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<h5>Success comes from working with long-term systems, rather than short-term goals.</h5>
 
 The comic strip Dilbert tells the story of an innocuous office worker who is, in many ways, the perfect antihero. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a successful character. In fact, for Scott Adams, the comic’s creator, antiheroes can still be successful – because success isn’t about achieving goals; it’s about forming systems.
 
 <h5>So what does it mean to focus on systems?</h5>
 Well, one thing it means is working on projects that seem to be doomed to failure – but only to those who can’t see the bigger picture. For instance, if you have a passion for photography you might start a photographic project that studies rotting leaves.
 There’s a chance that your photos won’t be successful; they probably won’t end up in an exhibition, a gallery opening or on the walls of a wealthy collector’s home. From the outside, such a result would appear to be a failure. But, in reality, you’re building a new skill that will be incredibly useful down the line when you’re, say, asked to take photos for someone’s website.
 The point is that people tend to focus on short-term goals, like creating and marketing a successful new product. If such goals can’t be attained within a given time frame, people tend to give up, decide that they’re not cut out to be entrepreneurs and go back to their mundane office jobs.
 This is a huge mistake. Instead, focus on a skill or relationship that you want to develop over time and forget any specific goals. Just take Scott, the creator of Dilbert. He started blogging even though it meant lots of extra work with little to show for it in added income.
 He knew it was worthwhile nonetheless because he was working within a system. The goal of his blogging wasn’t clear, but, by practicing, he went from being an aspiring writer to a skilled one with an online presence. The system was bound to pay off – and it did. Scott became a best-selling author, but not until many years later.

Tools of Titans

<h5>Losers have goals, winners have systems -Scott Adams </h5>
 Ignoring peer pressure and taking big risks are both key to success.
 Have you ever teased a friend just because everyone else was doing it? Well, if you tend to fall into such traps, you might not have what it takes to become wealthy and successful.
 In fact, to become a success, you need to develop an immunity to peer pressure. Just take the Olympic snowboarding champion Shaun White. When he was 15, his parents paid for him to travel to Japan to compete in an international snowboarding event. (The other competitors were older and had all their expenses covered by sponsors.)
 The day before the event, all the other athletes went out partying. On the day of the competition, they were so hungover that they decided not to take the event seriously; instead, they would do a show run and split the prize money between all the participants.
 Or at least that’s what would have happened if White hadn’t had another plan. Despite the jeering of the older athletes, he refused to accept the deal. In the end, he won the competition, along with the $50,000 prize, and today is one of the most marketable athletes in America.
 White’s bold move is also a reminder that entrepreneurial success relies on risk-taking. Just ask Peter Diamandis, the founder of the XPRIZE foundation, an award that motivates people to design innovative solutions for space exploration.
 He decided that the prize should be at least $10 million and, with the help of his friends, managed to raise half that amount, but couldn’t secure the rest. When faced with such a situation, most people would give up. Diamandis, however, took a risk. In May, 1996, he invested the money by organizing a massive fundraising event.
 And his gamble paid off. Sponsors were reassured by the huge event and donations began pouring in. Because of this risk, the money was available when the prize was awarded for the first time in 2004.
 Now you’ve got a sense of how to bring in some money. But what good is wealth without wisdom? That’s what we’ll tackle next.

<h5>Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are comic geniuses with recipes for creativity.</h5>
 If you think wisdom is all about spending hours meditating and being perfectly respectful, then you aren’t familiar with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. These two guys exemplify the human wisdom to be gained through humor and naughty behavior. Despite the puritanical underpinnings of American society, Rogen and Goldberg have managed to create films that address sexuality with irreverence and hilarity.
 Their work on the subject began in 2007 with the movie Superbad. This comedy follows two awkward teenagers who are so desperate to lose their virginity that they have little brain power left to devote to anything else.
 The latest film from the duo, entitled Sausage Party, came out in 2016. It features animated supermarket foods like hot dogs, tacos and tubes of mayonnaise that embark on a comic adventure, spiced with sexual innuendo.
 So what do Rogen and Goldberg have to share about their experience?
 Well, they have three basic recipes for life and creativity:
 The first is to work with what you know. For them, as young artists, this meant dealing with their overwhelming desire to have more sex. The compulsion to fulfill this desire inspired Superbad, their first film success.
 The second strategy is from their mentor, Judd Apatow. He told them to work against the male stereotype of non-emotionality. In fact, the most important thing in life and creativity is to use your emotions since doing so enables you to better communicate and share with others.
 Filmmakers who follow this logic ensure that every character in a movie has at least one emotional wound to work with.
 And finally, both Rogen and Goldberg firmly believe in the use of marijuana to get the creative juices flowing. They know so much about weed that they use different strains for different situations. For instance, when it comes to writing and being creative, they prefer a strain called Jack Herer.

 <h5>Being creative requires living your life and embracing fear as well as discomfort.</h5>
 Have you ever felt a surge in your ability to do work right after a holiday? This experience is actually pretty common and it’s not just a result of being well rested. It also happens because you’re full of new, inspiring experiences.
 So, in other words, to be creative, you need to have a life. Just take the comedian Whitney Cummings, who wrote the hit TV series 2 Broke Girls. For years, she struggled with self-doubt, low self-esteem and procrastination. She was so plagued by these problems that she thought the only way she could be funny was by making fun of herself.
 Eventually, she found that she needed more time for her personal life, which makes sense since, as a workaholic, she basically didn’t have one. Before making this change, her comedy was stuck in a self-imitating loop. Now, however, both her and her comedy are enriched, bringing her jokes to a whole new level.
 So living your life is key. But life isn’t all joy and pleasure. That’s why it’s also essential to embrace fear and discomfort whenever possible.
 To better understand this, consider the sociologist and public speaker Brené Brown. She teaches that the idea that some people are brave heroes and others cowards is absolutely false. In reality, most people are afraid and brave all at once. In fact, for her, what takes true courage is to feel and confront fear.
 That means it’s essential for people to look fear and discomfort in the eye when discussing topics like race, homophobia or climate change. These issues can’t be resolved in a comfortable way; engaging with people with different perspectives and backgrounds is crucial.
 For Brown, it was a huge personal achievement to show her vulnerability during a TED talk in which she spoke about her breakdown and subsequent spiritual awakening. This talk reached an audience of 31 million people, and for Brown, presenting it was by no means easy. So each and every day, ask yourself whether you’ve moved outside your comfort zone. Discomfort is a sure sign of growth.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 There’s no single path to success and, while every person’s journey looks different, you can still take inspiration and advice from those who came before you. Their success stories will expand your horizons, teach you how to put yourself on the right track and compel you to keep trying no matter what.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Don’t be afraid of bad ideas.
 If you want to make a dream a reality and are looking for ways to do so, don’t limit the ideas you generate. By trying to immediately weed out bad ideas, all you’ll get is stuck. Instead, write down every idea that pops into your head, even the wildest and most implausible ones. When you read back through them, you’ll probably find that you’ve created a few gems.
 What other read are suggested: The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss
 After that tour de force of advice from the world of successful entrepreneurs and world-class performers, let’s go back to Tim Ferris’s roots, and discover his The 4-Hour Workweek. In this self-improvement classic, Ferriss shows how, by adopting some basic rules of the New Rich, you can escape the drudgery of office work and find happiness in the here and now, while still earning enough money to thrive.
 To learn how to get there – including why you should focus on doing the right things rather than doing things right – go to The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss.

