...the regret of not having lived a life true to themselves is the most common regret...

...What made them all effective is that they followed the same eight practices: • They asked, “What needs to be done?” • They asked, “What is right for the enterprise?” • They developed action plans. • They took responsibility for decisions. • They took responsibility for communicating. • They were focused on opportunities rather than problems. • They ran productive meetings. • They thought and said “we” rather than “I.”...

...Start the day in a positive state and you’re more likely to take action. And action is the secret. You can’t think your way to a new life...

...If a commitment is bite-size, it appears less daunting to us, and we’re more likely to stick to our word. Making smaller, more frequent commitments is more effective than making larger, less frequent ones, even when they amount to the same commitment...

...The arc of our evolutionary history is long. But it bends toward goodness...

...“Chase two rabbits and you will catch neither.” As you make discoveries, where should you focus your attention? On your strengths. By focusing only on your weaknesses, you can really only move up to average...

...Our genes do not eliminate the need for hard work. They clarify it. They tell us what to work hard on...

...There are three categories of people—the person who goes into the office, puts his feet up on his desk, and dreams for twelve hours; the person who arrives at five A.M. and works sixteen hours, never once stopping to dream; and the person who puts his feet up, dreams for one hour, then does something about those dreams...

...a compendium of LEGO artwork that showcases a stunning array of pieces ranging from incredibly lifelike replicas of everyday objects and famous monuments to imaginative renderings of spaceships, mansions, and mythical creatures...

...You get so used to doing what you do, you don’t see what it is anymore...

...We judge our days based on how efficient they are, not how fulfilling...

...I can disagree with your opinion, it turns out, but I can’t disagree with your experience. And once I have a sense of your experience, you and I are in relationship, acknowledging the complexity in each other’s position, listening less guardedly. The difference in our opinions will probably remain intact, but it no longer defines what is possible between us...

...These benefits include developing a richer understanding of a topic, increasing your ability to pay attention itself, and enhanced creative thinking...

...Your life has an unknown expiration date. Your efforts and contributions to others do not. The time, energy, and resources you invest in people you care for and your community keep growing forever...

...The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists...

...We’ve all heard about the importance of persistence. But I had misunderstood. Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what’s not working. Don’t waste years fighting uphill battles against locked doors. Improve or invent until you get that huge response...

...To perform at a champion’s level, you must understand the importance of a long-term memory for success and a short-term memory (selective amnesia) for failure...

...The cumulative accretion of knowledge by specialists that allows us each to consume more and more different things by each producing fewer and fewer is, I submit, the central story of humanity...

...I learned a good lesson in karate, which was that just by not quitting, I’d progress...

...Where does your responsibility as a parent to your kids begin and end...