Category Archives: Quotes

Story Basics, According to Pixar

Pixar story artist Emma Coats tweeted a series of “story basics” she had picked up during her tenure at Pixar.  These were generously compiled by The Pixar Touch: #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. … Continue reading

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Filling In The White Spaces

Advice from Peter Thiel’s final CS 183 lecture: There is something importantly singular about each new thing. There is a mini singularity whenever you start a company or make a key life decision. In a very real sense, the life … Continue reading

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Why Drama

Derek Sivers recounts the time Kurt Vonnegut explained why people concoct drama: People have been hearing fantastic stories since time began. The problem is, they think life is supposed to be like the stories. Let’s look at a very common … Continue reading

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Making Past Experiences Meaningful

Really great advice from Ben Casnocha: By the time the pizza boxes were emptied out, the pool party earlier in the afternoon seemed positively epic. I felt closer to the people with whom I had shared the experience. And those … Continue reading

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The Death Zone

In When I Die, Philip Gould talks about the freedom that his impending death from esophageal cancer allowed him to enjoy:

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Why We Lie

Nearly everybody lies and cheats.  For most of us, we lie and cheat about the small things, the stuff that we convince ourselves doesn’t really matter.  But, because everyone does this, the toll adds up quickly.  Whether it’s glancing at … Continue reading

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If You Wouldn’t Wake Up Early For It, Don’t Stay Up Late For It

One of the reasons Reddit is great is that you can find genuinely wise, pithy, and applicable advice from someone named SmellsLikeUpfoo. In this case, the advice is simple: if you wouldn’t set your alarm one hour early to do … Continue reading

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Happiness Is Not A Reward – It’s A Consequence

Time is your most limited resource.  You can always make more money, but you can only buy so much time.  Happiness is not a reward for giving up most of your time in exchange for money.  Happiness is a consequence … Continue reading

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A Fool’s Life

The fool, with all his other faults, has this also: he is always getting ready to live.

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Neil Gaiman on Life

Great speech:

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Gambling on Discipline

Almost all people who become successful do so because they’re able to develop discipline.  It’s not something they’re born with.  It takes practice.  Consciously doing what needs to be done now, foregoing what you’d like to be doing instead, in … Continue reading

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How To Write, Part 3

This one comes comes from David Mamet, perhaps the most well-known living playwright.  He wrote a memo for the writing staff on the CBS show The Unit, where he was an executive producer, reminding everyone what makes for good drama. … Continue reading

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Smart People Don’t Call Others Stupid

Some really mostly-good advice from Derek Sivers: Being smart means thinking things through – trying to find the real answer, not the first answer. Being stupid means avoiding thinking by jumping to conclusions.Jumping to a conclusion is like quitting a game … Continue reading

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We’re Not All Scientists

Another nice Neil deGrasse Tyson video is going around, but he’s a bit off base on this one: I can’t think of any more human activity than conducting science experiments. Think about it — what do kids do? Young kids.  … Continue reading

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On Saving Time

Treasuring the little time we have was not a new idea, even in Seneca’s day.  And, while there have been treatises more eloquently written, I haven’t seen any that drive the point home more succinctly and powerfully than Seneca.  For … Continue reading

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