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<h4>Winning starts with a vision and the desire to make it happen.</h4>

 Have you ever watched an athletics championship race? Or the final game in a big sports competition, like the Super Bowl or soccer World Cup? In all these events, winners emerge and bask in the glory of their success.
 But here’s a question: How do these winners arrive at that moment? Most likely, they showed potential earlier in life, but that’s not all it takes.
 As far as the authors are concerned, everyone has potential. What separates those with potential from those who become winners is desire. Before an athlete crosses that finish line or a winning football team lifts the trophy, they first have to want to win. This drives them to plan, prepare, and ultimately, expect victory.
 The key message here is: Winning starts with a vision and the desire to make it happen.
 Desire is what motivates people to do the hard work that leads to winning. Think of it as a motor powering you toward success. And the motor first starts running when you establish a clear vision for yourself and your future. Often, this vision is the result of an event or an encounter.
 For example, Zig Ziglar’s vision for success was inspired by a conversation with a supervisor that he admired. He was working as a salesman and his supervisor told him that he could become the best salesman in the country. Before this conversation, he’d never imagined doing anything beyond making ends meet. But when he was introduced to the possibility of greatness, he became excited about the vision. And his desire to make it a reality was born.
 Once you have desire, it sparks two qualities that keep you working toward your vision: commitment and perseverance.
 Commitment keeps you focused and consistent in chasing down your vision – you’ll do everything you need in order to succeed. And perseverance is what keeps you going even when the road gets rough, which it inevitably will. Think about it, when you experience setbacks or challenges, you have to be able to press on. Otherwise, your vision will never materialize.
 To set off on the path to success, look for moments that inspire vision and spark your desires. Knowing exactly what you want provides the motivation you need to plan, prepare, and expect to win. Here we’ll look at how to do just that.

Born To Win

<h5>Setting goals points you in the winning direction.</h5>
 Imagine you’re driving down a road when you arrive at a traffic circle with several exits. How do you know which exit to take?
 It depends on where you’re headed, right? Having a destination in mind makes it easy to choose the roads you need to travel. Without one, you’d end up driving around aimlessly, never knowing which exits or turns to tak 
 When you’re planning to win, having a goal is similar to having a destination. It gives you direction and stops you wasting your time and effort.
 The key message here is: Setting goals points you in the winning direction.
 <h5>In order to win, you need to set the right goals. And you can do this with a simple process.</h5>
 First, make sure that your goal is specific – you need a clear idea of what you’re aiming for. Instead of making more money, for example, your goal could be to increase your earnings by 30 percent. Once you’ve defined the goal, write down what you’ll gain by reaching it. Understanding what’s in it for you helps you stay motivated.
 Second, identify any obstacles that you might come across while pursuing your goal. If you know what to expect, you can prepare for it. And speaking of preparation, the third step is to think about the knowledge and skills you’ll need to reach your goal. This will help you pinpoint what you need to learn, as well as who can support and advise you on the way. Finally, complete the process by creating a detailed plan of action and giving yourself a deadline.
 Of course, setting goals is important, but it’s not enough to win. You need to follow through with action. And value and purpose help you do this – they’re the big “why” behind your vision. 
 Consider this scenario: three men performing the same task are asked what they’re doing. The first says he’s cutting stone, the second says he’s earning a paycheck, but the third man sees a higher purpose in the work and says he’s building a cathedral. Of the three, who would you say has the best attitude?
 Finding value and purpose in what you do energizes you. So, ask yourself: Why do you want to achieve your goals? And how will they improve your life and the lives of others? By answering these questions, you’ll uncover the value and purpose that will keep you working enthusiastically.
 <h5>Prepare to win by learning and seeking advice from the right people.</h5>
 Here’s another question: Would you go camping without a tent or sleeping bag? Or deliver an important speech without practicing first? 
 If you answered yes, well your camping trip probably won’t be much fun! And as for the speech – there goes any chance of impressing your audience! This is because both scenarios lack an ingredient that’s essential for success: preparation.
 From wowing a crowd with your words to having a memorable camping experience, anything you want to do requires preparation. You must equip yourself with the right information, tools, and support system. Only then do you have a shot at success.
 he key message here is: Prepare to win by learning and seeking advice from the right people.

<h5>Ever heard the saying “Knowledge is power”? </h5>
 Well, it’s also true when it comes to winning. Having the right knowledge helps you identify opportunities and find ways to overcome challenges. As part of your preparation on the path to winning, establish a habit of learning and building on your knowledge. You can do this by regularly setting time aside to learn something relevant to your vision and goals. Take a leaf out of the Zig Ziglar book – he read for three hours each day.
 And while you’re learning, make sure to practice applying your knowledge and skills. This gives you a chance to master new information and increase your confidence. Need proof? Just think of what happens when a child learns to ride a bike. At first, she’s nervous about falling and unsteady as she rides. But with enough practice, her confidence grows and she can soon hop on the bike without any hesitation.
 On top of gaining knowledge and the confidence to apply it, there’s one more step that’ll prepare you to win. And it involves finding mentors. 
 At some point, everyone needs support, and seeking advice from people who are wiser and have achieved success themselves improves your chances of winning. To choose the right mentors, look for signs of good character, like being trustworthy and selfless.
 One way you can be sure of someone’s character is if they have happy and healthy personal relationships. Mentors should be good listeners and always tell the truth – even when you don’t want to hear it. And, it helps if they have the knack for making the right decisions. Lastly, choose mentors who enjoy seeing other people succeed.
 <h5>When you nurture every aspect of yourself, you can expect success.</h5>
 <h5>Take a moment and consider what distinguishes winners from losers.</h5>
 You probably think that talent and hard work play a part, and you’re not wrong, but they don’t make the biggest difference. The main thing that separates winners from losers is expectation. Winners expect to win. And not just because they plan and prepare to realize their visions.
 To expect to win, you also have to commit to improving your spirit, mind, and body. These distinct aspects work together to make up your whole self. And if you neglect any one of them, you limit your ability to succeed. 
 The key message here is: When you nurture every aspect of yourself, you can expect success.
 The most important part of who you are is your spirituality. It’s what separates people from all other forms of life on earth. Animals, for instance, are driven by the need to survive and reproduce but, as a person, you’re motivated by spiritual ideas like faith and love. This makes nurturing your spirit essential to your success, and to living a better life overall.
 Zig Ziglar learned this through his own experience. Until he turned his life over to Jesus Christ, he struggled financially, and any success that came his way was short-lived.
 Alongside your spirit, you must also nurture your mind. The best way to do this is by learning to think in different ways, which is a two-step process. First, as you learned in the previous blink, make sure you’re always absorbing new information: through observation, reading, or listening to knowledgeable people. Next, use that information to tackle your goals and solve problems. It helps to do this by setting aside dedicated time for thinking and using it to creatively apply anything you’ve recently learned. 
 Caring for your spirit and mind is important, but remember that both are housed in your body, so that needs to be in good shape, too. When you’re physically healthy, you perform at your best and increase your chances of success. Nurture your body with a nutritious diet and regular exercise. You can even use the goal-setting process to guide you to a better lifestyle and improved fitness.
 In the long run, paying attention to your spiritual, mental, and physical health will give you confidence, energy, and peace of mind. With these tools, you can confidently expect to succeed in all you do.
 <h5>If you’ve planned and prepared to win, there’s no need to worry about the outcome.</h5>
 If you’ve ever gone bowling, you might have noticed something interesting.
 Players get into position, aim carefully, and, finally, release the ball. Then, as it rolls down the alley, they try to direct it toward the pins with their words or body language. Most of these players have concern written all over their faces. 
 But there’s a problem. Once the ball starts rolling, nothing the players do can change the final outcome, so worrying about the results is a total waste of energy and time! The same is true when you’re aiming to win in life.
 The key message is: If you’ve planned and prepared to win, there’s no need to worry about the outcome.
 When you’ve set your sights on a vision and done the work to bring it to life, worrying about the end result is pointless. Now, because you’re human, some worrying is natural – it’s normal to worry about your health or finances, for example. But when you worry about imagined worst-case scenarios, you lose hope and become negative. With this mindset, you can’t expect to win.
 One way that worry shows up is as a fear of failure. This makes it difficult for you to move past knocks and setbacks. For instance, if you apply for a job and get rejected, you might start thinking that no one will ever hire you. The best way to combat such fear is by remembering that failure doesn’t define you.
 Worry also manifests as mind-reading. This is when you jump to negative conclusions about the thoughts and intentions of others. These conclusions are rarely based on facts and they only lead to frustration. To avoid becoming a victim of mind-reading, focus on people’s actions and on what you learn from having open conversations with them.
 So, how can you counter the negativity that worry creates? By activating its antidote: positive thinking. 
 When you choose positive thoughts instead of negative ones, you become capable of so much more. Imagine a sports coach who tells his team that their opponents are faster and better than they could ever hope to be. He wouldn’t motivate anyone! It’d be a miracle if the players stepped onto the field at all!
 But if instead he tells the team that they can win, he gives them something to live up to.
 Do the same in your own life. Keep a positive mindset and give yourself the best shot at winning.

