You will always struggle with not feeling productive until you accept that your own joy can be something you produce. It is not the only thing you will make, nor should it be, but it is something valuable and beautiful.

The point is, if you want to be happy, let go of your wants. If you want to be effective, harness them.

I know that life is not about actually satisfying the want; it’s about using it.

Our reality isn’t about what’s real, it’s about what we pay attention to.”

And the most amazing tool that I think anyone in the world can have is the ability to control and direct that want.

We seek the safety of isolation even as it kills us.

You want stories that make sense, and this might not make sense to you. We build narratives of genius and exceptionality among the people who have power, and they are often exceptional, but no more exceptional than hundreds of thousands of others.

One day, an internet company wants to sell books, and then ten years later they’re a threat to nearly every industry on earth.

And it turns out, time does eventually pass no matter how anxious you are.