Some rabbit holes are extremely good to go in!

I just went through all of @JamesClear’s 3-2-1 newsletter editions and here are 100 ideas from the man himself that are invaluable and shouldn't be missed

A thread 🧵
1/ “Start now. Optimize later. An imperfect start can always be improved, but obsessing over a perfect plan will never take you anywhere on its own.”

2/ “When making plans, think big. When making progress, think small.”
3/ “Habits will form whether you want them or not. Whatever you repeat, you reinforce.”

4/ “Life is short. And if life is short, then moving quickly matters. Launch the product. Write the book. Ask the question. Take the chance.
Be thoughtful, but get moving.”
5/ “Mastery requires both impatience and patience.

The impatience to have a bias toward action, to not waste time, and to work with a sense of urgency each day.

The patience to delay gratification, to wait for your actions to accumulate, and to trust the process.”
6/ “You know yourself mostly by your thoughts.

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

Remember this when you feel misunderstood. You have to do or say something for others to know how you feel.”
7/ “Practice is the price you pay today to be better tomorrow.”

8/ “The costs of your good habits are in the present.

The costs of your bad habits are in the future.”

9/ “Your choices create leverage. Your habits unleash leverage."
10/ “Your 1st blog post will be bad, but your 1000th will be great.

Your 1st workout will be weak, but your 1000th will be strong.

Your 1st meditation will be scattered, but your 1000th will be focused.

Put in your reps.”
11/ “Most people need consistency more than they need intensity

Intensity:
-run a marathon
-write a book in 30days
-silent meditation retreat

Consistency:
-don’t miss a workout for 2yrs
-write every week
-daily silence

Intensity makes a good story. Consistency makes progress.”
12/ “Why focus on the process when the world is outcome-driven? Don’t results matter?

Yes, results do matter. But if you optimize for the outcome, you win one time.

If you optimize for a process that leads to great outcomes, you can win again and again.”
13/ “The idea that change is hard is one of the biggest myths about human behavior

The truth is, you change effortlessly and all the time. The primary job of the brain is to adjust your behavior based on the environment

Design a better environment. Change will happen naturally”
14/ “A good choice may go unrewarded for a long time.

The best choices tend to provide exponential returns and a hallmark of any compounding process is that the greatest rewards are delayed. Things don’t really take off until years later.

Keep working. Be patient.”
15/ “When you say no, you are only saying no to one option.

When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option.

No is a decision.

Yes is a responsibility.

Be careful what (and who) you say yes to. It will shape your day, your career, your family, your life.”
16/ “If you haven’t started, then taking action is more important than finding a better strategy

If you’re already taking action, then ensuring you’re working on the right thing is more important than working harder

Your effort sets your floor. Your strategy sets your ceiling”
17/ “If you want to take something more seriously, do it publicly.

-Publishing an article pressures you to think clearly.
-Competing in a race pressures you to train consistently.
-Presenting on any topic pressures you to learn it.

Social pressure forces you to up your game.”
18/ “Most failures are one-time costs. Most regrets are recurring costs.

The pain of inaction stings longer than the pain of incorrect action.”

19/ “The surest way to prevent yourself from learning a topic is to believe you already know it.”
20/ “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.”

21/ “The highest level of mastery is simplicity.

Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted, but only the expert knows what to ignore.”
22/ “The most satisfying form of freedom is not a life without responsibilities, but a life where you are free to choose your responsibilities.”

23/ “Your actions are your real priorities.”

24/ “The hardest part of solving a problem is accurately defining it.”
25/ “New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do.

And a lifestyle is not an outcome, it is a process. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”
26/ You can be happy with who you are and still want to be better. You can love your body and still want to improve it. You can appreciate your financial state and still want to improve it.

Progress does not require self-loathing. You can feel successful along the way.”
27/ “It’s remarkable what you can build if you just don’t stop.

It’s remarkable the business you can build if you don’t stop working.

It’s remarkable the body you can build if you don’t stop training.

It’s remarkable the knowledge you can build if you don’t stop learning.”
28/ “Before you dream about the view from the summit, ask yourself if you’re willing to keep your head down, focus on the path, and spend your life walking up the side of a very big hill.

It takes years of walking to earn a minute at the top.”
29/ “Compliment others more.

