virtual mentors
Plato, Leo Tolstoy, Whitney Cummings, Derek Sivers, James Altucher, Jean-Paul Sartre. These are my virtual mentors.
Maybe new ones will be added when I know more about them.
What have I learned from these people? I like to imagine I am talking to them in a meeting, when I need life advice.
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Plato: [works about human nature, society, ideals]
-play and leisure are important
-the emotion of passion ['pathos'] is a good thing
-beauty comes after the struggle
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Leo Tolstoy: [works about moral and existential questions, love, moral struggles, complex human emotions]
-be present & quit working for a while
-don't go to lectures and far away locations to learn, learn at the library
-good vs. good is better than a good vs. bad story
-if you are indecisive, act quickly even if first step is unnecessary
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Derek Sivers: [writings about creativity, independence, questioning social expectations, alternative ways of living]
-experience extremes
-combine different strategies of living/different philosophies
-don't be critical towards yourself thinking that you wasted all this time adhering to one philosophy because ways of living change [sometimes we value balance and sometimes we want to go all-in]
-daydream diverse life scenarios
-execute other people's ideas and imitate the best strategies of your competitors
-certain skills multiply success of main pursuit
-start your life from scratch in another part of the globe
-if a habit forms, try an opposite action to stop the pattern
-see what else could work and don't just have one goal
-suss out the unnecessary details of your goal in order to get there the most efficient way possible
-no competitive edge exists from consuming the same content everyone else is consuming
-customer service is the new marketing
-if something is really too challenging, it might not be the right fit and you can quit
-do what excites [you which you can find outside your passion]
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James Altucher: [writings about vulnerability, authenticity, reinvention, resilience]
-business is about improving the lives of others
-You don't have to have a purpose
-If you execute on many ideas, the right idea will become available so don't have to worry about picking the right one
-Imagination, free time, creativity is what will deliver value
-Only do things you enjoy
-Listen to your tendency to procrastinate on certain tasks
-Time and energy minimalism, not just material
-experiment because you don't know which avenue will pan out, don't really know what the intersection of your interests will look like
-just be good enough to get to the intersection of your interests
-give a company ideas on how they can improve
-James got a writing gig when he wrote sample articles for companies he was interested in working for
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Jean-Paul Sartre: [writings about freedom, choice, responsibility, making meaning]
-All of the endless choices we make day to day make up who we are
-We are completely free to invent ourselves every minute
-You are not bound by external circumstances and to say that is just a way to escape the anguish of freedom
-Authentic action, not Aristotle's 'fulfillment,' is the highest good
-Moral philosophy is not useful, take authentic action
-Choosing and inventing are the same thing
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Whitney Cummings: [comedy/podcasting about real-life struggles, tough topics in a humorous way]
-Don't be afraid to say no
-You don't need to protect everyone from uncomfortable feelings [that's codependence]
-schedule worry
-schedule decision-making time
-can develop unconditional level of healthy self-esteem that isn't contingent upon how good of a performer you are
-you can turn your childhood trauma and broken DNA into a superpower. It's your ego blaming your parents
-neurological hygiene - treating what you consume mentally the same way you treat what you consume food wise
-ask yourself, "Am I going to feel proud of this in two days?" Instead of "Am I going to be happy?" Happiness is too vague