Dickie Bush Quotes

Excellence is nothing but an intolerance for mediocrity

99% of effective writing is overcoming the urge to be clever, avoiding the internet's distractions, taking long walks, and being specific.

The two enemies of creativity:

Money worries and other people's drama.

Corollary: the most creative people seek financial security and give no mental bandwidth to other people's bullshit.

The old way: writing once you've figured it out.

The new way: writing as you figure it out (and building an audience along the way).

Writing is the quickest way to understand how little you know.

And at the same time, writing is the only way to reflect on how much you do.

If you're waiting to write until you've figured it out, you're never going to figure it out.

You’re stuck because you set too many goals.

If you cannot name the 3 things you’re pursuing in life right now, you are unfocused.

Why?

The human brain can remember no more than 3 things quickly.

Tic-tac-toe. ABC. Stop drop & roll. Blood, sweat, and tears.

One health. One business. One lifestyle.

Then pursue ferociously.

The best habit I’ve found for creativity:

1. Before bed, write down 1 big question or problem I'm trying to solve

2. Wake up and journal on it first thing for 30 minutes

This lets my subconscious work on solving the problem overnight.

And I always wake up with *elite* clarity.

Stop looking for the perfect direction.

Find the good enough direction and start moving.

Being a digital nomad is great until you realize you’re making less money, forming shallower relationships, and enjoying your travel less than if you had a solid home base and used travel only as a periodic tool to refresh your perspective.

The biggest superpower you can develop is to seek only your internal validation

The best way to learn something: teach it.

The best way to teach something: write about it.

Result: the best way to learn something is to write about it.

Don't cut words to make your writing shorter.

Cut words to reduce friction for the reader.

As a writer, you're competing with TikTok and Netflix.

So the easier it is to read, the more likely the reader is to stick around.

Amateur writers think about:

• Which app to take notes in
• Which platform to publish on
• What time of day to publish

Professional writers think about:

• Showing up every day
• Keeping tight feedback loops
• Solving specific problems for specific people

I’m convinced the single most powerful force of progress is momentum. When you have it, life is on easy mode and it’s easy to keep it. But society is designed to take it from you, so protect it at all costs. When you’re without it, start building it as quickly as you can. One small win. Then another. Then another. Before you know it you’re back riding the wave of progress.