Like any school of philosophy, Stoicism is rooted in a few foundational ideas for living a good life. First, we should focus our attention on discerning what is and isn't in our control. According to the Stoics, the only thing that is in our control is our judgment and voluntary actions. How we perceive things and how we allocate our attention, as well as our voluntary and intentional actions determine the quality of our life. In other words, we judge how "bad" an event is, when in reality, the event just happens, and it is our judgement of it that makes it good or bad. Now that we have discerned what is and is not in our control, the second foundation is to take complete responsibility for what we can control, and fully accept those that we cannot, especially our fate. In Seneca's book, "On the Shortness of Life", he says that how we use our time is up to us. We should not waste our limited time, and instead take action, as this is where meaning can be found. He also raises the idea of eliminating and avoiding distractions, as well as pointless ambitions without the pursuit of meaning and purpose. This brings me to the third foundation being acquiring wisdom and living through reason. This allows us to live in accordance with the universe and how things are supposed to be, not how we think they are supposed to be. A stoic is not surprised when things happen, as they know that what happened is the only way things could've happened, and it is their obligation to understand so that they may take action. Lastly, Stoicism is rooted in the acceptance of mortality. Stoics were very aware of their limited time on earth, as the philosophers who adopted this philosophy were not "full-time" philosophers, but were people who wanted to gain wisdom but ultimately to live their lives. To them, philosophy is meant to be a guide on how to live a good life, and that philosophy was not their whole life. Life is long if you know how to use it. Like any resource well allocated and utilized, the time we are given on this earth is enough, so long as we don't waste it, and choose what to do with it. Also remember, the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Mark Manson highlights the importance of having the ability to choose where our attention goes, and choosing better values. We must align our values to the main question of life, being: "What will be your legacy?". My main takeaways are the following: - The breadth of our experience locates the gold, while the depth of our experience digs for it. - Choosing X means saying no to everything else that is not X - One does not simply stop giving a f*ck, but must choose what he gives a f*ck about. The art is in choosing where to focus your attention, and not giving a f*ck about everything else. - Kill your entitlement, it's not good for you or anyone. It's not always about you. - Choose, accept, and bear your pain. Suffering in life is inevitable, and one can even argue that it is what makes life...life. Choose your pain and at least make it something you deem worthwhile. Both being unhealthy (illness) and healthy (exercise) cause suffering, you must decide which one you want.

Resource: How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie Type: Book Summary: Classic, and borderline "cliche", but if you cut through the noise and stories, actually makes sense and if implemented will drastically change how you interact with other people. The premise of the book is that its not always about you, especially when you interact with others who you have a relationship with. To get your point across and to communicate the things you want, you must realize that the other person must "hear" and understand what you are saying, which requires you to put yourself in their shoes. You must not be selfish, and realize that to communicate well, you must realize that people are emotional beings with their own goals and ideas. Actionable insight: Before saying anything, understand the other person's perspective. See where they are coming from, who they are, and their goals. Creating win-win scenarios, and effective communication, relies on how well you understand yourself and others, and how to align your goals to create an outcome that you cant reach independently.

I made a video explaining Occam's Razor and Hanlon's Razor. Hopefully this mental model is helpful in deciding which explanations to believe, and which explanations are more likely to bring us closer to the truth. TLDR: Occam's Razor states that when faced with 2 equally good hypothesis, choose the simpler one, because this has less moving parts (less conditions need to be true), and there are less assumptions made. Hanlon's Razor states that you must not attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence, as it is more likely that bad things happen because people did not think things through, rather than having bad intentions.

Resource name: Principles by Ray Dalio Type: Book Summary/Key Takeaway: Throughout our lives, we will encounter different problems and situations that may seem very different from each other, but ultimately, they can have hidden patterns that seem to repeat. Over time, we will realize that a situation is "another one of those" and we can start to build problem-solving toolkits to solve similar problems that have the same pattern or general cause. Another important factor here is seeing things as cycles and as machines that have interrelated parts and different causes and effects. Seeing them both as machines and cycles lets us break free from bad cycles and create upward spirals in our lives. Review: 10/10 would re-read. Ray Dalio is someone who we can mirror when it comes to decision-making (Being the founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, he's definitely one of the best decision-makers there is). He focuses on the variables we consider when making decisions, rather than the decision-making tools or the decision itself. The decision-making machine that you use is more important than how correct the decision was. Actionable Insight: - Keep track of similar problems that you face. - See things as cycles and as machines. - Worry about how you select the decision variables when making decisions, and use the results of the decision to see if the variables are correct. - Pain + Reflection = Progress