As an obsessive note taker, I always dedicate a lot of time after I have read a book to jot down my favourite insights, quotes, lessons, knowledge and ideas. My books are full of highlighter pen, notes in the margins and folded over corners (in fact the book I’m writing is going to have more room on the page to allow my readers to do the same)
The latest book I read was a real doorstop of a book and by that I certainly don’t mean a large boring book that should be used for that purpose as opposed to being read, just that it was a big five hundred and eighty nine page wedge of a book which at times was heavy going and dare I say a little repetitive.
The book was written by Tim Ferris, who has done some crazy stuff in his time and I would fully recommend you to check out his work. The book title ‘Tribe of Mentors’ presents a wide range of opinions about a variety of topics from more than 100 successful people from all walks of life.
The book was put together from the responses Tim received regarding 11 questions that he asked. After reading the book, I thought it would be fun to answer the same questions myself.
So, here they are.
- What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are the one to three books that have greatly influenced your life
- What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)? Give specifics like brand and model, where you found it etc.
- How has a failure, or apparent failure set you up for later success? Do you have a ‘favourite failure’?
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions, what would it say and why? It might be a quote (are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?)
- What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc)
- What is an unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?
- In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?
- What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the ‘real world’? What advice should they ignore?
- What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
- In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc)? What new realisations and/or approaches helped? Any other tips?
- When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?
As we all know, life would be boring if we all followed the same rules or the same path and the things that resonated with me after reading this book may not have been the things that would with you, but it seems that what these fulfilled and successful people have in common is that they don’t look at their life’s journey as a passive one. They are the creators of their own life and this book is a great reminder that it’s never too late to change course and begin a new chapter, add a surprise twist or turn things upside down entirely.
What I am taking away from this book
‘Humans are imperfect creatures. You don’t ‘succeed’ because you have no weaknesses, you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them’
‘The important thing is to learn from each failure and try not to repeat it’
‘Time is a weird thing. Sometimes you can appreciate a moment that’s gone more in the present than you did when it was actually happening’
‘The more you run from your fears, the bigger they get, but the more you go into them, the more they tend to vanish like a mirage’
‘When you’re creative, you render competition obsolete because there is only one you, and no one can do things exactly the way you do.’
‘Make sure to dedicate the right time to the right people.’
‘Then I suddenly realised – life is the obstacles. Our role here is to get better at navigating them.’
‘Life will go faster than you know. it will be tempting to live a life that impresses others – this is the wrong path. The right path is to know that life is short, every day is a gift, and that you have certain gifts. Happiness is about understanding that the gift of life should be honoured everyday by giving your gifts to the world.’
‘Beauty has become a modern day super drug, that with filtered and face tuned social media, retouched models in magazines, we’ve overloaded the senses so that our natural instincts can no longer recognise or react to real beauty anymore.’
‘Make sure you have something everyday you are looking forward to. It will keep your soul hungry to create more of these moments.’
‘We can’t control the fact that bad things are going to happen, but it’s how we react to them that really matters… and that, we can learn to control.’
‘The education system, by and large, gears everyone up to adhere to set industry standards. while this a foolproof way to get a job and live a normal life, very few people can break out of the cycle of the mundane to be adventurous, inventive and selfless.’
‘The difference between winning and losing is often not quitting.’
‘The best and most enduring partnerships in life are among people who are constantly growing together. if the person you choose to depend on is constantly striving to learn and improve, you too will push yourself to new levels of achievement, and neither of you will feel like you have settled for someone you will eventually outgrow.’
‘Nothing truly meaningful or lasting has ever been created in a short space of time.’
‘Say no to negativity. No to blame, complaining or gossiping. Negativity pollutes the mind. When there is constructive criticism with the intention of helping someone to be better, then the act becomes active.’
‘Follow your curiosity, wherever you can find it. Embracing a curious mind and always trying to learn more.’
‘Mistakes are often more useful than success in your life. You can always learn and improve from them.’
‘Challenge yourself to truly listen to people who have differing ideas. Try to change your mind about one thing each day. Don’t be afraid of being wrong.’
‘Stay flexible and be open to opportunities that come your way.’
‘Don’t be afraid to change jobs or career no matter how much time you have invested in them. Feeling like you have it all figured out can make you more resistent to change.’
‘The quality of your relationships will determine the quality of your life. Invest in your connections.’
‘Always take time to acknowledge people – and not only because you think you have something to gain.’
‘Relationships – even brief ones are doors to opportunity.’
‘In moments when you don’t believe in yourself, you need other people who believe in you. Other people see you differently from how you see yourself. identity is a two way street created from the inside out and the outside in.’
‘Be original. We are always influenced by external events or people who we have never met and it steers us away from what we have and should always be, which is ourselves.’
