Shane Parrish Quotes

we are all accustomed to believe that maps and reality are necessarily related, or that if they are not, we can make them so by altering reality.

Learning from the experiences of others is much more productive. You need to always approach your circle with curiosity, seeking out information that can help you expand and strengthen it.

The only controllable variable in any situation is you. Oddly, it's the last one people adjust.

enthusiasm is a skill you can activate, not a trait you're born with

When we respond without reasoning, we’re more likely to make mistakes that seem obvious in hindsight. In fact, when we respond emotionally, we often don’t even realize that we’re in a position that calls for thinking at all.

The core of Bayesian thinking (or Bayesian updating, as it can be called) is this: given that we have limited but useful information about the world, and are constantly encountering new information, we should probably take into account what we already know when we learn something new. As much of it as possible. Bayesian thinking allows us to use all relevant prior information in making decisions. Statisticians might call it a base rate, taking in outside information about past situations like the one you’re in.

The Five Whys is a method rooted in the behavior of children. Children instinctively think in first principles. Just like us, they want to understand what’s happening in the world. To do so, they intuitively break through the fog with a game some parents have come to dread, but which is exceptionally useful for identifying first principles: repeatedly asking “why?

If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him.

Ideas are cheap. Execution is expensive. The ability to execute separates people, not the ability to come up with ideas.

We’ll never be exceptional at anything unless we raise our standards, both of ourselves and of what’s possible.

I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.

People search for competitive advantages while ignoring the one hiding in plain sight:

Doing what you said you'd do.

People are inconsistent. They don't follow through. They don't follow up...

This means the simple act of being reliable sets you apart.

It's not talent or genius or connections, it's the boring stuff. Reliability is rare.

Most people go through life assuming that they’re right … and that people who don’t see things their way are wrong.

Short-term results come from intensity. Long-term results come from consistency.

If you want new ideas, read old books.