He has nothing to lose, and this brings him tremendous power.
The less you fear, the more power you will have and the more fully you will live.
Out of fear, we also developed religion and various belief systems to comfort us.
Our main goal is to maintain the comfort and security we have, and so we become more sensitive to the slightest risk or threat to the status quo.
On the streets, showing fear would make people lose respect for you. You would end up being pushed around and more likely to suffer violence because of your desire to avoid it.
We are living through strange, revolutionary times. The old order is crumbling before our eyes on so many levels. And yet in such an unruly moment, our leaders in business and politics cling to the past and the old ways of doing things. They are afraid of change and any kind of disorder.
The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves.
Being conservative can force you into a corner in which you are more likely to lose what you have in the long run because you lose the capacity to adapt and change.
When things get tough and you get tired of the grind, your mind tends to drift into fantasies; you wish things were a certain way, and slowly, subtly, you turn inward to your thoughts and desires.
The people around you are generally mysterious. You are never quite sure about their intentions.
Your eyes are fixed on the world, not on yourself or your ego.
You were born with the greatest weapon in all of nature -- the rational, conscious mind.
Force yourself to hold the opposite opinion or see the world through your enemy's eyes.
See everything as a source for education -- even the most banal encounters.
When you do not get to the root of a problem, you cannot solve it in any meaningful manner.
What you want is a sharp eye towards your fellow humans -- one that is piercing, objective, and nonjudgmental.
Realism is the ideal we must aspire to, the highest point of human rationality.
The only way to survive was to admit you were on your own, learn to make your own decisions, and trust your judgment.
You came into this life with the only possessions that ever matter -- your body, the time that you have to live, your energy, the thoughts and ideas unique to you, and your autonomy.
If you do not own yourself first, you will continually be at the mercy of people and circumstance, looking outward instead of relying on yourself and your wits.
We have layers of support that seem to prop us up. But these supports are illusions in the end.
Everyone in the world is governed by self-interest. People naturally think first of themselves and their agendas.
Dependency is a habit that is so easy to acquire.
Your life must be a progression towards ownership -- first mentally of your independence, and then physically of your work, owning what your produce.
Never be a minion, always be an owner.
Your goal in life must be to always move higher and higher up the food chain, where you alone control the direction of your enterprise and depend on no one.
And if you cannot avoid having partners, make sure that you are clear as to what function they serve for you and how you will free yourself of them at the right moment.
When people give you things or do you favors it is always with strings attached.
Get in the habit of taking what you need for yourself instead of expecting others to give it to you.
You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you.
Even the worst shit that happens to you can be converted into gold if you are clever enough.
Mentally framing a negative event as a blessing in disguise makes it easier for you to move forward.
I must make the most of what I have, even the bad stuff, because things are not going to get better on their own. It is foolish to wait; tomorrow may bring even worse shit.
Life is by nature harsh and competitive.
A substantial victory can only come out of a moment of danger and attack.
You must adopt an attitude that is opposite to how most people think and operate.
For the human mind, everything that crosses its path can be a potential tool for power and expansion.
If we become wealthy and dependent on money and technology, our minds atrophy and that wealth will not last.
An opportunist in life sees all hindrances as instruments for power.
Look for any sudden successes or failures in the business world that people find hard to explain. There are often indications of shifts going on under the surface; perhaps someone has inadvertently hit upon a new mode.
Keep your eye out for any kind of shifts in tastes or values. People in the media or the establishment will often rail against these changes, seeing them as signs of moral decline and chaos.
Move before you think you are ready.
When you feel that you must work harder to get your goal because you are not quite prepared, you are more alert and inventive. This venture has to succeed and so it will.
When you complain and rail against circumstances, you fall out of balance with the natural state of things; you wish things were different.
Every individual we come across in life is unique, with his or her own energy, desires, and history.
This hunger for control, common to all of us, is the root of so many problems in life.
The harder we try to control things in our immediate environment, the more likely we are to lose control in the long run.
The violence they initiate only comes back at them with equal force.
You must find freedom through the fluidity of your thoughts and your constant inventiveness.
It is not only what you do that must have flow, but also how you do things.
Understand: momentum in life comes from increased fluidity, a willingness to try more, to move in a less constricted fashion.
