How To Live

All misery comes from dependency. If you weren't dependent on income, people or technology you would be truly free. The only way to be deeply happy is to break all dependencies.

Most problems are interpersonal.

Don't align with any religion, philosophy, or political stance. Stay unlabelled and unbound.

Long ago, people have to follow norms to have high social status, otherwise they'd be ostracised and couldn't survive. But now you can survive, mate and thrive without social status. So it's both irrational and unwise to follow those norms.

Never agree with anything the same day you hear it, because some ideas are persuasively hypnotic.

Being independent means you can't blame others. Decide everything is your fault.

When you blame your location, culture, race, or history, you're abdicating your autonomy.

Live where you feel most free. Move symbolically far away from where you grew up. Living in a foreign place helps make it clear that this culture's rules don't apply to you.

What makes something the best choice? You. You make it the best through your commitment to it. Your dedication and actions make any choice great.

This is a life-changing epiphany. You can stop seeking the best option. Pick one and irreversibly commit. Then it becomes the best choice for you.

When a decision is irreversible, you feel better about it. So remove the option to change your mind.

Focus your attention on the few things you're committed to and nothing else.

You're defined by what you do repeatedly. You habits create your character.

If it's not important, never do it. If it's important, do it every day.

Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.

Be loving even when you're not feeling loving.

Once you decide something, never change your mind. It's so much easier to decide just once.

There's no deeper happiness than wanting nothing. Desire is the opposite of peace.

Say nothing unless it must be said.

Shallow rivers are noisy. Deep lakes are silent.

Most actions are pursuit of emotions. You think you want to take action or own a thing. But what you really want is the emotion you think it'll bring.

When a problem is bothering you, it feels like you need to do something about it. Instead, identify what belief is really the source of your trouble. Replace that belief with one that doesn't bother you.

Dramatic people are fueled by reactions. When you stop reacting, they go away.

No news, no gossip, no entertainment. Most of it's not worth knowing.

Live where nothing is happened. Move to a quiet place with lots of nature and no ambition. Doing nothing is normal there. Walk and appreciate nature for hours a day. Everything seems more important while you're thinking of it.

Delay gratification. Today's discomfort brings future rewards. When you have a clear view of the future, you won't mind the small sacrifice. You never regret not indulging.

When you choose a behaviour, you choose it's future consequences.

Document everything, or you'll eventually forget it.

The more memories you create, the longer and richer your life feels.

Focus means head down. Big picture means head up.

If you do what most people do, you get what most people get. Don't be normal.

Pain is coming anyway. Don't get a shield. Get a saddle. Tame it.

Don't use your feelings as a guide.

The past? That's what we call our memories. The future? That's what we call our imagination. Neither exist outside of your mind.

Most problems are not about the real present moment. They're anxiety, worried that something bad might happen in the future. They're trauma, remembering something bad in the past. But none of them are real.

Happiness is something to do, someone to love, and something to desire.

The longer something lasts, the longer it will probably last.

People wonder why they're not living their ideal life. Maybe they never learned how.

Don't answer a hard question too quickly. Don't stop at the first answer. In mystery stories, the first suspect is never the culprit.

Learning leaves a trail of little deaths.

Great public speaking comes from great private thinking.

Self-control is always rewarding. Self-control is always the right thing to do. This is the universal law.

Humour is the spirit of life — a sign of a healthy, vibrant mind and soul.

Humour means using your mind beyond necessity, beyond reality, for both noticing and imagining. That's why we admire a quick wit. It shows you quickly looked at something from may angles, found the one that amused you the most, and considerately expressed it to someone else. Observation, creativity, and empathy all in an instant. What could be a better sign of a healthy mind?

Humour puts distance between an event and yourself. Comedy is tragedy plus time. Time belittles anything by showing it's not as bad as it seemed. Humour does that instantly.

Someone says life is hard. The comedian says, "Compared to what?".

Your circumstances in life don't actually change your happiness. People who become paralyzed or win the lottery go back to being as happy as they were before. So don't depend on circumstances. Everything that happens is neutral. Your beliefs label it as good or bad. The only way to change your happiness is to change your beliefs.

When something happens, don't interpret. No story, no "should have", no judgement, not even an opinion. This is seeing clearly.

Small talk is just a way of matching the other person's tone and mood. It helps them be comfortable with you.

Say no to more stuff. Say yes to more choices.

Money won't change you, but it will amplify who you are.

Love is a combination of attention, appreciation and empathy.

If you've done something great, say so. If you're not doing well, say so.

Flirting and romance is like eating dessert first. After you come down from the sugar rush, you get to the more nourishing part of the meal.

The most valuable real estate in the world is the graveyard. There lies millions of half-written books, ideas never launched and talents never developed. Most people die with everything still inside of them. Die empty.

Which would you rather be? Someone who hasn't created anything in years because you're so busy consuming? Or someone who hasn't consumed anything in years because you're so busy creating?

Inspiration will never make the first move.

Suspend all judgement when creating the first draft.

You can improve something bad. You can't improve nothing.

Creativity is a magic coin. The more you spend, the more you have.

Explore whatever excites you most. If you're not excited by it, your audience won't be either.

Your imitation of anything will be unrecognisably warped by your own twisted perspective. Most creations are new combinations of existing ideas. Originality just means hiding your sources.

There are no unknown genuises.

Die empty, so death takes only a corpse.

When you're gone, your work shows who you were. Not intentions. Not what you took in. Only what you put out.

Focus on avoiding downsides.

Most of eating healthy just is avoiding bad food. Most of being right is just not being wrong. To have good people in your life, just cut out the bad ones.

Jump into action without hesitation or worry. You'll be faster and do more than everyone else.

If you're never wrong, you never change. Keep making mistakes, so you can keep changing, learning and growing.

Every place crash makes the next one less likely.

All bad things in life come from extremes. Too must of this. Too little of that.