Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of mental laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Action, Thinking, Work, Act, Busy, Think
Most inputs are useless and time is wasted in proportion to the amount that is available.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Waste
Never check email first thing in the morning. Instead, complete your most important task before 11:00 A.M. to avoid using lunch or reading email as a postponement excuse.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Sin, Work
That’s precisely the question everyone should be asking—why the hell not?
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
I open each class with an explanation of the singular importance of being a “dealmaker”. The manifesto of the dealmaker is simple: Reality is negotiable.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Sin
The commonsense rules of the “real world” are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions.
—Tim Ferriss
Fun things happen when you earn dollars, live on pesos, and compensate in rupees.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Live, Work
There is a direct correlation between am increased sphere of comfort and getting what you want.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it. I call this the freedom multiplier.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Life, Freedom, Act, Money, Control, Work
The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is—here’s the clincher—boredom.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Love, Happiness
Emphasize strengths, don’t fix weaknesses.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Weakness
The most important actions are never comfortable.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Act, Action
What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
Unbeknownst to most fun-loving bipeds, not all stress is bad. Indeed, the New Rich don’t aim to eliminate all stress. Not in the least.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: New, Work, Rich, Stress
I’m not a big believer in long-term planning and far-off goals. In fact, I generally set 3-month and 6-month dreamlines. The variables change too much and in-the-future distance becomes an excuse for postponing action.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Action, Goals, Act, Believe, General, Future, Work, Change, Dream
Options—the ability to choose—is real power.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Power
Short, sweet, and to the point. Clear writing, and therefore clear commands, comes from clear thinking. Think simple.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Think, Thinking, Work
The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: People, Best, Goals, Work, Security
Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Rest, Work, Act
In all cases where doubt crops up, ask yourself, “If I had a gun to my head and had to do it, how would I do it?” It’s not as hard as you think.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Think, Work, Doubt
Just a few words on time management: forget all about it.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Management, Time Management
Personally, I now aim for one month of overseas relocation or high-intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work projects.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Learning, Learn, Work, Persona
A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Success, Life
Learn to ask, “If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?”
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Learn
I’ve seen the promised land, and there is good news. You can have it all.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Good, Work, New
The benefits of becoming fluent in a foreign tongue are as underestimated as the difficulty is overestimated. Thousands of theoretical linguists will disagree, but I know from research and personal experimentation with more than a dozen languages that (1) adults can learn languages much faster than children when constant 9-5 work is removed and that (2) it is possible to become conversationally fluent in any language in six months or less. At four hours per day, six months can be whittled down to less than three months.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Learn, Rest, Persona, Work, Zen
Lack of time is actually lack of priorities.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Act, Work
It’s amazing how someone’s IQ seems to double as soon as you give them responsibility and indicate that you trust them.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Give, Work, Trust, Responsibility
Being selective—doing less—is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Rest, Work, Doing, Focus
Focus on being productive instead of busy.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Focus, Work, Busy
The key to having more time is doing less, and there are two paths to get there, both of which should be used together: (1) Define a short to-do list and (2) define a not-to-do list.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Doing, Work
People are smarter than you think. Give them a chance to prove themselves.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Think, Work, People, Give
If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work, Better, Rest, Think
Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
Don’t suffer fools or you’ll become one.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Work
It isn’t enough to think outside the box. Thinking is passive. Get used to acting outside the box.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Thinking, Think, Act, Acting, Work
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Fear, Work, Doing
Dreamlining is so named because it applies timelines to what most would consider dreams.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Lies, Dream, Work, Dreams
Most people are good at a handful of things and utterly miserable at most.
—Tim Ferriss
Topics: Good, People, Work
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Sheryl Sandberg American Executive, Author
Jim Collins American Management Consultant
Michael Porter American Management Theorist
Robert Kiyosaki American Businessperson
John C. Maxwell American Christian Professional Speaker
Steve Pavlina American Motivational Speaker
Clayton M. Christensen American Academic, Business Consultant
Max De Pree American Businessman
Jerry Seinfeld American Comedian