Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes

There’s a long history of people adapting and rebuilding while the scars of their ordeal remain forever, changing how they think about risk, reward, opportunities, and goals for as long as they live.

Wounds heal, but scars last.

Simplicity feels like an easy walk. Complexity feels like a mental marathon.

Length is often the only thing that can signal effort and thoughtfulness.

Things you don’t understand create a mystique around people who do.

Complexity gives a comforting impression of control, while simplicity is hard to distinguish from cluelessness.

There are two types of information: permanent and expiring. Permanent information is: “How do people behave when they encounter a risk they hadn’t fathomed?” Expiring information is: “How much profit did Microsoft earn in the second quarter of 2005?” Expiring knowledge catches more attention than it should, for two reasons. One, there’s a lot of it

Doing long-term thinking well requires identifying when you’re being patient versus just stubborn.

Long-term thinking is easier to believe in than to accomplish.