Things to remind myself about

My countervailing advice to people trying to understand something is: go slow. Read slowly, think slowly, really spend time pondering the thing. Start by thinking about the question yourself before reading a bunch of stuff about it. A week or a month of continuous pondering about a question will get you surprisingly far.

The thing about patience is that you need to practice deliberately by slowing yourself down, taking a break, and not following the crowd.

By slowing down, you might not get to the finish line first. You might get an average result. But you are also more likely to stay in the game longer because you avoid burning yourself out over the short run.

“Don’t rush, but don’t wait.

Act with urgency, but release yourself from the need to achieve it on a particular timeline. When you think longer term than most, you can think bigger than most.

If it takes years, start now.”

I do like the rush of rushing. And to an extent, I am quite good at rushing—at doing things in a high-intensity, high-pressure way. But my sense is that I am much better off when I enjoy the pause, slow down, be where I am, and build strength patiently. I’m better off when I remember to take my time, to realize that the journey is long and it... See more