The Rational Optimist - Recommended Book
...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...
...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...
...Our best work involves sorting the important from the rest, along with bringing a point of view and experience to complicated problems. Problems that are interesting because there isn’t a proven, correct answer...
...let it chill for an hour or two before serving to help the flavors blend...
...Which is why I think one of the most valuable lessons Nike offers every employee from the get-go, are clear guidelines on how to be most effective, get the best work done, to continuously and collectively focus on the same goal the Nike way...
...I learned a good lesson in karate, which was that just by not quitting, I’d progress...
...Articulate the patterns of how to operate well that will most strengthen and preserve the company over the long term – principles and practices – and consider this operating framework a shared backdrop that underlies the specifics of all the company’s briefs, and informs how owners work...
...Everyone experiences dips in their productivity. Everyone has off days. What separates top performers is their ability to prevent and quickly recover from these dips. Every setback can be used as an opportunity to improve yourself and your systems...
...But it turns out that uncountable words like trust, honesty, commitment, passion, connection and quality are a fine thing to focus on...
...Where does your responsibility as a parent to your kids begin and end...
...Once you know which takes top place, consider taking it to an extreme, to its logical conclusion, and optimizing your entire life around that top priority, letting go of almost everything else...
...Feel free to garnish with sesame seeds or spritz with fresh lime juice...
...Not everything we do with the aim of making ourselves safer has that effect. Sometimes, knowing there are measures in place to protect us from harm can lead us to take greater risks and cancel out the benefits. This is known as risk compensation. Understanding how it affects our behavior can help us make the best possible decisions in an uncertain world...
...further research has revealed that when we’re in a negative mindset, all loads feel heavier, all obstacles loom bigger, all mountains seem less surmountable...
...Personalize and send it to the right person...Emphasize how responding will benefit the reader...Make it short and clear...
...Trends don’t determine whether we’ll be able to accomplish something tomorrow. But seeing and then understanding the trends allows us to work with the wind at our backs, instead of fighting it...
...But when it comes to knowledge work, we act as if preventative maintenance isn’t required. We let our email inboxes pile sky-high, continue dumping hundreds of files into every corner of our computer, stick any random thing onto our calendar, and have to do’s scattered across any number of places...
...Your view of the world is no photograph. It’s a construction of your brain that is so fluid and so convincing that it appears to be accurate. But sometimes it’s not...
...When we asked participants about the ease associated with using their top rule, we found negative correlations between how difficult they perceived practicing the rule to be and their financial well-being. In other words, the easier it was for a person to make these decisions, the more financially well-off they were...
...luscious no-bake beauty...
...I was wiped out. But, it was only 11 a.m., and I had a long list of things to finish before the weekend...