"At any moment, you are one good choice away from a meaningfully better life."
- James Clear
"If you keep showing up, you'll almost certainly break through — but probably not in the way you expected or intended. You need enough persistence to keep working and enough flexibility to enjoy success when it comes in a different form than you imagined. "
- James Clear
"Savor the little victories as much as you criticize the little mistakes."
- James Clear
"Use what you already know. People are so busy searching for a shortcut — or hoping an easier path will reveal itself — they let numerous moments slip by when they could get results simply by doing what is right in front of them."
- James Clear
"Your habits are often a byproduct of convenience. Humans are wired to seek the path of least resistance, which means the most convenient option is often the one that wins. Make good choices more convenient and bad choices less so. Behavior will improve naturally."
- James Clear
"Writing is the superpower of humankind. It is our truest form of magic. Writing allows you to conjure up something of value where nothing previously existed. It costs little for you to write down the lessons of your life and yet those few minutes spent writing can be life-altering for the right reader. As I once saw it put: "there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words."
Furthermore, writing is the foundation of nearly every technology and innovation because we have to record what we know before we can build upon it. And these innovations are passed down from generation to generation, allowing our children to inherit a richer intellectual fortune than what we were born into. The world is richer because we write and nobody is made poorer in the process."
- James Clear
"You have to work hard to discover how to work smart. You won't know the best solutions until you've made nearly all the mistakes."
- James Clear
"You can't make a comeback if you don't start."
- James Clear
"The quality of my life is significantly higher on days that I publish an article. The creative process and well-being go hand-in-hand."
- James Clear
"To learn, wander. To achieve, focus."
- James Clear
"You are better equipped to deal with stress when you are moving.
When you feel tense or frustrated or worried, it is difficult to think your way into feeling better. The more you think about the situation, the larger it becomes in your mind. Trying to think your way out of it often leads to a spiral of overthinking and rumination.
The first step is not to think something different, but to do something different. It doesn’t matter what. Stretch on the floor, go for a walk, work on a project. Get out of your mind and move your body."
- James Clear
"When dreaming, imagine success.
When preparing, imagine failure.
When acting, imagine success."
- James Clear
"You draw out of the world what you put into it.
Want to attract reliable people? Be reliable.
Want to attract trustworthy people? Be trustworthy.
Want to attract welcoming people? Be welcoming.
Want to attract exceptional people? Be exceptional."
- James Clear
"You can lose yourself one small compromise at a time.
You can transform yourself one small win at a time."
- James Clear
"You don't have to be good at everything, you just need to double down on what you're naturally suited for."
- James Clear
"Train hard and focus on what you can control."
- James Clear
"If you're eager to learn—even if you aren't particularly talented—then you can make it a long way despite your shortcomings.
But if you're not eager and curious, you'll find your natural abilities often fall short of what is required."
- James Clear
"Limiting your options now will expand your opportunities in the long run because you can remain focused enough to master something.
Keeping your options open now will reduce your opportunities in the long run because you divide your attention and end up doing an average job on seven different things.
Are you falling into the pattern of always mastering one thing or always chasing the next thing?"
- James Clear
"Decide the type of person you want to be.
Prove it to yourself with small wins."
- James Clear
"The creative process:
1. Discover - Read a lot. Observe the world. Notice.
2. Collect - Immediately record anything that strikes you.
3. Generate - Build on your notes to brainstorm lots of ideas.
4. Combine - Connect previously unconnected ideas.
5. Refine - Edit, edit, edit. Select the best."
- James Clear
"A critical quality to develop in life is the willingness to try. You simply must find enough confidence to give it a go. The human mind is fabulous at learning. You will get better at whatever you practice. But before you can develop the skill to succeed, you must find the courage to attempt."
- James Clear
"When you think you are too old to do something new remember you will never be younger than you are right now."
- James Clear
"Grow fast, built to crash.
Grow slow, built to last."
- James Clear
"Ideas that are hoarded help no one. Success follows generosity."
- James Clear
"Self-talk strategies:
If you need confidence, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend.
If you need persistence, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a student.
If you need patience, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a child."
- James Clear
"In many cases, you'll find the only thing preventing you from learning is your ego.
No one enjoys feeling foolish, but attempting something new requires that you climb down from your perch and struggle as a beginner. You must ask questions that reveal your ignorance or attempt skills that make you look uncoordinated.
Learning demands the willingness to live in a brief state of discomfort. You must believe that looking like a fool for an hour will not ruin your reputation for life."
- James Clear
"Before you worry about how to win the game, figure out whether the game is worth winning."
- James Clear
"There is no need to fear any problem you are working on. If you are working on it, then you are influencing the outcome.
It's the problems you don't address that should concern you."
- James Clear
"Being kind to others is mostly about your actions.
Being kind to yourself is mostly about your thoughts."
- James Clear
"Two is twice as good as one, but one is infinitely better than zero.
