3-2-1: On progress, friendship, and how to improve your writing

“Many people work hard, but few people work on the highest and best thing.

Usually, it takes no more effort to work on high leverage tasks than it does to work on low leverage ones.

It’s just a matter of directing your energy.”

“Not enough is said about the power of thinking about one topic for a long period of time.

If you revisit a topic continually for a few years, most problems (and many solutions) will occur to you at some point.

Expertise can be the gradual accumulation of many modest insights.”

The philosopher Balthasar Gracian on friendship:

“To keep is more important than to make friends. Select those that will wear well; if they are new at first, it is some consolation they will become old...

There is no desert like living without friends. Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil. It is the sole remedy against misfortu... See more

Author and writing instructor Natalie Goldberg on how to improve your writing (or anything else):

“In order to improve your writing, you have to practice just like any other sport. But don’t be dutiful and make it into a blind routine. “Yes, I have written an hour today and I wrote an hour yesterday and an hour the day before.” Don’t just put in you... See more

“The feeling of progress is one of the best feelings of all. This is true even when progress is small.”