THE QUOTE BANK — Zachery Taylor 289 quotes copied by hand, 2020–2021. Generated Oct 22, 2026. https://zacherytaylor.github.io/personal.html ================================================================ ROBERT T. KIYOSAKI, RICH DAD POOR DAD 47 quotes ================================================================ “There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.” — q001 · 2020 · mindset “Learn from the push [of life] and move on.” — q002 · 2020 · adversity “You're only poor if you give up.” — q003 · 2020 · mindset “You wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement of winning.” — q004 · 2020 · mindset “Learn to use your emotions to think, not think with your emotions.” — q005 · 2020 · psychology “A job is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem.” — q006 · 2020 · mindset “Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities that they think are assets.” — q007 · 2020 · assets “Don't be too proud to admit something doesn't make sense.” — q008 · 2020 · learning · ★ favorite “Money only accentuates the cash-flow pattern running in your head.” — q009 · 2020 · assets “Financial Aptitude - what you do with your money once you make it.” — q010 · 2020 · assets · ★ favorite “If you have dug yourself into a hole... stop digging.” — q011 · 2020 · mindset “The fear of being different prevents most people from seeking new ways to solve their problems.” — q012 · 2020 · mindset “An intelligent person hires people who are more intelligent than they are.” — q013 · 2020 · business “Schools are designed to create good employees, instead of employers.” — q014 · 2020 · business, school “Don't let your expenses grow with your income.” — q015 · 2020 · assets “Wealth is a person's ability to survive so many number of days forward. If I stopped working today, how long could I survive?” — q016 · 2020 · assets “Don't confuse your profession with your business.” — q018 · 2020 · business “Financial struggle is often the result of people working all their lives for someone else.” — q019 · 2020 · business “Acquire assets you LOVE. If you don't love it, you won't take care of it.” — q020 · 2020 · assets “Keep your day job, be a great hardworking employee, but keep building that asset column.” — q021 · 2020 · assets “An employee with a safe, secure job, without financial aptitude, has no escape.” — q022 · 2020 · mindset “Invest in companies you wish you could buy, instead of just invest in.” — q023 · 2020 · assets “Each dollar in my asset column is a great employee, working hard to make more employees and buy the boss a new Porsche.” — q024 · 2020 · assets, business “It was full of turmoil, and it was exciting.” — q025 · 2020 · business, mindset “Don't just sit there and wait for the right opportunity to come your way.” — q026 · 2020 · business “The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind. If it is trained well, it can create enormous wealth.” — q028 · 2020 · business “Plant seeds in your asset column.” — q029 · 2020 · assets “The problem with 'secure' investments is that they are often sanitized, that is, made so safe that the gains are less.” — q030 · 2020 · assets “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” — q031 · 2020 · mindset “Learn how to put the pieces together. 1. Find an opportunity that everyone else missed. 2. Raise money. 3. Organize smart people.” — q032 · 2020 · business “Don't let the only skill you know to make money be to 'work hard'.” — q033 · 2020 · mindset “Workers work hard enough to not be fired, and owners pay just enough so that workers won't quit.” — q034 · 2020 · business “Seek work for what you'll learn, not what you'll earn.” — q035 · 2020 · business, career · ★ favorite “I have never met a rich person who has never lost money. If you hate risk and worry, start early.” — q036 · 2020 · business “Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but no one wants to die.” — q038 · 2020 · assets “Failure inspires winners. Failure defeats losers.” — q039 · 2020 · mindset “Overcoming Cynicism - Our doubts often paralyze us.” — q041 · 2020 · mindset “Don't take risk advice from someone who hasn't dealt with that risk.” — q042 · 2020 · assets, business “Overcoming Laziness - Don't be busy to stay busy, as a way of avoiding something you do not want to face.” — q043 · 2020 · mindset · ★ favorite “How can I afford to never work again?” — q044 · 2020 · mindset “Pay yourself FIRST.” — q045 · 2020 · assets “If I had paid myself last, I would have felt no pressure, but I'd be broke.” — q046 · 2020 · assets “If I pay myself first, I get financially stronger, mentally and fiscally.” — q047 · 2020 · assets “There is gold everywhere. Most people are not trained to see it.” — q048 · 2020 · assets “Don't wants: to be a slave to my job. to miss out on the world. to miss out on my kids' lives. to work for money.” — q049 · 2020 · assets · ★ favorite “Buy the pie, and cut it in pieces. Most people look for what they can afford, so they look too small.” — q050 · 2020 · assets “Small people remain small because they think small; act alone or don't act at all.” — q051 · 2020 · assets ================================================================ PHILIP A. FISHER, COMMON STOCKS AND UNCOMMON PROFITS 35 quotes ================================================================ “Does the company have products or services with sufficient market potential to make possible a sizeable increase in sales for at least several years?” — q079 · 2020 · credit “Does the management have a determination to continue to develop products or processes that will further increase total sales when attractive product lines have largely been exploited?” — q080 · 2020 · assets “How effective are the company's research and development efforts in relation to its size?” — q081 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have an above-average sales organization?” — q082 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have a worthwhile profit margin?” — q083 · 2020 · assets “What is the company doing to maintain or improve profit margins?” — q084 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have outstanding labor and personnel relations?” — q085 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have outstanding executive relations?” — q086 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have depth to its management?” — q087 · 2020 · assets “How good are the company's cost analysis and accounting controls?” — q088 · 2020 · assets “Are there other aspects of the business somewhat peculiar to the industry involved, which will give the investor important clues as to how outstanding the company may be in relation to its competition?” — q089 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have a short-range or long-range outlook in regard to profits?” — q090 · 2020 · assets “In the foreseeable future will the growth of the company require sufficient equity financing so that the larger number of shares then outstanding will largely cancel the existing stockholders' benefit from this anticipated growth?” — q091 · 2020 · assets “Does the management talk freely to investors about its affairs when things are going well but clam up when troubles and disappointments occur?” — q092 · 2020 · assets “Does the company have a management of unquestionable integrity?” — q093 · 2020 · assets “Companies that are the most desirable: Working on the frontiers of technology. Various new products and processes.” — q095 · 2020 · business “Postponing an attractive purchase because of fear of what the general market might do will, over the years, prove very costly.” — q096 · 2020 · assets “Reasons to Sell: 1. A mistake has been made in purchasing. 2. A deteriorating business or losing its 15 points. 3. Opportunities for attractive investments are hard to find.” — q097 · 2020 · assets “The stock ran up, it can't go up anymore... Is it still the right company?” — q098 · 2020 · assets “Managements with inefficient and sub-standard operations do NOT meet the 15 Points.” — q099 · 2020 · assets “Good management teams DON'T just pile up cash.” — q100 · 2020 · assets “Misconceptions of who benefits from dividends: If it's the right company and you are just doing a DRIP method then the dividend is losing you upwards of 20% in taxes.” — q101 · 2020 · assets “Misconceptions of who benefits from dividends: A fast growing company with great management will out-pace even a high yield with ease.” — q102 · 2020 · assets “Misconceptions of who benefits from dividends: Management teams get put into a situation where they have to continue the dividend, even if they find a better opportunity to spend earnings, for fear of losing long term shareholders who rely on that dividend.” — q103 · 2020 · assets “Misconceptions of who benefits from dividends: Like a farmer who rushes his magnificent livestock to market the minute he can sell them rather than raising them to the point where he can get the maximum price above his costs.” — q104 · 2020 · assets “Don't buy into promotional companies.” — q107 · 2020 · assets “Don't ignore a good stock just because it is traded 'over the counter.'” — q108 · 2020 · assets “Don't buy just because you like the 'tone' of the annual report.” — q109 · 2020 · assets “Don't assume that the high price at which a stock may be selling in relation to earnings is necessarily an indication that further growth in those earnings has largely been already priced in.” — q110 · 2020 · assets “Don't quibble over fractions and pennies.” — q111 · 2020 · assets “Don't overstress diversification.” — q112 · 2020 · assets “Don't be afraid to buy on a war scare.” — q113 · 2020 · assets “Don't forget history doesn't predict the future, that's illogical.” — q114 · 2020 · assets “Don't forget to consider time as well as price in buying a true growth stock.” — q115 · 2020 · assets “Don't follow the crowd.” — q116 · 2020 · assets ================================================================ PETER THIEL, ZERO TO ONE 29 quotes ================================================================ “Of course it's easier to copy a model than to make something new. Doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1! The act of creation is singular, as is the moment of creation, and the result is something fresh and strange.” — q147 · 2020 · mindset, learning, business “The division of our world into 'developed' and 'developing' nations implies the 'developed' world has already achieved the achievable, and poorer nations just need to catch up.” — q148 · 2020 · mindset, learning, business “In a world of scarce resources, globalization without new technology is unsustainable!” — q149 · 2020 · mindset, business “Bureaucratic hierarchies move slowly, and entrenched interests shy away from risk.” — q150 · 2020 · business “The first step to thinking clearly is to question what we think we know about the past.” — q151 · 2020 · business “Perfect Competition: Every firm in a competitive market is undifferentiated and sells the same homogeneous products.” — q152 · 2020 · business “Monopoly: One company is so good at what it does that no other firm can offer a close substitute.” — q153 · 2020 · business “If you want to create and capture lasting value, don't build an undifferentiated commodity business.” — q154 · 2020 · business “More times than not the monopoly will treat its workers