After college we are all encouraged to specialized, to learn one thing well and stick to it. We end up strangling ourselves in the narrowness of our interests. With all of these restrictions, knowledge has no flow to it.
When you are fearful, force yourself to act in a bolder fashion than usual.
As you get older the tendency is for you to become locked in a style that is dead, one that you associate with your youth and its excitement.
That is how you must operate: you actively work to overcome this fixed nature, deliberately trying a different approach and style than your usual one, to get a sense of a different possibility.
If you have dreams and ambitions, you know that to realize them you have to get active, make some noise, bruise a few people in your path.
People all around us are struggling to advance their interests.
If we are waiting and settling for what we have, it is not because we are good and nice but because we are fearful.
To get ahead in this world we must be willing to occasionally bend that moral code, to play with appearances, to hedge the truth and make ourselves look better, to manipulate a person or two to secure our position.
When a venture succeeds, people tend to overlook some of the nasty tactics you were forced to use; when a venture fails, those same tactics become scrutinized and condemned.
He is bad in the right way, calibrated to the situation, and careful to make his actions look justified to the public, reserving his nastier tactics for behind the scenes.
Unless you happen to be an aggressive type, you are generally at a disadvantage against those who have simple ideas and fierce energy.
There is no nobility in losing if an injustice is allowed to prevail.
Instead of taking this personally or concerning yourself with people's intentions, you must simply work to protect and advance yourself in this competitive game, this bloody arena.
When you have to resort to something that isn't conventionally moral, it is just another maneuver you are executing in the game -- nothing to feel guilty about.
A person on top does not need to yell or push people around; those below want to follow his or her lead because it is strong and inspiring.
Big words and promises mean nothing, only actions carry weight.
In many ancient cultures, the king was ritually put to death after a few years to ensure he would not turn into an oppressor.
A group of any size must have goals and long-term objectives to function properly.
People have a secret yearning to be guided by a firm hand, by someone who knows where they are going.
You must always operate with feedback on the quality of your product.
You must crush as much distance as possible between you and your audience.
When your work does not communicate with others, consider it your own fault -- you did not make your ideas clear enough and you failed to connect with your audience emotionally.
Progressing step-by-step was the only way to succeed in anything.
All human activities involve a process of mastery.
The fearless types in history inevitably display in their lives a higher tolerance than most of us for repetitive, boring tasks. This allows them to excel in their field and master their craft.
There are no shortcuts!
To master any process you must learn through trial and error.
When you take the time to master a simple process and overcome a basic insecurity, you develop certain skills that can be applied to anything.
Think of social and political skills as a craft that you must master as well as any other.
If you find yourself confronting an unjust and corrupt system, it is much more effective to learn its codes from the inside and discover its vulnerabilities.
You have a project you wish to bring to life, but you begin by immersing yourself in the details of the subject or field. You look at the materials you have to work with, the tastes of your target audience, and the latest technical advances in the field. You take pleasure in going deeper and deeper into these fine points -- your research is intense. From this knowledge, you shape the project itself, grounding it in reality that in airy concepts in your head.
Anything will give way to a sustained, persistent attack on your part.
To feel inspired you must first experience a moment of emptiness.
Your opinion of yourself becomes your reality.
When we act with freedom, we ignore any pressures to conform; we step beyond our usual routines. Asserting our will and our individually, we move on our own.
People judge you by appearances, the image you project through your actions, words, and style. If you do not take control of this process, then people will see and define you the way they want to, often to your detriment.
If we can overcome the fear of death, then there is nothing left to fear.
Always be willing to walk away.
If attaining certain goals becomes your greatest source of pleasure, then your days are filled with purpose and direction, and whenever death comes, you have no regrets.
When your time to die comes, as it will someday, you will not cringe and cry for more time, because you have lived well and have no regrets.
We are not really living until we come to terms with our mortality.
It is a miracle to be alive even one more day.
Everything we think and feel is framed by words -- which never really quite express reality.
We share the same fate with everyone; we all deserve the same degree of compassion.
If we try to avoid or repress the thought, keep death on the outside, we are cutting ourselves off from life as well.
Although i don't necessarily agree with all of the quotes above, they made me think. What are some of your favorite quotes? If you enjoyed the above then i encourage you to give this book a read.