You’ll barely remember you did it, but the other person may never forget that you did.

Kindness has unlimited upside.”
30/ You don’t need the right answer to start. You can start by asking a question. Simply asking, “How can I be a better friend?” or “How can I be a healthy person?” will call forth answers naturally.

In the beginning, just repeating the question is enough.”
31/ “Your identity can hold you back:

-I’m terrible with directions.
-I have a sweet tooth.
-I’m bad at math.

…or build you up:

-I’m the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts.
-I finish what I start.
-I read every day.

Build habits that reinforce your desired identity.”
32/ “Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.”

33/ “Focus is the art of knowing what to ignore.”
34/ “It’s never been a better time for self-motivated people.

Anyone connected to the internet has the education power of a university and the distribution power of a media company at their fingertips.

Curiosity, courage, and persistence are the new gatekeepers.”
35/ “Optimize for tomorrow—as in, literally, one day from now.

Save to be a little richer tomorrow. Exercise to be a little fitter tomorrow. Read to be a little smarter tomorrow.

1% better every day.”
36/ It is much easier to notice when something is working than to predict ahead of time if it will work.

Take action, make many small bets, and run lots of quick (but thoughtful) experiments. Then, double-down on the winners.”
37/ “The fastest way to raise your level of performance: Cut your number of commitments in half.”

38/ "Always give value before you ask for value.”

39/ “Life is too short to not be pursuing the best opportunity you know of.”
40/ “Today might be the best chance you've to take action

The longer you wait, the more deeply embedded you get in your current lifestyle

Your habits solidify. Your beliefs harden. You get comfortable.

It'll never be easy, but it may also never be easier than it is right now.”
41/ “Praise others. It will bring them peace of mind.

Do not expect others to praise you. It will bring you peace of mind.”

42/ “When failure is expensive, plan carefully. When failure is cheap, act quickly.”
43/ “Do not wait. If there is something you wish to do, go do it.

Death comes for busy people too. It will not pause and return at a more convenient time.”

44/ “You can create a lot of meaning in your own life by helping someone else do something that is meaningful to them.”
45/ “Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

46/ “Your success depends on the risks you take. Your survival depends on the risks you avoid.”
47/ “The way to attract good luck is to be reliable in a valuable area.

The more you repeatedly deliver value, the more people seek you out for that value.

Your reputation is a magnet. Once you become known for something, relevant opportunities come to you with no extra work.”
48/ “Your actions are a consequence of your thoughts.

Your thoughts are a consequence of what you consume.

And in the modern age, what you consume is largely a consequence of how you select and refine your social media feed.

Choose better inputs. Get better outputs.”
49/ “In a world where information is abundant and easy to access, the real advantage is knowing where to focus.”

50/ “Win the moment in front of you right now.”

51/ “Whenever there is a gap between your habits and your goals, your habits will always win.”
52/ “The most useful form of patience is persistence.

Patience implies waiting for things to improve on their own.

Persistence implies keeping your head down and continuing to work when things take longer than you expect.”
53/ “Study as if you know nothing.

Work as if you can solve anything.”

54/ “Each day is a new battle to say yes to what matters and say no to what doesn’t. Focus is a practice.”

55/ "You don’t need more time—just a little focused action.”
56/ “Ultimately, the only way to truly be in control of your life is to be in control of your thoughts.”

57/ "When you make progress, you want to keep going. When you break progress, you want to stop.”

58/ “Correct your mistakes before they become your habits.”
59/ “Concentration produces wealth. Diversification protects wealth.”

60/ “The best way to get the attention and respect of exceptional people is to do exceptional work. Like attracts like.”

61/ “You choose the future with your actions each day.”
62/ “Not taking things personally is a superpower.”

63/ “Never be so busy comparing what you have that you forget how fortunate you are to have it.”

64/ “Creative ideas happen when you stop thinking about what others will think.”
65/ “The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It’s the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows.

The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you cannot do something perfectly, then you shouldn’t do it at all…”
66/ “Wealth is the power to choose.

Financial wealth is the power to choose how to spend money.
Social wealth is the power to choose who to hang out with.
Time wealth is the power to choose how to spend your day.
Mental wealth is the power to choose how to spend your attention.”
67/ Entrepreneurship is a personal growth engine disguised as a business pursuit.

