Nuggets of Wisdom I Like

I enjoy good advice, motivational content, self-help books and the likes.

Here’s a little collection of wisdom nuggets I want to keep. Some of it is paraphrased.

See also, some nuggets in French.

## Action cures fear

- David J. Schwartz

## Acrasie

Mathieu Ricard introduced me to this French word.

It means: to know what’s best for yourself but not doing it for lack of self-control or willpower. Some easy examples: smoking, drinking, choosing the unhealthy food, not exercising, not meditating, etc… Aren’t we all guilty?

## Motivation is like washing your armpits

I’ve noticed that people can be quite snobby about books like this. So-called ‘self-help’ books. They can be just as mocking of the people who read them or go to motivational talks.

Their main criticism of the kind of books and talks that motivate and inspire people is that the impact is often fleeting - that the effects of the book or talk don’t last.

My response is to say: of course it is fleeting, of course it is temporary. But so are the effects of washing your armpits - that’s why you should wash them every day!

- Bear Grylls

## Overnight successes are usually years in the making

- Tom Clancy, Jeff Bezos and others

## Sleep is like heroin; you’ll never feel like you’ve had enough. Just get up.

- unknown. (I think I read that as a YouTube comment somewhere 🤔)

## Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to remove.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I found this quote particularly relevant when doing video editing.

## We are a way for the universe to know itself.

- Carl Sagan

## You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.

- Jim Carrey

## No matter what I do, I ask myself three questions: What do I want? Why do I want it? And how do I get it?

[…] know why you’re doing it. And know why it must be done. […] Because when it gets hard, when it gets tough, when your friends walk away from you, when your supporters forget you, when you don’t win your first race – if you don’t know why, you can’t try again.

- Stacey Abrams

## If you have a problem and there is a solution, why worry? If you have a problem and there is no solution… why worry?

- The Dalaï Lama

## Cultivate compassion for those less intelligent than you. Many people, through no fault of their own, can’t handle forms, scammers, or complex situations. Be kind to them because the world is not.

- ideopunk

## Conflict is inevitable but combat is optional.

- Max Lucado

## If you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.

- Unknown

## So many people choose a path based on fear disguised as practicality.

- Jim Carrey

## It is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism

- attributed to both Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek

## Finding your purpose is not a phase of life — but a way of living.

- Umair Haque

## Regret is much more painful than failure.

- Some Twitter user…

## When you stop sacrificing today for tomorrow. When today is complete, in and of itself, you’re retired

- Naval Ravikant

## Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable

- Cesar A. Cruz