2020 Q4 - Striking Thoughts, Stray Reflections, & The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Striking Thoughts by Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was famous for his martial arts and movies, but did you know that he majored in philosophy while attending the University of Washington. You’ll get a taste of his perspectives in this 1971 interview. His ideas have been influential for me personally and professionally. You download a free pdf copy of this book here. You’ll find the physical copy here. It starts off a bit slow, but finishes strong. While I may not agree with all his ideas, the worst thing you can do with his quotes is miss the metaphorical implications behind the words. A few of my fav quotes:

  • We are always in a process of becoming and NOTHING is fixed. Have no rigid system in you, and you’ll be flexible to change with the ever changing.

  • You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open.

  • To understand and live now, there must be dying to everything of yesterday.

  • Too many people are looking at “what is” from a position of thinking “what should be.”

  • The round of summer and winter becomes a blessing the moment we give up the fantasy of eternal spring.

  • Action is a highroad to self-confidence and esteem. Where it is open, all energies flow toward it.

  • The doer alone learns.

  • The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.

  • To be humble to superiors is duty; to equals is courtesy; to inferiors is nobleness; and, to all, safety!

  • We can see through others only when we see through ourselves.

  • Every emotion expresses itself in the muscular system.

  • True fortune is a wonderful spouse.

  • To understand your fear is the beginning of really seeing.

  • We should devote ourselves to being self-sufficient and must not depend upon the external rating by others for our happiness. So, it is true that the more we value things, the less we value our self. The more we depend upon others for esteem, the less we are self-sufficient.”

  • What’s amiss I’ll stop to mend, and endure what can’t be mended.

  • The three things most difficult are: to keep a secret, to forget an injury, and to make good use of leisure.

  • What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.

  • Empty heads have long tongues. Commonly they, whose tongue is their weapon, use their feet for defense.

  • When a man seeks your advice he generally wants your praise.

  • Behind every motion is the music of his soul made visible.

Stray Reflections by Jawad Mian

This diverse, genuine, and introspective read was written by a financial writer of Pakistani origin who grew up in Canada before moving to Dubai where he now runs his flagship publication “Stray Reflections.” I enjoyed this book for many reasons, and one of them being that it is the first book I’ve read written by a Muslim. This provides a slightly different worldview than most of us are accustomed to. The range of topics covered here mixed with his interest in the introspective aspects of Islamic philosophers was incredibly refreshing. Highly recommended reading. Some of my fav quotes:

  • ...the greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother.

  • Fortunately, we are not journeying in the universe but with the universe.

  • There are those who look at life through their minds, and there are those who look at life through their hearts.

  • “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” — Confucius

  • People thumb 300 feet a day on their newsfeed, the height of the Statue of Liberty.

  • To improve our circumstances, we must strive to improve our character.

  • “Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief and denying all else, for much good would elude you - indeed, the knowledge of reality would elude you.” — Ibn Arabi

  • “We set goals for the people we are when we set them rather than the people we become when we reach them.” Dan Gilbert

  • Thomas Jefferson’s vision for a Bill of Rights included “freedom from monopolies in commerce,” except it wasn’t incorporated into the final version, which was ratified on December 15, 1791.

  • …the truth is that most of our time management issues are really just attention management issues.

  • Your day starts when you go to sleep.

  • We are not so impatient once we get a bigger picture of what is going on.

  • If we opt for what appears more relaxing, we will weaken our power to prevail over challenging and more rewarding tasks in the future and eventually succumb to a reduced state.

  • In truth, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

  • A story takes time to unfold.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

This book is an absolute gem of compiled wisdom. None of it is original. None of it is new. These are powerful antifragile concepts that have been re-cast to fit our current age. Naval is well-known in the tech world for his drive, ambition, and willingness to be himself. He founded a number of tech companies, and was an early investor in many familiar names (Twitter, Uber, etc.). I was first introduced to him on The Joe Rogan Experience [explicit language], and then here, here [nominated for podcast of the year 2015], & here. 

I highlighted too many quotes to post on here, so just read it for yourself. THE BEST PART? The book is 100% free as an e-version. Get it here. 

Links!

Jason Boddu