Isaac Feldman

The second quote today is from author Leo Tolstoy :

“If you want to do a good deed, do it now. The time will pass, and you will not have the chance again.”

“Good business advice I received early on:

When someone says no to a request, they usually mean ‘not right now' or ‘not in that way.'

Most people want to help others, but there are many priorities competing for our time.

Don’t take it personally. Ask again later. Ask differently.”

“The challenge for anyone interested in making progress is to simultaneously have (1) the confidence to go after what you want and (2) the humility to accept who you are right now and (3) the willingness to build skills that bridge the gap between 1 and 2.”

Best most useful advice I EVER got was from Jim Watson (DNA discoverer) over tea at his NYC apartment. 3 words, 2 meanings. AVOID BORING PEOPLE.

“Instead of working toward retirement, work toward your ideal lifestyle. There is usually a path to get there in a few years instead of a few decades.”

“You know yourself mostly by your thoughts.

Everyone else in the world knows you only by your actions.

Author Grace Bonney on how to get better at saying no:

“The biggest fear most of us have with learning to say no is that we will miss an opportunity. An opportunity that would have catapulted us to success, or that will never come again. And most of the time, that simply isn’t true.

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I’ve found that the first part of learning to say no is learning to... See more

The philosopher Balthasar Gracian on friendship:

“To keep is more important than to make friends. Select those that will wear well; if they are new at first, it is some consolation they will become old...

There is no desert like living without friends. Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil. It is the sole remedy against misfortu... See more

("Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect," Teller says.)