The most successful people in the world know that work is about helping and creating value for other people. As Newport states, “If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset (‘what can the world offer me?’) and instead adopt the craftsman mindset (‘what can I offer the world?’).”

Wanting the passion first, before putting in the work, is like wanting to get paid before you begin a job. It’s get-rich-quick thinking and completely lazy. It’s equivalent to wanting a fully developed personality without making any effort, without being creative and taking any action or risks or going through any change. It’s like a spoiled rich k... See more

Emotions are chemical, and our body becomes accustomed or habituated to these chemicals. Take dopamine, for example. Your body becomes habituated to a certain dosage of dopamine, and when the chemical levels are low, the body literally needs more. As a result, and without conscious thought, your hand reaches for your smartphone, and you go through ... See more

Creating meaning is fundamental to who we are and who we become. Our personality, in large part, is based on the meaning we’ve placed on former experiences. It’s based on the meaning we give to various goals or values. It’s based on what we focus on. Our personality is even based on the meaning we place on small things, like humor or music or style... See more

As the author Robert Brault said, “We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” It is not the obstacles between ourselves and our dreams that stop us. Rather, we are stopped by our commitment to the idea—to the identity—that we can never actually achieve our goals. That we don’t have what it takes. Instead of co... See more

It isn’t the contents of your past that need changing, but how you view them today. As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” It’s not about seeing a million things, but being able to see the same things a million different ways. And hopefully in better and more useful ways... See more

But here’s what’s interesting: As a person ages, they tend to stop engaging in new situations, experiences, and environments. In other words, people’s personalities become increasingly consistent because they stop putting themselves into new contexts.

If you are going to really become your future self, you need an environment that reminds you of that future self, not your former self. Goals don’t become realities without constant reminders. This is why people write down their goals every single day. They need to remember where they’re going, just like an airplane needs to constantly update its t... See more

In the words of university president and religious leader Dr. Henry Eyring, “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble and you will be right more than half the time.”