‘Do what you love and in a way you love and pour your heart and soul into every minute of it. challenge your assumptions and the assumptions of those around you as a way of life.’
‘Life does not ask what we want, it presents us with options.’
‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.’
‘It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.’
‘Knowledge is the beginning of practice, doing is the completion of knowing.’
‘There is nothing so useless as doing effectively that which should not be done at all.’
‘Our fears are always more numerous than our dangers.’
‘Failure is not the opposite to success, it is nearly a stepping stone to success.’
‘I believe in SERENDIPITY’
‘Work on stuff that matters.’
‘Create more value than you capture.’
‘Money in work is like gas in your car. You need to pay attention so you don’t end up on the side of the road. but your trip is not a tour of the gas stations.’
‘Tenacity matters more than talent.’
‘Don’t shy away from the hard times.’
‘Be kind along the way.’
‘Learn to enjoy the process rather than always striving for the future.’
‘Master a skill or knowledge that others find valuable. Once you mistreat you will be rewarded with opportunities that allow you to move away from tasks you dislike towards those you enjoy.’
‘Too many people think they are supporting a cause but all they are doing is posting on social media. Doing something is doing something, everything else is just talk.’
‘Create something different.’
‘My core values in life are a positive mindset, focusing on my priorities and being passionate and determined to reach my goals.’
‘Spend more on experiences and travel, not material things.’
‘If you set your goals ridiculously high and fail, you will fail above everyone else success.’
‘Reinvent yourself regularly. See your world as an ever increasing set of realities and seize the day.’
‘You just have to dare to do it. if you dare, then you have already gone further than 99% of all the others.’
‘Good things come to people who work their arses off and never give up.’
‘Often when you think you are at the end of something, you are really at the beginning of something else.’
‘When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.’
‘Success should not be measured by financial gain. True success is doing something you love for a living.’
‘I’ve found my focus has shifted to quality over quantity. I value more time with few people as opposed to less time with more people.’
‘Dreams come true, you just have to be willing to work for them.’
‘I’ve tried to stop worrying too much about the future. I focus on making the most of every single day with the belief that it will bring to where I want to be.’
‘Love looking at what you don’t know, your mistakes and your weaknesses, because understanding them is essential for making the most of your life.’
‘The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.’
‘Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And people there see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.’
‘Spending that yields the greatest happiness is the kind that buys you time or experiences, not things. I think that is true.’
‘Doing too much out of obligation can deplete you. Responsibilities that are bourne of passion give you more energy.’
‘Your gift to the world is being who you are.’
‘We all have our ups and downs. Your goal is simply to maximise your up time and minimise the ‘downs’.’
‘Design your life. Look at every activity as you go through your day and think ‘is this contributing to getting me a better day.’
‘You are in control of making your project the best it can possibly be for you – but you are powerless over most of what happens next.’
‘It has long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.’
‘Age is just a number:achieve your dreams at any stage in your life.’
‘Ignore hearsay and rumours until you know it as fact.’
‘We have far more control in our lives than many embrace. We create all experiences in life, and each day is a new opportunity to be fully engaged in the present moment.’
‘I always feel like sports are a microscopic view of life. The same principles and lessons apply.’
‘I have found that my absolute best is the best possible outcome. To do your best may sound easy but it is anything but. It requires everything you have got…and no less. The beauty of it is that it is totally within your control. You can always give your absolute best effort regardless of physical state or circumstances.’
‘You are the average of your five closest friends. Make sure to put yourself in an environment that pulls the best out of you.’
‘Choose opportunities based on the quality of the people you get to work with.’
‘Focus on effectiveness – what your actions will actually accomplish.’
‘What is essential, and what is optional, in my life priorities?’
‘I no longer do anything out of guilt, obligation or pressure.’
‘Do something you really love and you have a far greater chance of success. Regardless of whether you are successful or not, your life will be better.’
‘When you want to learn how to do something, start by studying people who are really good at it.’
‘No one is qualified to tell you how to experience the world.’
‘I try not to make my life more complicated than it needs to be.’
‘Feed your mind.’
‘To learn from the best you don’t need to meet them, you just need to absorb them. this can be through books, audio or a single powerful quote.’
‘Focus on what’s in front of you, design great days to create a great life, and try not to make the same mistake twice.’
When facing life’s questions, who do you turn to for advice?
See, I told you it was a long book! And there it is…some of my favourite thoughts that contributed to the demise of my highlighter pen, a gold mine for practical advice.
I’ll also be trying out lots of the best things bought for under $100 that were recommended and have got lots of new books earmarked for my next Amazon order.
I guess the real value in any book you read is that it makes you think, and hopefully that thinking turns into fresh perspective you can use to continually reinvent and improve yourself.
Let me know what book you are reading at the moment or any recommendations of great books you have been inspired by.
Contact: bex@my360lifestyle.com