I love quotes, who doesn’t?
Personally, I like the deep, dark and philosophical kind that gets me thinking about the possibilities and pitfalls of life.
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10 Quotes For Better humans
Tag: quotes
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The problem with hindsight
Everything seems easy when you look back.
I could have done this or I should have done that, you might say to yourself over and over. Yet, you forget that you did whatever you did based on what you knew at the time and this is all any of us ever have – this moment.
That’s the ultimate problem with hindsight, it’s an alluring false reality of what could have been, because it would have never been.
We can all only do what we know to be the best in this moment right now, we can only make decisions or take actions on what we know to be right or true in this moment, not 3 weeks from now.
So don’t be so hard on yourself, realise that you did the best you could in what you knew at that time and no deep dive hindsight party in your head will ever change that.
It’s like Theodore Roosevelt perfectly summed up – “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”
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I’m currently in the midst of reading a variety of excellent insights from a network of mentors in Tim Ferriss book “Tribe of Mentors“.
I’ve come across some fascinating pieces of wisdom so far, yet this extract on advice that was shared with a university student about to enter the real world from what I consider an unlikely source of a partner at a venture capitalist firm is so powerful.
I feel it’s not only something that should be shared with those about to enter the world on their own for the first time, but also serve a a reminder to all of us who are already operating within it too.
I believe I’ll be revisiting this passage many times.
“Life will go faster than you know. It will be tempting to live a life that impresses others. But this is the wrong path. The right path is to know that life is short, every day is a gift and you have certain gifts.
Happiness is about understanding that the gift of life should be honoured every day by offering your gifts to the world.
Don’t let yourself define what matters by the dogma of other people’s thoughts. Even more important, don’t let the thoughts of self-doubt and chattering self-criticism in your own mind slow you down. You will likely be your own worst critic.
Be kind to yourself in your own mind. Let your mind show you the same kindness that you aspire to show others”
These are the original words of Mike Maples Jr, partner at Floodgate, a venture capitalist firm.
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If there’s one quote that has stood out for me over my lifetime so far and been somewhat of a guiding light, it is the one below that I heard from Brandon Lee in the early 90’s.
I believe it’s originally an extract from a book and was recited during the last interview that Brandon Lee ever gave, so it has some real poignance to it and a reminder for us all.
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really.
How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless…”