<h4>Final Summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book</h5>
 The recipe for winning is a simple one: if you plan and prepare to win, you can confidently expect to win. First, you need a vision of success and a strong desire to turn that vision into reality. Next, you must set clear goals and gather the knowledge and skills you’ll need to reach them. If, in that process, you can also nourish mind, body, and spirit, alongside a positive mindset, well then you’ll be perfectly set up to expect success in everything you do. 
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Find your cheerleaders.
 The people around you can either enhance or limit your potential. There are those who’ll constantly belittle your ambitions and discourage you from chasing success, these are the people to stay away from. Instead, surround yourself with encouragers – individuals who motivate you to pursue your dreams. To choose your encouragers, look for people who aren’t afraid to take risks and are willing to share what they’ve learned on their own journeys to success.

Speed

<h5>A handyman father and a prankster best friend instilled in Jobs a love of engineering and design.</h5> 
 On February 24, 1955, a boy was born to Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Schieble. 
 However, Jandali and Schieble wouldn’t raise their child. Since Schieble came from a strict Catholic family who would disown her for having a child with a Muslim man, the pair were forced to give the baby up for adoption.
 And so the child was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a couple living in Silicon Valley, who named him Steven
 From an early age, Paul tried to pass along his love of mechanics to Steve, who recalls being impressed by his father’s focus on craftsmanship. If the family needed a cabinet, for example, Paul simply would build one, letting Steve help him in the process.
 Additionally, the family’s smart yet inexpensive Eichler house – an “everyman” modern home, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and an open floor plan – sparked Steve’s obsessive interest in clean, elegant design. 
 Later, in high school, Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak; the two immediately clicked. 
 Wozniak was five years older and already a talented computer technician, from whom Jobs learned a lot about computers.
 In many ways, Jobs and Wozniak were typical young boys and liked to play pranks. But they also loved to explore the world of electronics and see what they could create. 
 Combining both interests, in 1971 they launched their first product: the “Blue Box,” a device that allowed users to make long-distance phone calls for free. 
 Wozniak supplied the design and Jobs turned the innovation into a business, taking $40 worth of parts and selling the device for $150. 
 The pair sold almost 100 boxes, giving them a taste of what they could do with Wozniak’s engineering skills and Jobs’s vision.

Steve Jobs

<h5>Jobs’s interest in spirituality, LSD and the arts shaped his aesthetic sense and extreme focus.</h5> 
 In the late 1960s, the interests and curious cultures of geeks and hippies began to overlap. 
 So it was perhaps inevitable that, in addition to his passion for math, science and electronics, Jobs would immerse himself in the counterculture and begin experimenting with LSD.
 In 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College, a private liberal arts school in Oregon, and there became very serious about both meditating and experimenting with LSD with friends.
 He felt that his drug experiences helped reinforce his sense of what was important in life, by showing him that there is “another side to the coin.” In Jobs’s case, this meant realizing that creating great things was more important than anything else.
 Eager to explore Eastern spirituality, Jobs even travelled to India, where he ended up staying for seven months. Zen Buddhism in particular became a deeply entrenched aspect of his personality, influencing his minimalist aesthetic approach and introducing him to the power of intuition. 
 Both interests – LSD and spirituality – helped him to develop a certain kind of focus, which became known as Jobs’s reality distortion field: if he’d decided that something should happen, then he would simply make it happen by bending reality to his will.
 Another factor that shaped Jobs’s minimalist aesthetic was his enthusiasm for the arts. Throughout his career, Jobs would emphasize over and over that the design of Apple products should be clean and simple. 
 This ideal was formed during his college years. Even though he dropped out of college, Jobs was allowed to continue taking classes, which he did solely for the purposes of self-enrichment. One of these was a calligraphy class, his skill in which later became a key element in the Apple Mac’s graphical user interface.
 <h5>A visit to an apple farm gave them a name; a counterculture vision and hard work made a company.</h5>
 It seems an odd match: a spiritually-minded, LSD enthusiast and the staid computer industry. Yet in the early 1970s, many people were starting to see computers as a symbol of individual expression. 
 So while Jobs was immersed in drugs and Zen, he was also dreaming of starting his own business. And around the same time, his friend Steve Wozniak came up with an idea for the modern personal computer.
 In the early days of the Silicon Valley technology revolution, Steve Wozniak joined the Homebrew Computer Club – a place where computer “nerds” met to exchange ideas and where the overarching philosophy was that the counterculture and technology were a perfect marriage.
 It was here that Wozniak had his idea. Computers at the time required several, separate hardware components to work, making them complicated to manage and difficult to use. Wozniak imagined a device as a self-contained package, with a keyboard, screen and computer “all in one.”
 Initially, Wozniak considered giving away his design for free, as this was the ethic of Homebrew. However, Jobs insisted that they should profit from Wozniak’s invention. 
 So in 1976, with just $1,300 of start-up capital, Wozniak and Jobs founded Apple Computer.
 On the day they had to come up with a company name, Jobs had visited an apple farm, and – because it was simple, fun and familiar – the name “Apple” stuck.
 Wozniak and Jobs toiled away for a month building 100 computers by hand. Half of the total was sold to a local computer dealer and the other half to friends and other customers. 
 After just 30 days, Apple’s first computer, the Apple I, was on the verge of being profitable.

