Reminders for myself

I’ve finally realized why I’ve never been a fan of focusing just on productivity without focusing on other things as well.

Productivity is a natural outcome that happens when you have a deep purpose. When you have a deep purpose, you naturally come up with clear priorities to work on.

When you have a deep purpose and clear priorities, you become pr

“If you only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.”

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There are times when goals make sense. Training for a marathon. Preparing for an exam. Trying to ship a product by a hard deadline. In finite, controlled, well-understood domains, goals are fine.

But smart people often face ambiguous, ill-defined problems. Should I switch careers? Start a company? Move cities? Build a media business? In those spaces... See more

Joan Westenberg • Smart People Don't Chase Goals; They CreateLimits

6. One of the clearest signs of intelligence is being able to hear an opinion you disagree with and not act emotionally

A goal is a win condition. Constraints are the rules of the game. But not all games are worth playing. And some of the most powerful forms of progress emerge from people who stopped trying to win and started building new game boards entirely.

Smart People Don't Chase Goals; They CreateLimits

The secret is not to chase butterflies, but to take care of the garden so they'll come to you

I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) that the ability to demand creativity, impact, and control isn’t just about wanting it—it’s about earning it.

We chase the philosophy of ‘love what you do’ without first becoming great at what we do. But true freedom comes from mastery.

The moment you shift from ‘what this job is giving me?’ to ‘what am I bringin... See more