Shane Parrish Quotes

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?

Your inner monologue determines your outer actions.

The most powerful story in the world is the one you tell yourself.

We’re all born rather creative, but during our formative years, it can be beaten out of us by busy parents and teachers. As adults, we rely on convention and what we’re told because that’s easier than breaking things down into first principles and thinking for yourself. Thinking through first principles is a way of taking off the blinders. Most things suddenly seem more possible.

The second thing we can do is to learn how to fail properly. Failing properly has two major components. First, never take a risk that will do you in completely. (Never get taken out of the game completely.) Second, develop the personal resilience to learn from your failures and start again. With these two rules, you can only fail temporarily.

Facing reality demands acknowledging our mistakes and failures, learning from them, and moving forward.

In order to get the results we desire, we must do two things. We must first create the space to reason in our thoughts, feelings, and actions; and second, we must deliberately use that space to think clearly. Once you have mastered this skill, you will find you have an unstoppable advantage.

I’m no genius. I’m smart in spots — but I stay around those spots.

mental model is simply a representation of how something works.

If you're willing to recognize your mistakes, you massively tilt the odds in your favor.

Hadrian’s Wall thus was just one part of the overall strategy to maintain contrast between Roman territory and the tribes of the north.

Just because something happened that was outside of your control doesn’t mean it’s not your responsibility to deal with it

Many of us tend to have too much invested in our opinions of ourselves to see the world’s feedback — the feedback we need to update our beliefs about reality. This creates a profound

Every ordinary moment is an opportunity to make the future easier or harder. It all depends on whether you’re thinking clearly.

People who make non-consensus decisions don't have much time for company politics, pointless meetings, or people they don't respect.

Amateurs have a goal. Professionals have a process.