<h5>Jobs was a controlling, temperamental boss driven by an uncompromising passion for perfection.</h5> 
 Those who knew Jobs personally would agree that he was an erratic, even quirky individual. If work didn’t meet his high standards, he would throw temper tantrums and verbally assault people.
 But why was Jobs so controlling and temperamental?
 In short, he was an unforgiving perfectionist. Jobs wanted the Apple II to be a perfectly designed, fully featured computer that was integrated end to end. But while his drive helped make the Apple II a success when it was released in 1977, it also drained the energy and will of those in the company.
 If Jobs felt an employee’s work was poor, he’d tell them it was “shit,” and would be furious if he noticed even the tiniest imperfection.
 As Apple grew as a company, Jobs only became more erratic. Mike Scott was eventually appointed as Apple’s president, with the main task of keeping a tighter rein on Jobs. 
 Scott basically had to confront Jobs with the thornier issues that other employees just didn’t have the energy to do. This often resulted in disagreement, sometimes with Jobs breaking down in tears, as he found relinquishing any control over Apple extremely difficult.
 Jobs found it especially frustrating that Scott tried to put limits on his perfectionism. But, for his part, Scott didn’t want Jobs’s perfectionism to take precedence over pragmatism.
 For instance, Scott stepped in when Jobs thought that none of the 2,000 shades of beige were good enough for the case of the Apple II, and also when Jobs spent days deciding just how rounded the corners of the computer case should be. Scott’s focus was to get the case manufactured and sold.
 <h5>The Macintosh put Jobs on a pedestal as a tech icon, but his vitriol got him knocked off.</h5>
 The Apple II, with some six million computers sold, was considered the spark that led to the creation of a personal computer industry. 
 But for Jobs, it wasn’t a complete success, as the Apple II was Wozniak’s masterpiece, not his own.
 Jobs wanted to create a machine that would, in his words, “make a dent in the universe.” Driven by this ambition, Jobs began work on the Macintosh – a successor to the Apple II that would further transform personal computing and establish him as a technology icon.
 Yet the Macintosh was not solely Jobs’s invention, as he actually stole the Macintosh project away from its founder, Jef Raskin, an expert on human-computer interfaces. And so Jobs took the idea and created a machine that ran on a microprocessor powerful enough to accommodate sophisticated graphics, and could be largely controlled by a mouse.
 The Macintosh became an unparalleled success, partly due to a lavish marketing campaign that included a sensational TV commercial – now known as the “1984” ad – directed by Hollywood filmmaker Ridley Scott. Tied in with the commercial’s popularity, the Macintosh launch caused a kind of publicity chain reaction, for Jobs as much as for the product. 
 Crafty as ever, Jobs managed to land a number of high-profile interviews with several prominent magazines, by manipulating journalists into thinking the interview he was giving them was an “exclusive.” 
 His strategy worked, and the Macintosh made Jobs wealthy and famous. He had achieved the kind of celebrity that could get singer Ella Fitzgerald to entertain at his extravagant 30th birthday party. 
 His perfectionism and oppressive behavior toward Apple employees continued unabated. He would constantly call people out for being “assholes” if he thought they didn’t care about perfection.
 Jobs’s brattish behavior led to a showdown with the company. In 1985, the Apple board of directors decided to let Jobs go.
 <h5>Jobs flopped with NeXT yet struck gold with Pixar, a company at the cutting edge of animated films.</h5>
 After Jobs recovered from the blow of being fired from Apple, he realized he could now do things exactly the way he wanted to – indulging both his good and bad sides. 
 He first created a new business venture aimed at the educational market, a computer called NeXT.
 With the NeXT project, Jobs got to indulge his passion for design. He paid a $100,000 flat fee to get the logo designed, and insisted that the NeXT computer case should be a perfect cube.
 But Jobs’s perfectionism made the computer hard to engineer and manufacture.
 Jobs’s uncompromising vision was essentially NeXT’s death knell. The project almost ran out of money, the release was delayed by several years and in the end, the machine was far too expensive for the end consumer. And because of its high price and small software library, NeXT barely made a wave in the larger computing industry.
 During the same period, however, Jobs also bought a majority share in a company called Pixar. In his role as chairman, Jobs revelled in being part of a venture that was the perfect synthesis of technology and art. 
 By 1988, Jobs had sunk almost $50 million into Pixar while also losing money in NeXT.
 But after years of financial struggle, the studio released Tin Toy, a film that showcased Pixar’s unique vision for computer animation. Tin Toy went on to win the 1988 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. 
 Jobs thus saw that he should shift his focus from software and hardware products, which were losing money, to Pixar, a company that was making cutting-edge, potentially lucrative animated films. 
 Eventually, Pixar partnered with Disney to produce its first feature film, Toy Story. Released in 1996, Toy Story became the top-grossing movie of the year.
 <h5>Away from Apple, Jobs made amends in his private life, reconnecting with his biological family.</h5> 
 In addition to learning a lot professionally during his 12 years away from Apple, Jobs also developed in his private life. 
 In 1986, after the death of his adoptive mother, Jobs became curious about his roots and decided to search for his biological mother.
 When he finally found Joanne Schieble, she was emotional and apologetic for giving Jobs up for adoption
 Jobs was also surprised to learn that he had a sister, Mona Simpson. Both he and Simpson were artistic and strong-willed, and eventually became close. 
 Around the same time, Jobs met Laurene Powell. The pair married in 1991, with the blessing of Jobs’s old Zen guru. Powell was already pregnant with their first child, Reed Paul Jobs. The couple would go on to have two more children, Erin and Eve.
 With Powell’s encouragement, Jobs also attempted to spend more time with Lisa Brennan, a daughter from his first relationship with whom he’d initially been estranged. 
 Jobs tried to be a more proactive father to Lisa; and eventually, she moved in and lived with Jobs and Powell until she went to college at Harvard.
 Lisa would grow up to be as temperamental as Jobs, and since neither was good at reaching out and making amends, the pair could go months without saying a word to each other.
 In a broad sense, Jobs’s way of engaging with people in his private life was similar to his behavior at work. His approach was binary: either he was extremely passionate or extremely cold.
 <h5>As Apple’s fortunes dimmed, Jobs returned like a prodigal son to lead the company as CEO.</h5>
 In the years following Jobs’s dismissal, Apple started to fail as a company. 
 To halt this decline, Gil Amelio was appointed CEO in 1996. Amelio knew that to get Apple back on the right path, it needed to team up with a company with fresh ideas.
 And so in 1997, Amelio chose to acquire NeXT’s software, effectively making Jobs an advisor to Apple.
 Once he was back at Apple, Jobs grabbed as much control as he could manage. To this end, he quietly began building his power base by installing his favorite NeXT employees into Apple’s top ranks.
 During this period, Apple’s board realized that Amelio was not going to be Apple’s savior. But they thought that the company might have a chance again with Jobs. 
 So the board offered Jobs the CEO position at Apple. Surprisingly, Jobs declined. Instead, he insisted on remaining in his position as advisor, and helped lead the search for a new CEO. 
 Jobs used his status as advisor to increase his influence within Apple. He even forced the board to resign – the very same board that had recommended he take the CEO role – as he felt they were slowing his progress in transforming the company. 
 As advisor, Jobs also managed to establish a partnership with rival Microsoft, getting the company to create a new version of Microsoft Office for the Mac, thus ending a decade of legal battles and making Apple’s stock price skyrocket.
 Eventually, and after much hesitation, Jobs became CEO and demanded that the company refocus on making fewer products.
 In 1997, Apple recorded a loss of $1.04 billion. But in 1998, after Jobs’s first full year as CEO, the company recorded a profit of $309 million. Jobs had effectively saved the company.
 <h5>Bold ideas and visionary design made the iMac and the first Apple Store astronomical successes.</h5>
 When Jobs discovered the visionary talent of designer Jony Ive, he made Ive the second-most powerful person at Apple, after himself. Thus began a partnership that would come to be the most important industrial design collaboration of its era. 
 The first product that Jobs and Ive designed together was the iMac, a desktop computer priced at around $1,200 and designed for the everyday consumer. 
 With the iMac, Jobs and Ive challenged the conventional idea of what a computer should look like. In choosing a blue, translucent case, the pair reflected their obsession with making the computer perfect, both inside and out. This design also gave the computer a playful appearance.
 Launched in May 1998, the iMac became the fastest-selling computer in Apple’s history. 
 However, Jobs began to worry that Apple’s unique products could be lost among the generic products of a technology megastore. His solution was to create the Apple Store as a way to allow the company to control the entire retail process.
 Jobs began by building a prototype store, furnishing it completely and obsessing over every detail of the service experience and general aesthetic. He insisted on a sense of minimalism throughout the process, from the moment a customer enters the store to the moment they go through checkout. 
 In May 2001, the first Apple Store opened. It was a massive success, as Jobs’s careful design had pushed retailing and brand image to a whole new level. 
 <h5>Wanting to control the entire digital experience, Jobs created the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.</h5>
 Following his success with the Apple Store and the iMac, Jobs came up with a new, grand strategy. His vision was a personal computer at the center of a new digital lifestyle. 
 He called this his digital hub strategy.
 The strategy envisioned the personal computer as a kind of control center that coordinates a variety of devices, from music players to video cameras.
 As the first step in realizing his vision, Jobs decided that a portable music player would be the next Apple product. 
 In 2001, Apple released the iPod, a streamlined device which combined the now-famous click wheel with a small screen and new hard disk technology.
 Critics were skeptical that people would spend $399 for a music player, but consumers made the iPod so successful that, by 2007, iPod sales accounted for half of Apple’s revenues.
 The next step was to design an Apple cell phone. 
 In 2007, Apple released the first version of the iPhone. Two important technologies made the iPhone possible: the touch screen, which could process multiple inputs simultaneously, and the incredibly robust cover glass, called Gorilla Glass.
 Again, critics were skeptical of Apple’s strategy, arguing that no one would pay $500 for a cell phone – and again Jobs proved them wrong. By the end of 2010, profits from iPhone sales accounted for more than half of the total profits generated in the global cell phone market.
 The final step in Jobs’s strategy was the release of a tablet computer, the iPad.
 Apple officially launched the iPad in January 2010. Apple sold over one million iPads in the first month, and 15 million in the first nine months.
 With the release of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, it was clear that Jobs’s bold digital hub strategy had succeeded in transforming the consumer technology industry.
 <h5>Jobs ignored all conventional wisdom regarding his cancer diagnosis and died prematurely in 2011.</h5> 
 Jobs first learned that he had cancer during a routine urological exam in October 2003. 
 Unfortunately, Jobs approached the problem of his cancer the same way he approached a design problem: he ignored all conventional wisdom and decided on his own method for fighting it.
 He refused surgery for a period of nine months, and instead tried to cure himself with acupuncture and vegan diets. As time passed, the cancerous tumor grew and eventually, Jobs had to have invasive surgery to remove it.
 Yet even when the cancer returned in 2008, he again insisted on a strict diet of certain fruits and vegetables, which led him to lose over 40 pounds.
 Eventually, Jobs was convinced to have a liver transplant; but following this, his health took a serious dive from which he’d never recover.
 Jobs died in 2011. Behind him, he left a legacy in one of the most valuable tech companies in the world.
 Everything that Jobs did in his life was a product of his incredible intensity, and before he died he said, “I’ve had a very lucky career, a very lucky life. I’ve done all that I can do.”
 Like practically no other individual, Jobs’s personality was fully reflected in his creations, as every Apple product was a tightly closed, integrated system of hardware and software.
 And while the open strategy employed by Microsoft – allowing its Windows operating system to be licensed – led them to dominate the operating system industry for many years, Jobs’s model proved advantageous in the longer run, as it ensured a seamless, elegant end-to-end user experience.
 Shortly before his death, Jobs was able to witness Apple finally surpassing Microsoft as the most valuable technology company in the world.

