3-2-1: The power of limiting your options, the value of eagerness, and what we undervalue

An exchange from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien on moving forward despite the difficulties we face:

Frodo: "I wish none of this had happened."

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Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

"I find the projects I'm most excited to work on are nearly always the projects that have really fantastic people associated with them."

"The easy, conversational tone of good writing comes only on the eighth rewrite."

"Limiting your options now will expand your opportunities in the long run because you can remain focused enough to master something.

Keeping your options open now will reduce your opportunities in the long run because you divide your attention and end up doing an average job on seven different things.

Are you falling into the pattern of always maste... See more

We undervalue health if we have not recently experienced illness.

We undervalue wealth if we have not recently experienced poverty.

We undervalue kindness if we have not recently experienced cruelty.

What might you be undervaluing right now?

"If you're eager to learn—even if you aren't particularly talented—then you can make it a long way despite your shortcomings.

But if you're not eager and curious, you'll find your natural abilities often fall short of what is required."