playing in decades

Julian's Insight #1

Hard work can be lazy

Working hard for a long time without checking what the better things to be working on are is a hidden form of laziness. A laziness that disguises itself as something to be proud of.

—Julian

Understand this: Man will take any opportunity to avoid that which is most immediate in his life. He will do anything but the task at hand. He will look at anything besides that which stands inches from his face. He is an escapist. He is a fantasy-seeker. Illusions are his drug. And reality is of no use to him.

The reality is life is a single-player game. You’re born alone. You’re going to die alone. All of your interpretations are alone. All your memories are alone. You’re gone in three generations, and nobody cares. Before you showed up, nobody cared. It’s all single player. Perhaps one reason why yoga and meditation are hard to sustain is they have no

If it entertains you now but will bore you someday, it’s a distraction. Keep looking.

Be careful when you say you like or dislike something, because you could change your mind soon.

For example, if you want to make a lot of money, you need to admit that. If you want to be famous, you need to pursue that. If you want freedom and no responsibilities, or want to learn as much as possible, or whatever else, you need to realize it and embrace it. Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of t

Advice to a young engineer considering moving to San Francisco: “Do you want to leave your friends behind? Or be the one left behind?”

The world of news is noisy, because they have to hype it. They try to get you to pay attention to something that’s not actually important. They create a false sense of urgency, social status, fear, shock, or any tricks possible to manipulate your psychological triggers, and ultimately help them profit. By contrast, the truly important things are qu

I have never thought of it this way. But you are correct. When it comes to things in the material domain, from success to wealth to whatever it may be, there is zero tolerance for any notion that has an indefinite timeline. If after twenty or thirty years of doing something I have failed, then it absolutely means that what I have been doing does no