t exist. It’s only in our imagination. All that exists is the present moment and what you do in it.

Judge a goal by how well it changes your actions in the present moment.

A bad goal makes you say, “I want to do that some day.” A great goal makes you take action immediately.

A great goal is so clear, specific, and close you can almost touch it.

But unless it changes your actions, right now, it’s not a great goal. Find another variation that excites you.

Inspiration is not receiving information. Inspiration is applying what you’ve received.

Whatever scares you, go do it.

Fear is just a form of excitement, and you know you should do what excites you.

Once you do something that scared you, you’re not scared of it anymore! As you go through life, doing everything that scares you, you fear less and less in the world.