Quotes About Simplicity

The Way of Life According to Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching as translated by Witter Bynner.

My suggestion is, whenever possible, ask yourself: What's the smallest possible footprint I can get away with? What is the smallest possible project that is worth my time? What is the smallest group of people who I could make a difference for, or to? Because smallest is achievable. Smallest feels risky. Because if you pick smallest and you fail, now you've really screwed up.

Aquí tienes un resumen muy simplificado: El «éxito» no tiene por qué ser complicado. Basta con empezar haciendo muy muy felices a mil personas.

I had to get back to this place where you just want water, food, and shelter. All the craziness of my life—this Wall Street life I had taken on—would go away, would melt away.

1. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? 2. Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?

Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things." –Steve Jobs

The lesson: Rather than striving to be superhuman, I would aspire to be less "super" and more "human.

Take time to stop and smell the roses, or—in this case—to count the pea pods.

What is the 20% of my belongings that I use 80% of the time? Eliminate the other 80% in clothing, magazines, books, and all else. Be ruthless—you can always repurchase things you can't live without.

La vida es demasiado corta para tenerla ocupada.

meditation simply helps you channel drive toward the few things that matter, rather than every moving target and imaginary opponent that pops up.

Making effective decisions—and learning effectively—requires massive elimination and the removal of options.

La perfección no se alcanza cuando no hay nada más que añadir, sino cuando ya no queda nada que quitar. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

How to Say "No" When It Matters Most "The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." —Lin Yutang "Discipline equals freedom." —Jocko Willink (page 412)

For me, the goal of "investing" has always been simple: to allocate resources (e.g., money, time, energy) to improve quality of life. This is a personal definition, as yours likely will be.

I have come to learn that part of the business strategy is to solve the simplest, easiest, and most valuable problem. And actually, in fact, part of doing strategy is to solve the easiest problem, so part of the reason why you work on software and bits is that atoms [physical products] are actually very difficult.

TO CREATE SOMETHING GREAT (OR EVENTUALLY HUGE), START EXTREMELY SMALL "My suggestion is, whenever possible, ask yourself: What's the smallest possible footprint I can get away with?

People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things." –Steve Jobs Co-founder and former CEO of Apple

To enjoy life, you don't need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren't as serious as you make them out to be.

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less (288 pages) BY RICHARD KOCH

Life is too short to be busy.

you should have, at most, two primary goals or tasks per day. Do them separately from start to finish without distraction.

Others include "Be expensive" (see Marc Andreessen, page 170), "Expect disaster" (see Tony Robbins, page 210), and "Own as little as possible" (see Jason Nemer, page 46, and Kevin Kelly, page 470).

The things you own end up owning you." –Chuck Palahniuk American author, best known for Fight Club