<h4>Final summary</h4> 
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 Steve Jobs grew up in Silicon Valley at the intersection of arts and technology, drugs and geekiness. There he would cement a friendship that would lead to the birth of Apple as well as a profound shift in the world of technology. During his life, Jobs managed to transform our relationship with technology, creating a range of digital products with a clean design and user-friendly interface.

color

<h5>1- Enter the market early and anticipate obvious problems.</h5>
 You’ve probably heard of the professional social network LinkedIn. But do you know the story behind it? Most people couldn’t tell you how such huge companies get started.
 And, contrary to what many people think, the key isn’t to be in the right place at the right time – it’s to be there early.
 This is a lesson from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn. He’s also invested in several successful start-ups, and his secret is to spot a trend before it even starts. For example, when he invests in start-ups, he looks for companies whose value has yet to be fully recognized – a sure sign that a trend has yet to begin.
 When Hoffman was starting LinkedIn, many people thought his idea would fail. Newspapers and headhunters already fulfilled the needs of the employment market, so why was his website necessary? Hoffman’s idea seemed bad because it came so early. This made it harder to find investors, but it also greatly diminished competition.
 Another reason LinkedIn became so successful is Hoffman’s ability to anticipate solutions to obvious problems.
 If you’ve got a great idea, chances are someone else has probably already tried it – and failed. That means you have to figure out exactly why the idea hasn’t already made it big, and what you can do differently to make it work.
 For example, when LinkedIn got started, people were skeptical about the value it could offer its first users; with so few members in the network, what was to be gained? This is a typical problem for many start-ups.
 Hoffman had a great solution, though. He developed a function that allowed new users to scan their e-mail address books for LinkedIn matches. They would then be shown a list of who was already on the network, as well as options to invite friends and colleagues to join. This network grew quickly, allowing its users to connect with more and more people.

