the person who clears the path ultimately controls its direction, just as the canvas shapes the painting.

When you are just starting out, we can be sure of a few fundamental realities: 1) You’re not nearly as good or as important as you think you are; 2) You have an attitude that needs to be readjusted; 3) Most of what you think you know or most of what you learned in books or in school is out of date or wrong.

Passion typically masks a weakness.

discipline, for mastery, for strength and purpose and perseverance.

despite being incredibly busy and working very hard, we accomplish very little.

The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better. Studious self-assessment is the antidote.

A true student is like a sponge. Absorbing what goes on around him, filtering it, latching on to what he can hold. A student is self-critical and self-motivated, always trying to improve his understanding so that he can move on to the next topic, the next challenge. A real student is also his own teacher and his own critic. There is no room for ego

An education can’t be “hacked”; there are no shortcuts besides hacking it every single day.

Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.