How to be Perfect
Michael Schur
Summary
A guide to morality and different philosophies written by one of Hollywood's funniest showrunners/writers, Michael Schur
Rating: 4/5
Notes
You’ve taken the first step: deciding to try and be better
Try again, fail again, fail better - Samuel Beckett
No one is born inherently and completely virtuous. It must be learned
We becomes virtuous by doing virtuous things
Aristotle said constant learning, constant trying and constant searching
Avoid cruelty
Deontology: following the right rules no matter the consequences
Happiness is something subjective we can only find for ourselves
‘A person is a person through other people’
Not everything can or should be about morality
Moral dessert: the idea that if we do good deeds we should be rewarded. Don’t focus on that, do good deeds because you want to, not because you want recognition
Moral exhaustion: trying to do the right thing all the time is a pain in the ass
Break rules on 2 conditions: one is the rule is not obviously harmful to others and 2 is to acknowledge what we’re doing is not ideal
Our lives are our own and we shouldn’t feel bad about filling them with experiences and objects that give our lives shape and dimension
The most important part of becoming a better person is that we care about what we do is good or bad and try to do the right thing
‘Man’s destiny lies within himself’
We can acknowledge the fundamental absurdity of the human condition and exist within it
Saying that all we are is choices ignores the fact that choices are made for us
You can’t apply all ethical themes equally to all people because they aren’t living equal lives
A lot of life is just luck, good or bad
It’s ok to admit part of your success is luck
‘One of the most salient features of our culture is there’s so much bullshit’
To demand perfection or to hold people to impossible standards is to deny the simple and beautiful reality that no one is perfect
The trying to get it right is important. Keep trying
If a voice in your head warns you ‘this doesn’t feel right’, don’t ignore it - it’s there to help
2400 years ago, parents in Delphi in Greece wrote ‘know thyself’ and ‘nothing in excess’
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Free E-book download here
Make Something Wonderful
Steve Jobs
Summary
The life of Steve Jobs in his own words
Rating: 5/5
Notes
Make something wonderful and put it out there
‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’
When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)
Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.
You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times
Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times
We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true
Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see
Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions
Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.
The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow
To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results
The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle
Hire people better than you are
You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life
It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you
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Buy the book here
Free E-book download here
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