The Startup Playbook

<h5>2- Create mental snapshots of the future, and keep your business model secret.</h5>
 If you want to succeed in business and life, you need to know where you’re going. Sara Blakely, founder of hosiery company Spanx, knew exactly where that was for her.
 How did she know?
 She created mental snapshots: visions of herself having accomplished ambitious but concrete goals. And even though she didn’t know how she was going to accomplish them, she could use her mental snapshots to cheer herself on and renew her faith in her ability to get there somehow.
 For example, Blakely already dreamt about being on The Oprah Winfrey Show when she was in high school. She used that dream to fuel her work until the year 2000, when Oprah named Spanx as one of her new favorite products.
 But no matter how excited you are about your business idea, be careful about sharing it too openly.
 It’s normal to want to share your great idea with everyone you know. But instead of receiving the support you need, you may well find yourself in the discouraging position of having to constantly defend your business model against the skeptical remarks of friends and family. 
 Think of how Blakely’s parents reacted when she told them she wanted to sell footless pantyhose: They were extremely skeptical. Even though she had clearly invested a lot in her idea, her parents simply couldn’t see the potential.
 And then there’s another risk that comes with sharing your idea. Someone might steal it from you. That’s why you should only talk with potential investors until your business is up and running.
 <h5>3- Put inefficiently used resources toward creating new products, and react quickly to problems.</h5>
 Did you know that many people spend less than five percent of their time driving their car? The other 95 percent of the time, it’s just parked somewhere, taking up space. Robin Chase realized how inefficient that type of car ownership was, and so she founded Zipcar – a car rental company that offers cars for an hourly rate.
 You too can found a successful start-up by identifying inefficiently used resources and coming up with an efficient solution. Try imagining how we could use what we already have more efficiently, like Chase did.
 Another strategy is to come up with new functions for things normally used for one purpose. For example, ten years ago, our phones could only be used to call and text people; in the past decade, however, we’ve seen them develop into hi-tech computers that can take photos, play videos and send e-mails.
 But no matter how brilliant your idea is, your start-up won’t survive if you don’t react quickly to problems.
 So if you discover a big problem with your business model, don’t get discouraged. Instead, try to solve the problem as soon as possible, and inform your customers about what is going on. If you’re honest, they will be more understanding than you might expect.
 For example, after the first three months of running Zipcar, Robin Chase realized that there was a serious revenue problem that would eventually bleed the company dry. After consulting her whole team, she quickly concluded that without a 25 percent increase in the hourly rate, the business would die.
 Robin dreaded informing her customers of this. Once informed, however, most of them were prepared to pay more for what they already considered a great service.

<h5>4- Nurture enthusiastic long-term customers and healthy, highly motivated employees.</h5>
 In 1998, Seth Goldman founded Honest Tea, a beverage company that sells organic, fair-trade, low-sugar tea. The company now makes more than $70 million in sales each year. So how did Goldman achieve such phenomenal success?
 He realized early on that the company’s success didn’t just depend on him – it also depended on the enthusiasm and engagement of his employees and customers. 
 One way of nurturing healthy and highly motivated employees is to lead by example.
 You need to be a role model for managing the stresses of the start-up life. When you’re getting a start-up on its feet, you may be tempted to overwork yourself. But if you live an unhealthy lifestyle, your employees will try to keep pace with you, which will make the whole organization unhealthy. So it’s crucial to take time off when your stress-levels get too high.
 When Goldman started Honest Tea, he felt like he had to work non-stop. But because he wanted to communicate a philosophy of work-life balance to his employees, he did his best to leave the office every day at 5:30 to spend time with his family. That way, his employees could see it was okay for them to leave early, too.
 Another thing you’ll need for a successful start-up are enthusiastic long-term customers.
 No matter how small your start-up is right now, the customers you already have are crucial to your future, because they establish your reputation in the market. Do whatever you can to keep them enthusiastic about what you do, and turn them into customers for life.
 Goldman realized that if he could get children to consume his brand from a young age, they would stick with it when they got older. So he started Honest Kids, a fruit juice for children, to encourage them to drink Honest Tea later in life.
 <h5>5- Always keep your eyes on future developments, and focus on the customer.</h5>
 Hosain Rahman knows the value of looking to the future. He founded the wearable technology company Jawbone in 1999, long before wearable tech was a trend. And by cultivating a future-oriented mindset, he learned how to keep his company ahead of the game.
 A key principle of the future-oriented mindset is that what worked yesterday won’t work today.
 The world is changing so rapidly and unpredictably that you must keep moving. If you allow yourself to become satisfied with your success, you’ll lose sight of what you need to change to keep your customers happy.
 For example, if you sell ice cream and reach your sales goal in three years, you might be tempted to relax. But usually that’s the exact moment your customer's tastes change, or a new competitor enters the market – and your company collapses.
 Something else Rahman learned early on is the importance of focusing on your customer’s wishes and needs. He realized the value of investing in things that directly benefit your customers, like high quality products and excellent customer service. 
 Take the Jawbone Up bracelet. It can analyze your health by tracking your day-to-day habits, such as sleep and exercise, and then organize all the collected data for easy access on your smartphone. But on top of this it has a sharp, customizable look: you can choose from various colors and designs to find the Up bracelet that perfectly fits your style.
 In a world of almost infinite choice, the only way to stand out is to develop top-notch products. That means not only paying attention to what’s needed, but paying attention to what’s wanted as well. Develop a product that looks as smooth as it functions, and you’ll be well on your way.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 By making sure you enter markets early, with a clear idea of where you want your business to take you and by always keeping the customer in focus, you'll increase the chances of your start-up’s success.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Pay attention to unmet needs – they might be a key to something big.
 If you're looking for start-up ideas, be vigilant for products, apps and services that you or other people would like to use, but can't find anywhere. This often indicates an unmet market need that you can jump to meet.
 Suggested further reading: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
 The Lean Startup method helps start-ups and tech companies develop sustainable business models. It advocates continuous rapid prototyping and focusing on customer-feedback data.
 The method is based on the concepts of lean manufacturing and agile development, and its efficacy is backed up by case studies from the last few decades.

<h5>1- To achieve the slight edge, we need to develop a life philosophy and master the mundane.</h5>
 According to U.S. News and World Report, 80 percent of all New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February! When we fail, we may think that we simply didn’t try hard enough or desire our goal enough. 
 However, the truth is that success is the result of simple, productive actions repeated consistently over time. This is known as the slight edge.
 The key message here is: To achieve the slight edge, we need to develop a life philosophy and master the mundane.
 When we look at successful people, it’s easy to think that they’re just exceptionally brilliant or have special skills that we don’t. But more often than not, that’s not the case.
 Thanks to the abundance of self-help books, information about how to succeed in life is more widely available than ever before. But to really benefit from it, we need to apply it effectively.
 That’s where developing a life philosophy comes in. A life philosophy is your view of life. It influences your attitudes, feelings – and, ultimately, your actions. And it’s powerful because it can change the way you think about simple, everyday tasks.
 Consider the life philosophy of Thomas J Watson, the founder of IBM: “The formula for success is quite simple: Double your rate of failure.” Yet, many of us don’t consider failure an option. What we don’t understand is that the more we fail, the more chances we have to succeed.
 Today, Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the most notable U.S. Presidents. But did you know that he suffered numerous election losses and public-office failures? For him, failure wasn’t just an option, it was his specialty. Doubling his rate of failure ultimately led him to the highest office, where he had a profound impact on the country that the United States is today. 
 Another way we can achieve the slight edge is by focusing on the mundane matters of life.
 For example, Steve Martin is known as the single biggest audience draw in the history of stand-up comedy. But as a teenager, Martin couldn’t sing, dance, or act. So he worked at it. Day after day, he studied magic tricks, taught himself the banjo, and tried out lines on anyone who would listen. The things he did were neither complicated nor exciting. In fact, they were rather boring. But by mastering the mundane, Steve Martin became a star.

