1. Identity: First who - Then What
1.1. “First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do. For in nearly every pursuit we see this to be the case. Those in athletic pursuit first choose the sport they want, and then do that work.”
1.1.1. Arnold Schwarzenegger biography
1.1.2. Tony Robbins: "Identity is the most powerful force in human nature"
2. Every moment and action matters
2.1. “When you let your attention slide for a bit, don’t think you will get back a grip on it whenever you wish— instead, bear in mind that because of today’s mistake everything that follows will be necessarily worse. . . . Is it possible to be free from error? Not by any means, but it is possible to be a person always stretching to avoid error. For we must be content to at least escape a few mistakes by never letting our attention slide."
2.1.1. Just this one time?
2.1.1.1. You never have that liberty
2.1.2. Slight Edge
2.2. “Every habit and capability is confirmed and grows in its corresponding actions, walking by walking, and running by running . . . therefore, if you want to do something make a habit of it, if you don’t want to do that, don’t, but make a habit of something else instead. The same principle is at work in our state of mind. When you get angry, you’ve not only experienced that evil, but you’ve also reinforced a bad habit, adding fuel to the fire.”
2.2.1. Mini Habits
2.2.1.1. Even the smallest actions will change or re-establish your habits
2.2.2. Slight Edge
3. Your perceptions
3.1. “It isn’t events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.”
3.1.1. "Man's search for meaning" - Viktor Frankl
3.2. “Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”
3.3. We suffer not from events in our lives. But from our judgment about them
4. What's within my control
4.1. “Don’t trust in your reputation, money, or position, but in the strength that is yours— namely, your judgments about the things that you control and don’t control. For this alone is what makes us free and unfettered, that picks us up by the neck from the depths and lifts us eye to eye with the rich and powerful.”
4.2. “The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own"
4.3. “For if a person shifts their caution to their own reasoned choices and the acts of those choices, they will at the same time gain the will to avoid, but if they shift their caution away from their own reasoned choices to things not under their control, seeking to avoid what is controlled by others, they will then be agitated, fearful, and unstable.”
5. The People you surround yourself with
5.1. “Above all, keep a close watch on this— that you are never so tied to your former acquaintances and friends that you are pulled down to their level. If you don’t, you’ll be ruined. . . . You must choose whether to be loved by these friends and remain the same person, or to become a better person at the cost of those friends . . . if you try to have it both ways you will neither make progress nor keep what you once had.”
5.1.1. Jim Rohn "We are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with"
5.1.2. Tony Robbins
5.1.2.1. The most powerful strategy to grow
5.1.2.1.1. Find others who are excelling at what you want to accomplish and associate with them
5.1.3. Your relationships will evolve/change over time
5.1.3.1. That is OK
6. On Focus
6.1. “If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters— don’t wish to seem knowledgeable"
6.1.1. Deep Work
6.1.1.1. Cut out all distractions from life
6.1.1.1.1. They don't matter
6.1.2. 4 Hour Workweek
6.1.2.1. Information Diet
6.1.3. Having that mental attention space
6.2. “When children stick their hand down a narrow goody jar they can’t get their full fist out and start crying. Drop a few treats and you will get it out! Curb your desire— don’t set your heart on so many things and you will get what you need.”
6.2.1. "The One Thing" - By Gary Keller, Jay P
7. Others' opinions
7.1. “If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along, so they may abuse you, leaving it disturbed and troubled— have you no shame in that?”
7.1.1. Marcus Aurelius
7.1.1.1. Care more about others - but care less about their opinions
7.2. “Keep in mind that it isn’t the one who has it in for you and takes a swipe that harms you, but rather the harm comes from your own belief about the abuse. So when someone arouses your anger, know that it’s really your own opinion fueling it. Instead, make it your first response not to be carried away by such impressions, for with time and distance self-mastery is more easily achieved.”
7.2.1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
7.2.1.1. Feelings -> Thoughts -> Situations
8. Your Ruling Principle
8.1. “An important place to begin in philosophy is this: a clear perception of one’s own ruling principle.”
8.1.1. Your values
8.1.2. Your own personal creedo
8.1.3. Your own constitution
9. Freedom of Choice
9.1. “Consider who you are. Above all, a human being, carrying no greater power than your own reasoned choice, which oversees all other things, and is free from any other master.”
9.2. “A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low, but in either place your freedom of choice can be maintained if you so wish.”
9.2.1. Man's Search for Meaning
9.2.1.1. Between stimulus and response is our ability to CHOOSE
9.2.1.2. No one can take away your last freedom - the freedom of thought
9.2.2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
9.2.2.1. Being Proactive
9.2.2.2. Choosing your thoughts
9.2.3. Fundamental of stoicism
9.2.3.1. Focus on what you can control
10. On Difficulties
10.1. “Difficulties show a person’s character. So when a challenge confronts you, remember that God is matching you with a younger sparring partner, as would a physical trainer. Why? Becoming an Olympian takes sweat! I think no one has a better challenge than yours, if only you would use it like an athlete would that younger sparring partner.”
10.2. “If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened that eventually you won’t even notice your mistake and will begin to rationalize your behavior.”
10.2.1. Einstein "Definition of madness - doing the same thing but expecting different results"
11. Anxiety
11.1. “When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?”
11.1.1. You are only anxious when you want something that is outside your control
11.1.2. If it is within your control - why would you be anxious?
11.1.3. All of your anxiety is coming from
11.1.3.1. Wanting something outside your control
11.1.3.2. Examples
11.1.3.2.1. Public Speaking
11.1.3.2.2. Launching a new product
11.1.3.2.3. Going up and talking to a stranger
11.1.3.3. You are removing yourself from what is within your control
11.1.3.3.1. Talking to a stranger
11.1.4. Basic Foundation of stoicism
11.1.4.1. What I can control
11.1.4.1.1. My thoughts
11.1.4.1.2. My Actions
11.1.4.2. What I can't control
11.1.4.2.1. Outside circumstances
11.1.4.2.2. Other people's behavior
11.1.4.2.3. Stock market, Real Estate market, Sales
11.1.5. Exercise
11.1.5.1. Every time you are anxious
11.1.5.1.1. Ask yourself - What exactly am I anxious, nervous or scared about?
11.1.5.1.2. What exactly is within my control in this situation?
11.1.5.1.3. What all is outside my control in this situation?
11.1.5.1.4. How can I improve what is within my control?
11.1.5.1.5. Pick one thing and do it!
12. Self Discipline
12.1. Training your self discipline
12.1.1. “Whenever you get an impression of some pleasure, as with any impression, guard yourself from being carried away by it, let it await your action, give yourself a pause. After that, bring to mind both times, first when you have enjoyed the pleasure and later when you will regret it and hate yourself. Then compare to those the joy and satisfaction you’d feel for abstaining altogether. However, if a seemingly appropriate time arises to act on it, don’t be overcome by its comfort, pleasantness, and allure— but against all of this, how much better the consciousness of conquering it.”
12.1.1.1. Controlling your impulses
12.1.1.1.1. "Emotional Intelligence" - Dr Daniel Goleman