Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb ASIN: B077QY23RV I tried reading Taleb a few years ago but I just couldn't stomach his writing style. In comparison to other books it lacks explanations and citations, which at the time lead me to believe that Taleb is just another macro-bullshitter. I decided to plough through this time due to many recommendations. I quickly found out that my macro-BS impression was wrong. He was spot [...]
Just because you can do something well, it doesn't mean you should (the difference between efficiency vs. effectiveness!). Doing something long doesn't make it important. Doing something long doesn't make you an expert. Number of different iterations does.
Author: Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi ASIN: B086BGN5LF The book is a basically a transcript of Naval Ravikant's podcasts on his "getting rich" tweetstorm. Great crumbs of wisdom. However, instead of reading this book, read "the Almanack of Naval Ravikant" (I've prepared a book summary as well). EXCERPTS Seek Wealth, Not Money or Status Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep The reason you want wealth is because it [...]
Some short takeaways from the book Thinking in bets by Annie Duke: Would your belief in something stand up to the question, “Wanna bet?” If you had to gamble significant money on that belief, would you still feel 100% about it? Or maybe more honestly 60%? When a decision doesn’t work out, don't treat that result as if it were an inevitable consequence rather than a probabilistic one. Don't focus only [...]
Though I sometimes like to think I am self-made, the truth is, I would have never made it this far without these individuals: Parents (obviously): They never doubted in my abilities and always compared me to the best in the field. They demanded the highest levels of work ethic and persistence. Though we were well off, I have yet to meet a person that was brought up in more frugal conditions. [...]
I was talking to a friend, explaining how I was persuading a person to do something that will be in my interest. My friend replied: So you manipulated that person? At the time I didn't know how to reply. I knew that didn't have the slightest feeling of doing something wrong when I was trying to persuade the other person. Still, I was somehow uneasy with the possibility that I was manipulating [...]
Chinese proverb: Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically, “you must be so sad.” “We’ll see,” the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed! “Not only did your horse return, but you received [...]
Knowing how to live my life makes it easier and more fulfilling for me to live. This is how I measure mine. Am I honest? Am I courageous? Let me briefly explain. First, do I have hard talks with myself as to what I want to accomplish in this short period on Earth? Or do I just live on auto-pilot, letting others (especially society and people around me) determine what I [...]
Everything you want is on the other side of comfort (fear, pain, fatigue). It's biological/ psychological and it's known as hedonic adaptation. I figured that if I want to live contently, I should live honestly and courageously. Honestly in a way that I respect my inner wishes. [Only I know what they are!] And courageously in a way that I act in line with them. If I do that, I live [...]
Most people celebrate birthdays. Surely one doesn't get to celebrate to make it one more year, does he? So, what is so good about being one year closer to death? I don't celebrate birthdays. I celebrate experiences. Not outcomes, experiences! The Ironmans I entered, business offers I submitted, projects and relationships I fully committed. Sure, sometimes it is hard to genuinely celebrate an experience with a negative outcome. In moments like [...]