The Slight Edge

<h5>2- In the long run, the choices we make every day work either for us or against us.</h5>
 When things happen to us, luck, circumstances or fate often get the praise, or the blame. In reality, it’s down to the choices we make – especially the little ones. Every choice we make leads to one of two destinations: success or failure.
 The slight edge is not just a lifestyle that we may or may not choose to adopt. It’s always there, working in the background. If we don’t use it to our advantage, then it will work against us. We may not see the effects immediately, but the passage of time will eventually expose it. So how can we make the slight edge work in our favor?
 This is the key message: In the long run, the choices we make every day work either for us or against us.
 To benefit from the slight edge, we need to analyze whether we are on the path to success or failure.
 One way to do this is to determine our predominant state of mind. While those on the path to failure tend to have a blame mindset, successful people take responsibility for their situations. Rather than dwell on their misfortunes, they place more emphasis on how to respond, even when treated unfairly.
 Taking ownership of how we handle what life throws at us puts us in a better position to achieve our goals. 
 Another way to determine whether we’re on the path to success or failure is to examine our focus. Do we tend to be rooted in the past or concentrated on the future?
 Some people use past regrets as a weapon to punish themselves and others. But to be successful, we need to learn from our past so we can build our future. 
 Why not do an honest self-assessment right now? Think about your health. Are you working to improve it each day? Do your daily eating habits and exercise schedule make you feel healthier? Or does it feel like your energy is declining? Is your health on the success or failure curve? 
 Why not do a similar analysis in other areas of your life, such as your happiness, career, and relationships?
 Remember: there are only two destinations. If you’re not on track for success, then you’re heading toward failure.
 <h5>3- People ignore mundane things in life because they are easy and seem insignificant – and because the results are invisible.</h5>
 Only five percent of people achieve a significant number of their goals in life. So if being successful is just about doing simple things consistently, what stops the other 95 percent of people from following through? 
 Simply put, the five percent understand the power of the slight edge and put it to work in their lives. The other 95 percent do not.
 It’s true that mundane things are very easy to do. However, it’s just as easy not to do them. 
 For example, saving a few dollars every day is very easy to do. But not doing it is just as easy. Doing fifteen minutes of cardio exercise every day is no bother at all. But it’s also very easy to neglect. 
 Unsuccessful people tend to choose what appears to be the easiest path through life. Eventually, though, it becomes clear that they’ve selected the hardest route.
 Here’s the key message: People ignore mundane things in life because they are easy and seem insignificant – and because the results are invisible.
 Everything you need to do to transform your life is easy. But aside from the fact that easy things are easily ignored, there’s another reason why most people don’t do them: they don’t appear to add up to success – at least not immediately.
 For example, if you chose to save two dollars every day rather than buying a coffee, how much would you have saved by the end of the week? A mere 14 dollars. Not very impressive, is it? But these are the building blocks that create millionaires. The trouble is the results are so far ahead in the future that they are invisible in the present.
 Think about your eating habits. We all know how to eat healthily. Yet many of us choose to eat poorly. Why? The negative impact isn’t instantly apparent. Imagine eating a cheeseburger and immediately suffering a near-fatal heart attack. Would you go near a cheeseburger again? Highly unlikely! Yet, that’s what could happen after 20 to 30 years of poor eating habits.
 Success is gradual, just like failure. By the time your results are visible to everyone, your slight edge choices are history.
 The mundane matters of life add up with the passage of time, but in the moment, they don’t really seem to matter. The difference between success and failure is so tiny that it’s very easy to miss.
 Unsuccessful people may not realize it, but they are living by the philosophy of What I do right now doesn’t matter. But it does matter. Successful people know this and use it to secure their health, happiness, fulfilment, relationships, and future.

<h5>4- Continuous lifelong learning and practice will help you benefit from the slight edge.</h5>
 Making good choices will set you on the path to success, but it may not keep you there. It takes continuous, lifelong learning by any and every available means for the slight edge to keep working in your favor.
 Reading ten pages of an inspirational and educational book every day can greatly enrich your life. Doing so would mean that you could finish a 300-page book every month. You could also listen to 15 minutes of life-transforming audio every day or take a course or a seminar every few months. 
 While study is good, it’s what you do with the information you acquire that will have a lasting impact on your personal growth and development.
 The key message here is: Continuous lifelong learning and practice will help you benefit from the slight edge.
 Once you learn something, you need to put it into practice. This deepens your understanding of the knowledge you gain. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “Knowledge without practice is useless, and practice without knowledge is dangerous.” 
 You can also learn from others. Once you identify a person who has fulfilled aspirations similar to yours, you can observe and copy them.
 But this education will only have a transformative effect if you use it to train your mind. To do this, you first need to find out how the conscious and unconscious brain work.
 The conscious brain is very powerful, but it can only focus on one thing at a time and is easily distracted. On the other hand, the unconscious brain runs virtually all of our brain processes. In fact, 99.99 percent of everything we do is our brain on auto-pilot. 
 For example, have you ever walked or driven a familiar route while your mind was completely engrossed in something else? Sure. We all have. Why does that happen? Your conscious mind has learned the route so well, it’s become embedded in your subconscious. 
 To keep making good choices, you need to train your unconscious brain.How do you do that? You use your conscious brain to identify a practice you want to adopt, then you do it repeatedly until it enters your subconscious and becomes automatic.
 <h5>5- Momentum, completion, reflection, and celebration are the four slight edge allies.</h5>
 Momentum is the irresistible force that can push us toward a goal. It takes energy and initiative to start a new activity. But once we get going, momentum takes over and keeps propelling us forward. Once we’re in motion, it becomes easier to make the positive changes needed to reach our goals.
 To understand how momentum works, we can think about steering a car. While it’s stationary, it can be hard work getting the wheel to move. But once the car is in motion, steering the wheel is easy – no matter how slowly you’re moving. 
 However, momentum is not our only friend in our quest to master the slight edge.
 The key message is this: Momentum, completion, reflection, and celebration are the four slight edge allies.
 Momentum does propel us forward, but that progress can be choked if we don’t finish what we start. Having a pile of incomplete tasks like unpaid bills, unfinished projects, and unkept promises can deprive us of the sense of accomplishment that comes with wrapping up a task.
 Incomplete tasks can pull us back into the past and off the path to success. If this is your challenge, why not let the force of the slight edge help you overcome it? Just like a toddler who’s learning to walk, tackle one project at time and you’ll soon experience the feeling of satisfaction that comes with completion.
 If you struggle with completion, our third ally, reflection, can help you see where improvement is needed. Life is so busy that we often spend more time doing things than we do reviewing our actions.
 To get the most out of reflection, we can choose to keep a daily journal, talk regularly to a friend with a similar mindset, or work with a coach. Whatever activity you choose, ask yourself pointed questions such as: What are the small-but-critical things that are essential to achieving my goals? Did I do them? Am I on the path to success, or failure?
 The beauty of reflection is that it doesn’t just identify areas for improvement. It also highlights what we’re doing well. This then leads to celebration, our fourth ally. Celebration is important because when we feel good about ourselves, it moves us to do better. So celebrate your successes, no matter how small they may seem. After all, nothing breeds success like more success.
 <h5>6- Cultivate positive, productive habits that help you cope in any circumstances and achieve your dreams.</h5>
 We all struggle to break bad habits, despite our best efforts. So here’s a tip: The easiest way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.
 Good habits are a vital ingredient in reaching our goals. But establishing good habits requires action.
 No matter how much skill, knowledge, experience, or resources we have, they are no use unless we do something. That’s why the first habit we need to cultivate is to show up. As the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Do the thing, and you shall have the power.” 
 This is the key message: Cultivate positive, productive habits that help you cope in any circumstances and achieve your dreams.
 There are seven key habits that can help us to stay on the path to success: show up; be consistent; have a positive outlook; be committed for the long-haul; cultivate a burning desire backed by faith; be willing to pay the price; and practice slight-edge integrity.
 While showing up is good, what’s more important is to do so consistently.
 Showing up consistently can be enhanced by a positive outlook. Research has shown that those who are positive become more successful.
 We also need to be committed for the long haul. Instead of expecting instant success, we need patience – like the farmer who knows that he has to wait a full season to reap his harvest.
 Another good habit to cultivate is desire. But we don’t want the sort that fizzles out the moment we get what we want. Rather we want the kind of desire that is a deep, passionate longing intertwined with a conviction that a goal is within reach.
 Nothing comes for free, so we need to be willing to pay the price to achieve our goals. It could be as simple as giving up a particular type of junk food that we love, or waking up early. No matter what price we pay for success, the price for failure is far worse in comparison.
 Finally, we need to practice slight edge integrity. Ask yourself: Am I fulfilling my commitments when no one is watching?
 <h5>7- There are three steps to achieving our dreams – write them down, look at them every day, and develop a plan.</h5>
 We all have dreams. Sadly, few come true, because we don’t know how to pursue them. But there is a tried-and-tested formula that works. And it’s quite easy. The first step in the formula is making our dreams real.
 To do that effectively, we need to use our senses. That means putting our dreams down in words, or creating a dream board by using pictures. Even better, we could talk to someone else about them. 
 But while envisioning our dreams is powerful, we also need to define them.
 The key message here is: There are three steps to achieving – write them down, look at them every day, and develop a plan.
 If your dream is to be financially free, try to define the amount of savings you’d need to achieve that freedom. Or if you want to be healthy, describe the kinds of activities you’d need to engage in and what they’d feel like. Making our goals specific and vivid will take us one step closer to living them. 
 According to the American author Napoleon Hill, a goal is a dream with a deadline. So when you write your dreams down, include dates. This is important because 80 percent of everything we do tends to get done in the last 20 percent of our available time. If we don’t set a deadline, our dreams may never become reality.
 Writing down your dream means you can read it every day. Telling and retelling yourself what your goal is is powerful. Rather than drifting off course, you become more focused on what you want to achieve. 
 The more we absorb our visions, the more embedded they become in our subconscious minds. We then become more attuned to seizing opportunities that help us achieve our dreams. It also becomes easier to reject distractions that can divert us from the path to success.
 This then opens the way to developing a plan. That plan doesn’t need to be an intricate map of every step from start to conclusion. Rather, it’s simply the steps that get us started. Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson that we mentioned earlier: “Do the thing, and you shall have the power.” Much like a toddler taking her first step, we just need to start – and momentum will keep propelling us forward.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message here</h5>
 Time can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If we follow through on taking small, simple, positive actions every day, success will become apparent as time goes on. But if we ignore the mundane matters of life, we may fail to achieve our goals.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Time can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If we follow through on taking small, simple, positive actions every day, success will become apparent as time goes on. But if we ignore the mundane matters of life, we may fail to achieve our goals.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Surround yourself with successful people
 You may have heard the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” They do that because they’re all heading in the same direction. Similarly, if you want to achieve success, look at the people around you and ask where they’re heading. Those around us rub off on us. So if your closest connections are heading for failure, you’ll end up there, too. But if they’re on the path to success, that will also be your destination.

