Play stimulates the parts of the brain involved in both careful, logical reasoning and carefree, unbound exploration.

Essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.

Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second.

Discern the vital few from the trivial Many.

Done right, a strategic intent is really one decision that makes 1,000 decisions.

I think we are in a non-essentialist bubble—everything seems important—so of course nothing is.

Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.

I think we’ve been oversold the value of more and undersold the value of less.

We often think of choice as a thing. But a choice is not a thing. Our options may be things, but a choice—a choice is an action. It is not just something we have but something we do.

The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away-it can only be forgotten.

There should be no shame in admitting to a mistake; after all, we really are only admitting that we are now wiser than we once were.

The larger the pile of rubble you leave behind, the larger your place in the historical record!

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.

Money cannot buy health, but I'd settle for a diamond-studded wheelchair.

There are very few things that are purely conceptual without any hard content.

After a few games I knew I was going to be able to compete. The idea of being a star never crossed my mind.

I'm not one of those people who is trying to act like I don't sleep. I used to be like, "Oh, I only need four hours." Now I need exactly 5 1/2 to 6 in order to feel like I've done well.

The end doesn't justify the means.

The meaning of a communication is the result you get.

...he will go to his grave feeling cheated, never realizing that there isn't much difference between one woman and the other, that it is the loving that creates the difference.

I expected the illegible and the deeply buried in me to be read as if carved on my forehead, just as I expected the obvious and the ill-concealed to be hidden from view.