-One minute of making sales calls is infinitely better than zero minutes.
-One minute of meditation is infinitely better than zero minutes.
-One minute of writing is infinitely better than zero minutes.
Sure, it might be ideal to spend an hour doing these things, but one minute gets you in the game. Now you're learning. Now you're improving. Now results are possible. One doesn't seem like much, but it's something real. At zero, you're still dreaming."
- James Clear
"The secret is to do a few things for a long time.
The challenge is...
(1) You need to experiment and explore quite a bit to find the thing that is worth doubling down on. It may take a few years (or a decade) to find the project or relationship or cause that you want to commit to for a long time.
(2) New things are always coming up. Once you find something you want to do for a long time, you need the courage and discipline to say no to the shiny, new opportunities. After years of exploring and experimenting, it can be hard to flip the switch and remain focused.
You have to be willing to explore widely enough to find your thing, then willing to focus narrowly enough to make it something great."
- James Clear
"Compete externally and you compare.
Compete internally and you improve."
- James Clear
"There are many ways to win in business, but there is one surefire way to lose: run out of money. Entrepreneurship is a game of survival."
- James Clear
"Read, but don't just read. Read the best book you can find.
Write, but don't just write. Write the best idea you can conceive."
- James Clear
"Try to disprove your best loved ideas."
- James Clear
"Don't just imagine doing things someday. Do them now.
Get out of your head and take action."
- James Clear
"You can't change your past, but you can reframe it.
Find the lesson in it. Find the opportunity in it. Pull the teachable moment out of it and share with others.
You can't choose your history, but you can choose the story you tell about it."
- James Clear
"Inspiration comes on the twenty-fifth attempt, not the first. If you want to make something excellent, don't wait for a brilliant idea to strike. Create twenty-five of what you need and one will be great. Inspiration reveals itself after you get the average ideas out of the way, not before you take the first step."
- James Clear
"Two years, not two months.
The visible progress you're hoping for usually comes slower than you'd like. Even with consistent effort it can take a long time before progress feels significant. It might be a year of writing and editing before the book really starts to come together. You may need two years of recovery from a major injury before you notice just how far you've come. It may take two years of yoga before you realize how flexible you have become.
Take a deep breath, stop worrying about immediate results, and settle into a nice routine."
- James Clear
"Opportunities are grains of sand. They slide right past drooping fingers, but an active palm can gather whatever is within reach and shape it into a little castle. It is the act of engaging with the material that gives it shape."
- James Clear
"The rules:
(1) know precisely what you want,
(2) determine the cost of what it will take to get it,
(3) don't bargain over the price."
- James Clear
"The secret of creative work is to make a lot and publish a little.
Don't underestimate the power of giving yourself permission to create junk. Most of what you create will be mediocre or bad.
But that's okay. You only have to show people the good stuff. Make 100 things, discard 90, and share the 10 best. Create, create, create. Edit, edit, edit."
- James Clear
"It's easy to assume that getting rich in money will also mean you are rich in time, but it is often the case that when you earn more money, you end up with less time and more responsibilities.
Being rich is nice, but what you really want to optimize for is (1) an income that exceeds your spending by a healthy margin and (2) a lifestyle that is free from rushing."
- James Clear
"You can carve out a very good career simply by being the most reliable person on the team. You would not think that always showing up on time, hitting every deadline, and responding quickly and professionally to all communication would be such a differentiator, but these traits are always in short supply."
- James Clear
"Dreams are fun when they are distant. The imagination loves to play with possibilities when there is no risk of failure.
But when you find yourself on the verge of action, you pause. You can feel the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Thoughts swirl. Maybe this isn't the right time? Failure is possible now.
In that moment—in that short pause that arises when you stand face to face with your dream—is the entirety of life. What you do in that pause is the crucible that forges you. It is the dividing line between being the type of person who thinks about it or the type of person who goes for it.
When I really think about it, I want that moment to be my legacy. Not that I won or lost. Not that I looked good or looked like a fool. But that when I had something I really wanted to do, I went for it."
- James Clear
"Plant the seeds of greatness in your mind."
- James Clear
"The strategy required to find a great opportunity (lots of saying yes and exploring widely) is different from the strategy required to make the most of a great opportunity (lots of saying no and remaining focused)."
- James Clear
"To experience time travel, read.
To achieve immortality, write."
- James Clear
"The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea.
They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse. But there will always be reasons to not do something, and this is particularly true of anything worth doing. We value those moments in which we overcame challenge, not those in which we avoided it. Ultimately, action is a choice. The choice to emphasize the reasons for doing it despite the reasons you have for avoiding it."
- James Clear
"If you'd like to get better at saying no, try this:
Keep a list of things you say no to. Whenever you ignore a distraction or turn down an opportunity, add it to the list. As the list grows, you begin to feel a sense of accomplishment for your ability to say no and remain focused on what matters."
- James Clear