This is how I feel about culture. We’re so surrounded by it that it’s impossible to see. Many things we think are true are really just our local culture. We can’t see it until we get outside

Which then makes me realize that half of my effort wasn’t effort at all, but just unnecessary stress that made me feel like I was doing my best.

Time really is limited. We can’t pretend it’s not. Time spent doing one thing is time spent not doing something else. It’s so easy to waste time doing stuff that’s not important, not really fun, and not useful to anyone, not even yourself.

After two days the excitement wore off. I realized I was never going to do anything with them. Now it was just stupid for me to keep all of these sand dollars sitting there doing nothing. The excitement was in finding them, not keeping them.

Character is the result of your little choices and little actions. How you do anything is how you do everything. It all matters.

My friend was a brilliant conversationalist, one of the brightest minds I’ve met, but he never put his thoughts into writing. It’s extra-sad that his thoughts are gone, too. So this lesson is dedicated to you, Milt Olin. I’m going to start writing again.

Art is useless by definition. If it was useful, it would be a tool.

By using a title without doing the work, you fool yourself into thinking that future success is assured — thinking, “This is who I am!” But that premature sense of satisfaction can keep you from doing the hard work necessary.

No matter what you tell the world or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values. Your actions show you what you actually want. There are two smart reactions to this: Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities. Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true.