better due to the control in pricing of their goods, not having cut every corner to make ends meet. In the competitive market the companies must be ruthless. Monopolies can afford to think about things other than money.” — q155 · 2020 · business “Monopolies deserve their bad reputation - but only in a world where nothing changes.” — q156 · 2020 · business “Competition = allegedly necessary, supposedly valiant, but ultimately destructive.” — q158 · 2020 · business “An imitator is a loser. Sooner or later they will lose.” — q159 · 2020 · business “Winning is better than losing, but everybody loses when the war isn't one worth fighting.” — q160 · 2020 · business, mindset “The value of a business today is the sum of all the money it will make in the future.” — q161 · 2020 · business, investing “Characteristics of a Monopoly 1) Proprietary Technology: Must be 10 times better than its closest substitute, an order of magnitude.” — q162 · 2020 · business “Characteristics of a Monopoly 2) Network Effects: Make a product more useful as people use it.” — q163 · 2020 · business “Characteristics of a Monopoly 3) Economies of Scale: Fixed cost of creating but spread out over sales. Don't be limited by your service or number of workers.” — q164 · 2020 · business · ★ favorite “Characteristics of a Monopoly 4) Branding: Monopoly built solely on its own brand.” — q165 · 2020 · business “First dominate a specific niche, and then scale to adjacent markets.” — q167 · 2020 · business “A business with a good definite plan will always be underrated in a world where people see the future as random.” — q168 · 2020 · business “ALL OF CHAPTER 7.” — q169 · 2020 · business “Great companies have secrets: specific reasons for success that other people don't see.” — q171 · 2020 · business “The Engineering Question: Breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvement?” — q172 · 2020 · business “The Timing Question: Is now the right time to start?” — q173 · 2020 · business “The Monopoly Question: Are you starting with a big share of a small market?” — q174 · 2020 · business “The People Question: Do you have the right team?” — q175 · 2020 · business “The Distribution Question: Do you have a way to not just create but deliver your product?” — q176 · 2020 · business “The Durability Question: Will your market position be defensible 10 and 20 years into the future?” — q177 · 2020 · business “The Secret Question: Have you identified a unique opportunity that others don't see?” — q178 · 2020 · business ================================================================ STUART DIAMOND, GETTING MORE 21 quotes ================================================================ “The 'Common Enemy' Tool: Members work together when they face an opponent, although they otherwise have little in common.” — q252 · 2021 · teamwork “Negotiation is the process of meeting your goals when dealing with another person: 1. Forcing people to do what you want them to do. 2. Getting people to think what you want them to think. 3. Getting people to perceive what you want them to perceive. 4. Getting people to feel what you want them to feel.” — q253 · 2021 · negotiation “Goals: You negotiate to meet goals. Are my actions meeting my goals?” — q254 · 2021 · negotiation “You: Your attitude, credibility, transparency Be a problem-solving negotiator Be in a good mood Be 'straight' Ask for criticism” — q255 · 2021 · negotiation “Small Steps: Don't be greedy If you can increase your success rate by even a few percent in your negotiations with others, you will be fabulously more successful.” — q256 · 2021 · negotiation “Everything is Situational: 1. What are my goals? 2. Who are 'they'? 3. What will it take to persuade them?” — q257 · 2021 · negotiation “The negotiation process is 55% People, 37% Process, 8% Substance” — q258 · 2021 · negotiation “Making a personal connection means you have to focus on other people, not just yourself, bringing them into a conversation with you.” — q259 · 2021 · negotiation “Trust is a feeling of security that the other person will protect you. With some trust, another person will help you until it's too risky for them or a better opportunity comes along. With a lot of trust, the other party will sometimes help you even if it harms them.” — q260 · 2021 · negotiation · ★ favorite “He's not even listening to you until you start where he is.” — q261 · 2021 · negotiation, parenting “False-Consensus Effect: Assuming that everyone else reacts to things the way that you do.” — q262 · 2021 · business · ★ favorite “Almost everything you say in a negotiation should be a question. Try turning your statements into questions. Questions also give the other party a better chance to participate in the conversation.” — q263 · 2021 · negotiation “If you don't know the standards of the other side, you should ask.” — q264 · 2021 · negotiation “Naming bad behavior without making yourself the issue is powerful because it turns the other party's entire being against them - all the focus is on them.” — q265 · 2021 · negotiation “The information you collect from others gives you the ability to better meet your goals and fulfill your needs. Remember, it is not about gaining power at the expense of others. You having more does not mean less for the other person. The pie is expanded.” — q266 · 2021 · negotiation · ★ favorite “Understand who the other person is, understand his concerns and perceptions, his needs and intangibles. Trade items of unequal value.” — q267 · 2021 · negotiation “Bargaining Range: The range between the most the buyer will pay and least the seller will accept.” — q268 · 2021 · negotiation “How is my value to the company being