Tim Ferriss Quotes - Page 4

I'm often asked how I define "success." It's an overused term, but I fundamentally view this elusive beast as a combination of two things - achievement and appreciation. One isn't enough: Achievement without appreciation makes you ambitious but miserable. Appreciation without achievement makes you unambitious but happy.

What's the worst that could happen?

I'm not a fan of idleness, except in small doses.

If the challenge we face doesn't scare us, then it's probably not that important.

Being able to quit things that don't work is integral to being a winner

Short, sweet, and to the point. Clear writing, and therefore clear commands, comes from clear thinking. Think simple.

It's amazing how someone's IQ seems to double as soon as you give them responsibility and indicate that you trust them.

People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.

This is not my phrase, but if you're stuck in the past, then you're depressed. If you're stuck in the future, then you're anxious.

Personally, I now aim for one month of overseas relocation or high-intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work projects.

Most inputs are useless and time is wasted in proportion to the amount that is available.

I always point people to the article '1,000 True Fans' by Kevin Kelly. If you choose your thousand ideal customers or readers properly and find the single author blog that targets that audience, you never have to do any more marketing. You're done. That is a lesson that very few product developers and marketers have learned, and it's unfortunate.

Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.

People really do think they have to choose between high stress and high reward jobs, and low stress and low reward jobs.

Don't suffer fools or you'll become one.

Resveratrol is fascinating stuff. One of the best sources of information about it is the Immortality Institute. They have a forum where some people are in the 500 Club, as they call it. They've been taking 500 milligrams for years. It's a really great source of data.

Just a few words on time management: forget all about it.

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.

People don't want to be millionaires - they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy.

The commonsense rules of the "real world" are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions.

The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, which does nothing more than leave you with a vacuum, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.

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.

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.

Fun things happen when you earn dollars, live on pesos, and compensate in rupees.

A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.