68/ The more control you have over your attention, the more control you have over your future.

69/ “Knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity.”
70/ “There are 3 primary drivers of results in life:

1. Your luck (randomness)
2. Your strategy (choices)
3. Your actions (habits)

Only 2 of the 3 are under your control. But if you master those 2, you can improve the odds that luck will work for you rather than against you.”
71/ If you have good habits, time becomes your ally. All you need is patience.

72/ “Motion does not equal action. Busyness does not equal effectiveness.”

73/ “The two skills of modern business: Storytelling and spreadsheets.

Know the numbers. Craft the narrative.”
74/ “In times of uncertainty, your habits can ground you.

When you feel overwhelmed, practice 1 minute of mindfulness.

When you feel restless, do a 1-minute workout.

When the world seems uncontrollable, focus on what you can control.”
75/ “When people say they don’t want to change what they really mean is they don’t have an incentive to change. Change the incentives and the behavior follows suit.”

76/ “Mental toughness is persistence not intensity.”
77/ One form of originality is creation. Another form is synthesis.

People often focus so much on creating new ideas that they overlook the value of synthesizing ideas from different sources.

Innovation usually means connecting previously unconnected concepts.
78/ “The Cycle of Improvement:

1. Awareness – identify what you need to improve.

2. Deliberate practice – focus your conscious effort on the specific area you want to improve.

3. Habit – with practice, the effort becomes automatic.

4. Repeat – begin again.”
79/ “Where you spend your attention is where you spend your life.”

80/ “You always hold the rights to your effort, but never to your results.

Results are entitled to no one. At best, they are on loan and must be renewed each day.

All you own is the right to try.”
81/ “Stop worrying about how long it will take and get started. Time will pass either way.”

82/ “Without hard work, a great strategy remains a dream.

Without a great strategy, hard work becomes a nightmare.”
83/ “What is the real goal?

The real goal is not to “beat the market.” The goal is to build wealth.

The real goal is not to read more books. The goal is to understand what you read.

Don’t let a proxy become the target. Don’t optimize for the wrong outcome.”
84/ “If a decision is reversible, the biggest risk is moving too slow.

If a decision is irreversible, the biggest risk is moving too fast.”

85/ “Do the most important thing first each day and you’ll never have an unproductive day.”

86/ “Writing is the antidote to confusion.”
87/ “Beginner = ignorant simplicity

Intermediate = functional complexity

Advanced = profound simplicity”

88/ “The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don’t swim upstream.”
89/ “Your favorite athlete’s first workout was just as bad as yours.

Your favorite chef’s first meal was just as bad as yours.

Your favorite artist’s first work was just as bad as yours.

Keep going.”
90/ “There are nearly endless opportunities to improve each day and finding them largely boils down to being curious.

People who are better, in the end, are usually curious in the beginning.”
91/ “Where to focus:

For the beginner, execution.

For the intermediate, strategy.

For the expert, mindset.”
92/ “Maturity is learning how to start when you feel like procrastinating and learning how to listen when you feel like talking.”

93/ “The desire to improve does not have to come from a place of self-loathing.”
94/ “Clarity is the elimination of mental clutter.

Agility is the elimination of physical clutter.

Tranquility is the elimination of spiritual clutter.”
95/ “Whenever you are stuck searching for the optimal plan, remember:

Getting started changes everything.”
96/ “In many cases, the bottleneck to achieving results is simply making the time to do the work.

You’re capable of exercising, but are you making the time?

You’re capable of writing, but are you making the time?

You’re capable of reading, but are you making the time?”
97/ “School requires you to learn about things after the answer has already been decided.

Life requires you to learn about things while the answer is in the process of being decided.”
98/ “New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do.

And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome.

For this reason, your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”
99/ “The teacher learns more than the student.

The author learns more than the reader.

The speaker learns more than the attendee.

The way to learn is by doing.”
100/ “It took me…
​
200+ articles before I got a book deal.
250+ articles before I got major media coverage.
100+ interviews before my book hit the bestseller list.
​
You need a lot of shots on goal. Not everything will work, but some of it will.
​
Keep shooting.”
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