Director

I was an accidental entrepreneur but serial now. I don’t think I’ll ever work for anyone else and likely will move from one thing to another so for me it’s a personality trait. I get bored easy and need to move on to something else. But I don’t have a risk taking personality. I am more trained there by mentally pushing myself to take the next step.

It doesn’t come easy but I view my life as if I was watching a movie about my life. I want to watch an amazing interesting movie. To make that happen it’s like I’m directing a scene and tell myself that in this scene take the next step and let’s see what happens. It’s uncomfortable for me but I pretend it’s not. People view me as very assured and confident whereas in reality it’s the director asking the actor to be very assured and confident in this scene.

- Several-Ad2548 on Reddit

Waiting

If you wait until you are ready, it is almost certainly too late.

-Seth Godin

Donkey

If hard work leads to success, the donkey would own the farm.

- Old rural saying

Who's left

The cowards never started, and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen.

- Phil Knight

Risk

If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

-Erica Jong

You Are Enough

“Tibetan Buddhist texts liken this type of addictive behavior to ‘licking honey off a razor.’ The initial sensation may be sweet, but the underlying effect is quite damaging. Seeking satisfaction in others or in external objects or events reinforces a deep and often unacknowledged belief that we, as we are, are not entirely complete; that we need something beyond ourselves in order to experience a sense of wholeness or security or stability.”​

— Joyful Wisdom by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Happiness

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Options

“Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because it is fake.”

- Betty Rocker

Decisions

Observe people wherever you will and you will notice that those who cannot make up their minds are neither popular nor successful.

- N. Hill

Direction

“You only need to know the direction, not the destination. The direction is enough to make the next choice.”

— James Clear

Act

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer the negative elements in your life, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy!”

— Dale Carnegie

Doubts

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Beginnings

Realists

Procrastination and Perfection

Karate

Every black belt is a white belt who didn’t quit.

Adversity

A calm sea does not produce a skilled sailor.

Value Prop

A lot less people would buy a lottery ticket if the rule was “pick a number between 1 and 300 million. If you guess right, you win.”

Movement

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

- Mike Dooley

Usefulness

One of my favorite stories of this kind is the local apiarist (beekeeper) in my neighborhood. He told me that the first seven years of him keeping bees he never had more than a couple of jars for himself. Even though he had gotten into it with the idea of selling honey, he found that he neighbors were so hostile to the idea of having bees around that he had to walk around the neighborhood after every harvest and hand out jars of honey. Hundreds of kilos every year was given away. Over time the neighbors figured out that the bees were not dangerous and that this man was not abusing their neighborhood but actually making it a better place. More people started keeping flowers in their gardens and eventually the man could start selling his produce rather than giving it away.

This story illustrates a point that everyone from your grandmother to Tahitian islanders, to the hardcore Neo-reactionary thinkers can agree on: be worthy. To be part of something you must first be of use to it. A community is only as strong as the effort put into it by its members. You must have something to offer. This is as true in urban beekeeping as in modern courtship.

Learn a skill, master a craft, teach something: learn, create, pass on.

@wrathofgnon