calculated?” — q269 · 2021 · negotiation, business · ★ favorite “Every relationship in your life except in your family began as a transaction. Start conversations with people.” — q270 · 2021 · negotiation, business “Understand the picture in their head.” — q271 · 2021 · negotiation, mindset · ★ favorite “What are my goals? Who are they? What will it take to persuade them?” — q272 · 2021 · negotiation ================================================================ DANIELLE TOWN, INVESTED 20 quotes ================================================================ “The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as businesses, use market fluctuations to your advantage, and seek a Margin of Safety.” — q052 · 2020 · assets “You have to invest just to tread water. Saving loses you 3% every year.” — q053 · 2020 · assets “Conscious learning becomes unconscious knowledge.” — q054 · 2020 · business “Your NUMBER is the amount of money you need saved before you can quit your job, if you want to.” — q055 · 2020 · assets “As a consumer, you vote every single day with your dollars. If you bought organic, it encouraged more organic.” — q056 · 2020 · business “Vote for companies that have a mission to change the world for the better, not just the short-term bottom dollar.” — q057 · 2020 · assets “Efficient Market Hypothesis - The market constantly prices in information, therefore it is always 'accurate' to value.” — q058 · 2020 · business “An Event - An unexpected, yet temporary and rectifiable, disaster that creates short-to-medium term uncertainty about the cash flow of a company.” — q059 · 2020 · assets, business “Circle of Competence: What do I vote for with my money? What am I passionate about? Where do I make my money?” — q060 · 2020 · assets, business · ★ favorite “Moat - A competitive advantage that cannot be separated from their business and is difficult and/or expensive to overcome as a competitor or consumer.” — q061 · 2020 · business “Moat #1: Brand Sometimes created by being the first mover. The industry identified with them.” — q062 · 2020 · assets “Moat #2: Switching Difficult/expensive/painful to switch away. Apple iPhone, Laptop, iPad = you aren't buying a Samsung desktop.” — q063 · 2020 · assets “Moat #2.5: Network Effects If your friend group or market is all using the same thing you won't change to leave them.” — q064 · 2020 · assets “Moat #3: Toll Bridge The only product in a big niche. Typically via government regulation.” — q065 · 2020 · assets “Moat #4: Secrets Patents, trade secrets, or intellectual property. Similarly, something that isn't patented so that people can't reverse engineer it.” — q066 · 2020 · assets “Moat #5: Price A company is the low-cost provider because it can make something the cheapest. Costco can undercut almost all retailers because of how it buys/markets/sells products.” — q067 · 2020 · assets “Invest in a business an idiot could run, one day an idiot will.” — q068 · 2020 · mindset “Margin of Safety - A price below the company's value that will protect us from most mistakes.” — q069 · 2020 · assets “Avoid regret, but ruthlessly assess why you made that mistake.” — q070 · 2020 · mindset, business · ★ favorite “Only sell when the STORY changes. Buy as if you will hold the company forever.” — q072 · 2020 · assets ================================================================ DANIEL KAHNEMAN, THINKING, FAST AND SLOW 18 quotes ================================================================ “System 1: automatic, quickly, no effort System 2: complex computations, choice, concentration” — q273 · 2021 · thinking “In the economy of ACTION, EFFORT is the cost.” — q274 · 2021 · thinking, business “Cognitive Ease = Familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth” — q275 · 2021 · thinking “All headlines do is satisfy our need for coherence with current events or outcomes.” — q276 · 2021 · thinking “Intensity Matching: Allows your brain to compare things that seem they should not be comparable.” — q277 · 2021 · thinking “A dramatic or traumatic event temporarily increases the availability of its category!” — q278 · 2021 · thinking “The world in our heads is not a precise replica of reality.” — q279 · 2021 · thinking · ★ favorite “Anchoring by Adjustment: When was George Washington President? -> You know it had to be after 1776... then adjust.” — q280 · 2021 · thinking “Anchoring as Priming Effect: Did Gandhi die before or after the age of 30? -> 30 is a young age but why would the number be too far off the actual number... he died at 78.” — q281 · 2021 · thinking “Representativeness will always overpower logic in all aspects of reasoning.” — q282 · 2021 · thinking “Representativeness = associating someone's attributes with a predetermined stereotype.” — q283 · 2021 · thinking “When given context on a person or occurrence we believe it is more likely than an event or outcome that is less detailed.” — q284 · 2021 · thinking “We constantly overestimate the role of skill and underestimate the role of luck.” — q285 · 2021 · thinking, business · ★ favorite “Planning Fallacy: Tendency to underestimate the amount of time/money it will take to complete a task - even if it contradicts our experiences.” — q286 · 2021 · thinking “People dislike risk. Even if the expected return is lower, if it has less risk they will take it. Most choices are not based on dollar value, but the psychological values of emotion on outcomes. Their 'utility' is based on the history/reference point of wealth, not the possible outcomes.” — q287 · 2021 · thinking “Prospect Theory: Highly unlikely events are either ignored or over-weighted.” — q288 · 2021 · thinking “Duration Neglect: Counting