Mickey Patel

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

part of my joy in learning is that it puts me in a position to teach; nothing, however outstanding and however helpful, will ever give me any pleasure if the knowledge is to be for my benefit alone.

As West Side Story lyricist Stephen Sondheim once said: “You have to throw out good stuff to get the best stuff.”

Many adults are immature and rather childish, and this is a contributing cause of the confusion and misery in the world. It is the older people who are responsible for the prevailing economic and moral crisis; and one of our unfortunate weaknesses is that we want someone else to act for us and change the course of our lives.

Concrete writing resonates. Abstract writing puts people to sleep. Bring your words to life by making them vivid and tangible. Use specific examples. Talk about things people can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear.

M: You see, my student, when a man lives As his personality, he is limited. And something within him recognizes that his personality is limited. And thus he must say and do things in order to make up for the deficiencies that he feels himself to possess. S: I see. M: Yes. In the midst of others, he will find himself needing to say things that pad

I noticed this after spotting my favorite bloggers—including Paul Graham, Angela Jiang, and Derek Sivers—post erratically whereas the writers I often regret reading publish as much as they can.)

Learn time-tested skills that were just as useful in your grandparents’ time as they are today. Speaking, writing, gardening, accounting, persuasion, and survival skills. These skills have hardly changed in a century. They’re unlikely to change in your lifetime. Master the fundamentals, not new tricks. Learn the timeless aspects of your craft. This