James Clear Quotes

Create your life rather than live it.

Chase your dreams. It's unlikely they will play out exactly as you expect, but they know the way. No vision is perfect, but it points in the right direction. Let the energy of your soul lead you.

The world is big, but industries are small.

After a few years, everyone comes to know the quality of your work.

Reputation matters.

You can cold email nearly anyone, but nearly everyone overlooks how powerful it can be.

Sending one email each week that feels like a stretch can change your life. Will you get turned down? Sure, most of the time. But you only need one to pay off for something amazing to happen.

Take your time, write a thoughtful message, and muster the courage to press Send.

Many problems are minor when you solve them right away, but grow into an enormous conflict when you let them linger.

As a rule of thumb, fix it now.

atomic habits — a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do, but also the source of incredible power;

Too often, we fall into an all-or-nothing cycle with our habits.

The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you can't do something perfectly, then you shouldn't do it at all.

Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become

The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea. They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse.

But there will always be reasons to not do something, and this is particularly true of anything worth doing. We value those moments in which we overcame challenge, not those in which we avoided it. Ultimately, action is a choice. The choice to emphasize the reasons for doing it despite the reasons you have for avoiding it.

You do it because it’s who you are and it feels good to be you. The more a habit becomes part of your life, the less you need outside encouragement to follow through. Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit.

The best way to get the attention and respect of exceptional people is to do exceptional work.

Like attracts like.

When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks.

If you want to be an author, you can't only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can't only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting.

You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It's easy to want the public rewards, but also you have to want the hidden costs.

Most failures are one-time costs. Most regrets are recurring costs.

The pain of inaction stings longer than the pain of incorrect action.

You are richer than 93 percent of people. Not in money, but in time.

Over 108 billion people have lived throughout history. 93 percent of them are dead.

You have what every king and queen, every pharaoh and ruler, every CEO and celebrity of the past would give all their wealth and power for:

Today.

Correct your mistakes before they become your habits.