all positive and negative memories as equal even though the length of positive far outweighs the length of the negative times.” — q289 · 2021 · thinking, marriage · ★ favorite “Focusing Illusion: Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, when you are thinking about it.” — q290 · 2021 · thinking, business, life · ★ favorite ================================================================ NAPOLEON HILL, THINK AND GROW RICH 16 quotes ================================================================ “When faced with defeat the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of people do.” — q128 · 2020 · mindset “Failure comes to those who indifferently allow themselves to become failure conscious.” — q129 · 2020 · mindset · ★ favorite “I will burn all bridges behind me, and stake my entire future on my ability to get what I want. He left himself no possible way to retreat. He had to win or perish.” — q130 · 2020 · mindset “Put yourself out there and make a point to get what you want. Be willing to give up EVERYTHING to get it.” — q131 · 2020 · mindset “Knowledge will not attract money unless it is organized and intelligently directed through practical plans of action to the definite end of accumulation of money.” — q133 · 2020 · learning, mindset “Knowledge =/= Power. It equates to potential power. It becomes power when it is organized into a definite plan.” — q134 · 2020 · learning, mindset “The six basic fears: Poverty, Criticism, Ill Health, Loss of Love of Someone, Old Age, Death” — q137 · 2020 · mindset “Fears are nothing more than states of mind. Your state of mind is subject to control and direction of the body and mind.” — q138 · 2020 · mindset “Criticism is given out too lightly; it is evil, destructive, hurtful, and unnecessary in most instances. It will plant fear and resentment in the human heart but it will not build love or affection.” — q139 · 2020 · mindset “An unsettled mind is helpless. Indecision makes an unsettled mind.” — q140 · 2020 · mindset “Self-analysis Test Questions: I am too sarcastic in my conversations, this is from the urge of seeking attention and is unacceptable. This criticism is hurtful whether it be sarcastic or not.” — q141 · 2020 · mindset “Self-analysis Test Questions: I am gaining self-confidence as I grow older and look to continue this growth as I age. I have come a long way but there is still much more to be gained.” — q142 · 2020 · mindset “Self-analysis Test Questions: I learn from all my mistakes, they happened for a reason.” — q143 · 2020 · mindset “Self-analysis Test Questions: I value the privilege of controlling my own thoughts more than material possessions.” — q144 · 2020 · mindset “Self-analysis Test Questions: Being interrupted is the one habit that people do that annoys me the most. It is because I won't be heard in my full entirety, not just some of what I have to say.” — q145 · 2020 · mindset “Most of the ugliness I saw in others was but a reflection of my own nature.” — q146 · 2020 · mindset ================================================================ ZT 13 quotes ================================================================ “Money is not REAL.” — q027 · 2020 · assets “You play to win the game.” — q040 · 2020 · mindset “80% of Millionaires are 1st time family Millionaires.” — q077 · 2020 · mindset “There isn't a single hand-picked 20-year period where the S&P500 has lost money.” — q078 · 2020 · assets “Don't let a bad company mask its lack of creativity and vision with a consistent paying dividend. If the management is bad, it's still a bad investment, no matter how long the dividend has been paid.” — q106 · 2020 · assets “If the government would have let the oil and gas industries stay as monopolies would we have had more advancements to remove the NEED of those fossil fuels?” — q157 · 2020 · business, theory · ★ favorite “A company must try to disrupt itself, otherwise another company will come along and do it.” — q170 · 2020 · mindset “Global. Geographic. Network Flywheel.” — q205 · 2021 · psychology, money “The happiest people in the world are the people most comfortable with uncertainty.” — q209 · 2021 · mindset “I think I want to do behavioral economics for the rest of my life. Combining my analytical thinking with my curiosity for why people do the things they do.” — q212 · 2021 · psychology, career · ★ favorite “A super intelligent AI will be the last and greatest invention of the human race. Making machines extremely good at one task is one thing, but programming them to do the things a human does 'without thinking' is much harder. -Common Sense -Natural Language Understanding” — q215 · 2021 · psychology “Human-level Machine Intelligence (HLMI): one that can carry out most human professions at least as well as a typical human My Predictions: 10% Chance : 2025 50% Chance : 2038 90% Chance : 2075” — q216 · 2021 · technology “Wireheading could be caused from using reward systems in parenting... causing kids to value the wrong things just to achieve the 'pleasure' response.” — q223 · 2021 · technology, parenting ================================================================ CLAYTON M. CHRISTENSEN, THE INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA 12 quotes ================================================================ “The question is, is the company using/supporting sustaining technologies or disruptive technologies?” — q179 · 2020 · business “Sustaining Technology Changes Sustained or reinforced established trajectories of product performance improvement.” — q180 · 2020 · business “The downfall of a great company: Clearly, they were technologically capable of producing _________. Their