Why People Make Bad Decisions

Most people make bad decisions because they are so certain that they're right that they don't allow themselves to see the better alternatives that exist.

Radically open-minded people know that coming up with the right questions and asking other smart people what they think is as important as having all the answers.

Understand How People Came By Their Opinions

Our brains work like computers: they input data and process it in accordance with their wiring and programming. Any opinion you have is made up of these two things: the data and your processing or reasoning.

When someone says, "I believe X," ask them: What data are you looking at? What reasoning are you using to draw your conclusion? Dealing with raw opinions will get you and everyone else confused; understanding where they come from will help you get to the truth.

Two People Who Collaborate Well (1+1=3)

Two people who collaborate well will be about three times as effective as each of them operating independently, because each will see what the other might miss—plus they can leverage each other’s strengths while holding each other accountable to higher standards.

Principle Of The Day: Teams Should Operate Like Those In Professional Sports

Teams should operate like those in professional sports, where different skills are required to play different positions. Excellence in each is mandatory, the success of the mission is uncompromisable, and members that don’t measure up may need to be cut.

Thoughts on Bitcoin

I think that Bitcoin (and some other digital currencies) have, over the last ten years, established themselves as interesting gold-like asset alternatives, with similarities and differences to gold and other limited-supply, mobile (unlike real estate) store holds of wealth.

As far Bitcoin relative to gold, I have a strong preference for holding those things which central banks are going to want to hold and exchange value in when they are trying to transact.

Successful People Learn From Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. The main difference is that successful people learn from them and unsuccessful people don’t. By creating an environment in which it's okay to safely make mistakes so that people can learn from them, you’ll see rapid progress and fewer significant mistakes.

What Does A Successful Life Look Like?

People who achieve success and drive progress deeply understand the cause-effect relationships that govern reality and have principles for using them to get what they want. The converse is also true: Idealists who are not well grounded in reality create problems, not progress.

What does a successful life look like? We all have our own deep-seated needs, so we each have to decide for ourselves what success is... Each of us needs to decide what we value most and choose the paths we take to achieve it.

 

How To Focus On A Goal

If you're focused on the goal, excited about achieving it, and recognize that doing some undesirable tasks to achieve the goal is required, you will have the right perspective and will be appropriately motivated.

If you're not excited about the goal that you're working for, stop working for it. Personally, I like visualizing exciting new and beautiful things that I want to make into realities.

The excitement of visualizing these ideas and my desire to build them out is what pulls me through the thorny realities of life to make my dreams happen.

Peace & Prosperity

In the new chapter of my series, The Changing World Order, I explore the timeless and universal principles that drive the big cycle of order and disorder within nations, especially as they relate to what’s happening in the US now.