Paul Millerd Quotes

I’m that weird guy that invests the difference between rent and what I’d spend on a house and uses it to buy freedom and less hassle

Being good at posting on social media is not a good primary skill to aim at

You need to be doing longform well to find any sort of satisfaction. Or at least doing other things creatively.

woke up each morning and did what I felt like doing.

After returning to work, I felt like I had gone through a major transformation, but to my colleagues, I appeared back to normal. I was physically present but detached. Rather than participating in meetings as a good team member, I observed them as a visiting anthropologist. I saw my colleagues with new eyes. Are they happy? What kind of pain or challenges are they dealing with? Is this how they want to be spending their time?

committing to writing a book is easy

you just have to be a little bit insane, financially reckless, and married to the right person

The philosopher Andrew Taggart believes that crisis moments lead to "existential openings" that force us to grapple with the deepest questions about life.16 He argues there are two typical ways this happens. One is the "way of loss," when things that matter are taken from us, such as loved ones, our health, or a job. The other path is the "way of wonderment," when we are faced with moments of undeniable awe and inspiration.

Business is just pre-art

we have an epidemic of boring work goals

deferred joy doesn't work

grinding now and embracing pain for a theoretical future payoff incurs far more psychological debt than people think

I suspect the debt compounds too

getting lost was simply the understanding that "the world has become larger than your knowledge of it."

Powerful technology that shifts our imagination will also change our beliefs about work

I find myself exhausted reading about successful people talking about successful tactics to build a successful life

show me the flaws man, be human, be normal

Your life is too short and too valuable to fritter away in work. If you don't get out now, you may end up like the frog that is placed in a pot of fresh water on the stove. As the temperature is gradually increased, the frog feels restless and uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to jump out. Without being aware that a chance is taking place, he is gradually lulled into unconsciousness. Much the same thing happens when you take a person and put him in a job which he does not like. He gets irritable in his groove. His duties soon become a monotonous routine that slowly dulls his senses. As I walk into offices, through factories and stores, I often find myself looking into the expressionless faces of people going through mechanical motions. They are people whose minds are stunned and slowly dying.

i think i like working on books because they don't fit into the rhythms of the economic system - you must find a flow that fits your life

We all have two monsters on our shoulders

I should do what I care about

I should do what makes money

Most don’t do the first because they don’t actually want to pay any price for it. Status, money, time, learning. Whatever.