failure resulted from delay in making the strategic commitment to enter the emerging market...” — q181 · 2020 · business “Sustaining technologies fail, and the businesses that use them, because the ~new~ or ~niche~ disruptive technologies don't benefit their CURRENT value network.” — q182 · 2020 · business “Sound managerial decisions are at the very root of their impending fall from industry leadership.” — q183 · 2020 · business “Buying Hierarchy: 1) Functionality - only product in the market 2) Reliability - two or more products, so the best 3) Convenience - most convenient to deal with 4) Price - last phase before the next performance oversupply” — q184 · 2020 · business “Questions to ask when faced with a disruptive technological change: How can we know if a technology is disruptive? Graph the trajectories of performance improvement demanded in the market vs. performance improvement supplied.” — q185 · 2020 · business “Questions to ask when faced with a disruptive technological change: Where is the market for _____? Acknowledge it can't be used in mainstream right now/immediately. It's not in an established market.” — q186 · 2020 · business “Questions to ask when faced with a disruptive technological change: What should be our product, technology, and disruption strategies? Looking to produce a performance oversupply.” — q187 · 2020 · business “Questions to ask when faced with a disruptive technological change: What organization best serves disruptive innovations? Create a subdivision that is independently focused on that product/value network.” — q188 · 2020 · business “Disruptive technology should be framed as a marketing challenge, not a technological one.” — q190 · 2020 · business, mindset “Characteristics of a Disruptive Technology: They are simpler and cheaper and lower performing. They generally promise lower margins, not higher profits. Most profitable subset of customers for a leading firm generally can't use and don't want them. They are first commercialized in emerging or insignificant markets.” — q191 · 2020 · business ================================================================ ANNIE DUKE, THINKING IN BETS 11 quotes ================================================================ “Trouble follows when we treat life decisions as if they were chess decisions. Life is like poker. Poker is a game of incomplete information.” — q241 · 2021 · mindset “Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advancement in science.” — q242 · 2021 · mindset “All decisions are bets.” — q243 · 2021 · mindset “Declaring our uncertainty in our beliefs to others makes us more credible communicators and invites people to be our collaborators.” — q244 · 2021 · mindset, business “The systematic errors in the way we field the outcomes of our peers comes at a real cost. We lose compassion for others.” — q245 · 2021 · mindset “Thinking in bets is a smart way to start building habits that achieve our long-term goals. It triggers a more open-minded exploration of alternative hypotheses, of reasons supporting conclusions 'opposite' to the routine of self-serving bias.” — q246 · 2021 · mindset “There are some situations where people aren't seeking the truth.” — q247 · 2021 · mindset · ★ favorite “Perfect Group Construction: A focus on accuracy, objectivity, and truthseeking Accountability Openness to a diversity of ideas” — q248 · 2021 · mindset “We are more likely to make choices consistent with our long-term goals when we can get out of the moment and engage our past- and future-selves.” — q249 · 2021 · mindset “Imagining a successful future and backcasting from there is a useful exercise.” — q250 · 2021 · mindset “Life, like poker, is one long game, and there are going to be a lot of losses, even after making the best bets.” — q251 · 2021 · mindset ================================================================ JASON FRIED & DAVID HANSSON, REWORK 10 quotes ================================================================ “'That won't work in the real world.' Well, the real world sounds awful, it's filled with pessimistic people who assume society isn't ready for a capable change.” — q228 · 2021 · mindset “A workaholic is not a hero, a hero is already home because they figured out a faster way to get things done.” — q229 · 2021 · mindset “Build half a product, not a half-assed product.” — q230 · 2021 · mindset, business “Focus on what won't change.” — q231 · 2021 · mindset · ★ favorite “Reasons to Quit: Why are you doing this? What problem are you solving? Is this actually useful? Are you adding value? Will this change behavior? Is there an easier way? What could you be doing instead? Is it really worth it?” — q232 · 2021 · mindset “If there's a request that you keep forgetting, that's a sign that it isn't very important. The really important stuff doesn't go away.” — q233 · 2021 · mindset, business “Don't be afraid to give a little away for free. Be confident in what you're offering, and know people will come back for more.” — q234 · 2021 · mindset, business “Failing to trust employees can be awfully expensive.” — q235 · 2021 · business “Sound like You: Think about one person and write for them. Writing for a mob leads to generalizations and missing the mark.” — q236 · 2021 · writing “Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.” — q237 · 2021 · mindset, business · ★ favorite ================================================================ NICK BOSTROM, SUPERINTELLIGENCE 10 quotes ================================================================ “Superintelligence - any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest.” — q217 · 2021 · technology “Three Forms of Superintelligence: 1) SPEED - A system that can do all that a human intellect can do, but much faster. 