Will

A major aspect of the pain and mental anguish we experience as humans is that our minds seek, and often demand, logic and order from an illogical universe. Our minds desperately want shit to add up, but the rules of logic do not apply to the laws of possibility.

Change can be scary, but it’s utterly unavoidable. In fact, impermanence is the only thing you can truly rely on. If you are unwilling or unable to pivot and adapt to the incessant, fluctuating tides of life, you will not enjoy being here. Sometimes, people try to play the cards that they wish they had, instead of playing the hand they’ve been dealt. The capacity to adjust and improvise is arguably the single most critical human ability.

A man is standing on the banks of a treacherous, raging river. It’s rainy season—if he can’t get to the other side, he’s done. He quickly builds a raft and uses it to safely cross the river. In joyous relief, he high-fives himself, lifts the raft, and heads toward the forest. But as he attempts to make his way through the dense tree cover, the raft is banging and knocking into trees and becoming entangled in vines, preventing him from moving forward. He only has one chance for survival: He must leave the raft behind—the vessel that saved his life yesterday is the same one that will kill him today if he does not let it go.

Things can be perfectly useful and absolutely necessary during certain periods of our lives. But a time will come when we must put them aside or die.

Nothing lasts forever. Everything rises and falls—no matter how hot the summer gets, the winter is inevitable.

Skill comes from sweat and practice and commitment.

Stephen Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said there are only two human problems: (1) knowing what you want, but not knowing how to get it; and (2) not knowing what you want.

Clarity of mission is a powerful cornerstone of success. Knowing what you want gives direction to your life—every word, every action, every association, can be accurately chosen and harnessed to precipitate your desired outcome. What you eat, when you sleep, where you go, who you talk to, what you allow them to say to you, who your friends are, can all be corralled and launched toward your wildest dreams.

1993, Six Degrees of Separation

would never have gotten married if I thought divorce was an option.

I would never have gotten married if I thought divorce was an option.

If quitting is a possibility, everyone will pick that—it’s the easiest one. Who wouldn’t pick not running at 5:00 a.m. over running at 5:00 a.m.? If quitting is an option, you’ll never finish anything hard. The only way an imperfect mind can be forced to achieve is by removing all of its other options.

The problem is, all of your dreams are on the other side of pain and difficulty.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

real wedding ceremony should be a marathon—we should have to run an actual marathon together. And if we’re both still there at the finish line, then we’ve earned the right to get married. You gotta know that that person is a survivor.”

“A real wedding ceremony should be a marathon—we should have to run an actual marathon together. And if we’re both still there at the finish line, then we’ve earned the right to get married. You gotta know that that person is a survivor.”