'much' = orders of magnitude faster.” — q218 · 2021 · technology “Three Forms of Superintelligence: 2) COLLECTIVE - A system composed of a large number of smaller intellects such that the system's overall performance across many very general domains vastly outstrips that of any current cognitive system.” — q219 · 2021 · technology “Three Forms of Superintelligence: 3) QUALITY - A system that is at least as fast as a human mind and vastly qualitatively smarter.” — q220 · 2021 · technology “Rate of change in intelligence = Optimization Power/Recalcitrance.” — q221 · 2021 · technology “Wireheading - artificial stimulation of the brain to experience pleasure, through direct stimulation of an individual's brain reward or pleasure center. Also, any kind of method that produces 'counterfeit utility' by producing a good feeling, but that fails to realize what we value.” — q222 · 2021 · technology “If we know how to solve the value-loading problem, how do we decide what values should be loaded? What would we want a superintelligence to want?” — q224 · 2021 · technology “We want to focus on problems that are not only important but urgent in the sense that their solutions are needed prior to the intelligence explosion.” — q225 · 2021 · technology “Strategic Analysis - 'crucial consideration' Look for ideas/arguments with the potential to change our views.” — q226 · 2021 · technology “Capacity Building - 'building a strong base that can be added upon rapidly from multiple sources' Find people who are willing to completely restart when a new, more effective/safer method is discovered.” — q227 · 2021 · technology, mindset ================================================================ DAN ARIELY, PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL 9 quotes ================================================================ “Most people don't know what they want unless they see it in context. Everything is relative, and that's the point.” — q201 · 2021 · psychology “Sometimes we want our decisions to have a rational veneer when, in fact, they stem from a gut feeling - what we crave deep down.” — q202 · 2021 · psychology “Most transactions have an upside and a downside, but when something is 'FREE!' we forget the downside... Humans are intrinsically afraid of loss, and the real allure of 'FREE!' is tied to this fear.” — q203 · 2021 · psychology “When money was mentioned, people used market norms and found the offer lacking, relative to their market salary. When no money was mentioned they used social norms and were willing to volunteer their time. A gift, even if equal to the value of the dollar amount you would give, will work vastly better.” — q204 · 2021 · psychology “Three Quirks of Human Nature (Ownership) We fall in love with what we already have. We focus on what we may lose, rather than what we may gain. We assume other people will see the transaction from our perspective.” — q206 · 2021 · psychology “Try to view all transactions as if you were a non-owner, putting some distance between myself and the item of interest.” — q207 · 2021 · psychology “Take into account the consequences of not deciding.” — q208 · 2021 · psychology “When the medium of exchange is nonmonetary, our ability to rationalize cheating and/or stealing increases by leaps and bounds. These nonmonetary circumstances let us bypass our conscience and freely explore the benefits of dishonesty.” — q210 · 2021 · psychology “Think how hard physics would be if particles could think.” — q211 · 2021 · psychology ================================================================ JERRY COLONNA, REBOOT 9 quotes ================================================================ “I am not what has happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” — q192 · 2020 · mindset · ★ favorite “We forge our TRUEST IDENTITY by putting our heads into the mouths of the scariest demons, the realities of our lives. Only by facing these can we transform the energy that is the source of our aggression/confusion/struggle.” — q193 · 2020 · mindset “What are you not saying that needs to be said?” — q194 · 2020 · mindset “Have courage to be still in the face of uncertainty.” — q195 · 2020 · mindset “Remembering Who YOU Are Chapter 4” — q196 · 2020 · mindset “If there's an outsized reaction - negative or positive - chances are you're operating from your shadow.” — q197 · 2020 · mindset “We might maintain structures not in our best interest because they serve this sort of larger wish for love, safety, and belonging.” — q198 · 2020 · mindset “Retrieve the Treasure: What am I not saying that needs to be said? What am I saying that is not being heard? What is being said that I am not hearing?” — q199 · 2020 · mindset “The greatest gifts of leadership are its challenge to remember who we are and the opportunity to become the grown-ups we were meant to be.” — q200 · 2020 · mindset ================================================================ PHILIP A. FISHER, CONSERVATIVE INVESTORS SLEEP WELL 6 quotes ================================================================ “The company must recognize that the world in which it is operating is changing at an ever-increasing rate.” — q117 · 2020 · assets, business “There must be a conscious and continuous effort to make sure their company is a good place to work, at all levels.” — q118 · 2020 · assets, business “Treat customers like you would if you were a small startup business.” — q119 · 2020 · assets, business “Ask yourself, 'What can this particular company do that others would not be able to do quite as well?'” — q120 · 2020 · assets, business “If the fundamentals are genuinely strong, these companies will in time increase earnings not only enough to justify present prices but to justify considerably higher prices.” — q121 · 2020 · assets “Management must submit to the stigma of a weaker short-term bottom line when TRUE growth opportunities are available.” — q189 · 2020 · assets, business ================================================================ ELON MUSK 4 quotes ================================================================ “It is important to view knowledge as a sort of semantic tree - make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.” — q094 · 2020 · mindset, career · ★ favorite “Money is just an information system for the allocation of labor.” — q105 · 2020 · business, mindset · ★ favorite “Reasoning by analogy or comparison is just wrong. Down to a first principles level it just doesn't hold up, just like the past doesn't project the future. Don't miss out on an opportunity that could change the world because you are too busy trying to find what it is similar to.” — q135 · 2020 · learning, mindset, business · ★ favorite “Roadways we drive on are based on a 'passive optical' experience; being able to read road signs and curves at various distances. So the way to solve autonomous driving isn't by INPUTTING all road speeds, signs, etc. It is by solving the problem of AI learning on passive optical vision as a human would.” — q136 · 2020 · learning, mindset, business · ★ favorite ================================================================ PHILIP A. FISHER, DEVELOPING AN INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY 4 quotes ================================================================ “All the correct reasoning in the world is of no benefit in stock investment unless it is turned into specific action.” — q122 · 2020 · assets “To a CEO: What do you consider to be the most important long-range problem facing your company?” — q123 · 2020 · assets, business “Don't grow complacent on past gains. Continue to build upon your skills and tend to the sheep at hand.” — q126 · 2020 · assets “A profit should never be taken just for the satisfaction of taking it.” — q127 · 2020 · assets, business ================================================================ RAMIT SETHI, I WILL TEACH YOU TO BE RICH 4 quotes ================================================================ “Every credit card you own should have automatic payments setup for the full amount.” — q073 · 2020 · credit “Credit Score Breakdown: Payment History - 35%, Amounts Owed - 30%, Length of History - 15%, New Credit - 10%, Types of Credit - 10%.” — q074 · 2020 · credit “Be a deadbeat to the credit card companies.” — q075 · 2020 · credit “Financial 'experts' hid bad performance by removing them from the dataset.” — q076 · 2020 · assets ================================================================ DR. HERBERT DOW 2 quotes ================================================================ “Never promote someone who hasn't made some bad mistakes. If you do, you are promoting someone who has NEVER done anything.” — q124 · 2020 · assets, business, mindset · ★ favorite “If you can't do something better than others are doing it, don't do it at all.” — q125 · 2020 · assets, business, mindset ================================================================ GEORGE S. CLASON, THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON 2 quotes ================================================================ “I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep.” — q213 · 2021 · mindset “To attract good luck, it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities.” — q214 · 2021 · mindset ================================================================ MAC ANDERSON & TOM FELTENSTEIN, CHANGE IS GOOD... YOU GO FIRST 2 quotes ================================================================ “Before we build a better mousetrap, we need to find out if there are any mice out there.” — q238 · 2021 · mindset, business “Focus on the critical few, not the significant many.” — q239 · 2021 · mindset, business ================================================================ DAN ARIELY, CHIEF BEHAVIORAL OFFICER FOR LEMONADE 1 quote ================================================================ “Teaching Financial Literacy: 1) Reduce FRICTION. 2) Load as much FUEL as possible. Friction: Don't give people a 'no-action' option; where is there friction that is slowing down the act we want? Fuel: What is their biggest source of motivation? Make these invisible systems visible.” — q132 · 2020 · learning, mindset ================================================================ LILY TOMLIN 1 quote ================================================================ “I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.” — q240 · 2021 · mindset ================================================================ RAY KROC, MCDONALD'S 1 quote ================================================================ “I'm not in the hamburger business. My business is real estate. Now the largest single owner of real estate in the world, more than the Catholic Church.” — q017 · 2020 · assets ================================================================ WARREN BUFFETT 1 quote ================================================================ “Be ready to run outside with a washtub when it's raining gold.” — q071 · 2020 · business · ★ favorite ================================================================ UNKNOWN 1 quote ================================================================ “Where can you create or capture ALPHA from the market?” — q166 · 2020 · business, mindset