<h5>Assholes are people who cause emotional unease, and some are worse than others.</h5>
 What makes someone an asshole? The author asked people to share their experiences with assholes in the workplace, and some pretty repellent behaviors emerged: a boss who only invites his favorite employees to the office Christmas party; someone who constantly interrupts others; and a coworker who, after flashing a warm smile, leans in and whispers, “I’m going to take you down.”
 Of course, some assholes are worse than others, and knowing how to separate the annoying ones from the more serious cases can be very useful.
 So the first question you can ask yourself is this: Do encounters leave you feeling oppressed or demeaned?
 As the poet laureate Maya Angelou once put it, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” And when we mentally categorize someone as an asshole, it’s usually after that person has made us feel hurt, discouraged or unsettled.
 Understanding how someone makes you feel is the first step toward gaining some control of the situation and learning to lessen the impact they have on your life, especially when it’s someone you work with. You can then prepare yourself, anticipate certain responses and even consider how your reaction may be linked to past events in your life.
 If you find yourself facing these oppressive or demeaning encounters, the next question to ask is whether this person is a temporary or a continual asshole.
 If your boss is usually a gentle, kind person but transforms into a raging asshole every once in awhile, he may be using a leadership strategy since such behavior is shown to be effective.
 In a study of coaching in college basketball, researchers found that when mild-mannered coaches turned aggressive during a halftime pep talk, it regularly sparked a boost in performance. On the other hand, coaches who were always unpleasant didn’t have the same effect during their angry halftime speeches.
 So there are excuses for your boss being a temporary asshole, but there’s no excuse for being a permanent one.

The Asshole Survival Guide

<h5>Get away from assholes to avoid growing used to mistreatment.</h5>
 It may sound strange, but some people get so used to assholes that they don’t even realize how poorly they’re being treated. They suffer from asshole blindness.
 The author knows an IT employee who spent eight years at a job even though his boss was a continual, unsympathetic asshole who never admitted to being wrong but always suspected others of wrongdoing.
 This is a serious but typical case of asshole blindness, as the victim wasn’t just putting up with the asshole behavior; he genuinely no longer recognized it either. It’s kind of like a really bad smell – you might catch a whiff at first, but after some time it no longer registers. The same can be true for asshole behavior – the asshole’s bad attitude may cause some initial disturbances, but over time you become habituated to it and begin to think of it as normal.
 This is dangerous since it can lead to gross misconduct being seen as acceptable. Scientists also attribute this acceptance to the sunk cost fallacy. This is when you’ve put so much time, effort or money into an endeavor that you convince yourself it’s worth continuing even when it’s clearly doomed. In the case of workplace assholes, you may feel like you’ve already invested so much of your emotional well-being to put up with their behavior that you may as well stick with the job. In short, not dealing with repugnant behavior at first may lead to you ignoring it entirely in the end.
 If the scenario of the IT employee sounds all too familiar, it doesn’t mean you need to quit your job, but it does mean you need a new boss.
 Google has conducted leadership studies and found that companies generally have both good and bad bosses, so it may be possible to keep your job and simply relocate within the organization. The US software company salesforce.com is aware that sometimes people don’t work well together, so it doesn’t require employees to get permission from their boss before moving to a different division. However, when these moves occur, the company investigates to find out if it was a personality clash or if the boss really was an asshole.
 It’s time to stop putting up with asshole bosses, so take the initiative and move on!

<h5>“Fantasies about dramatic exits are good and fun, but acting on them may hurt you more than your tormentors”</h5>
 
 <h5>If you want to avoid “catching” their behavior, keep a safe distance from assholes</h5>
 It’s not always possible to rid your life of assholes. In fact, if you’re stuck sitting close to an asshole every day, you may be at risk of being “infected” with their bad attitude.
 Indeed, assholish behavior can be similar to a contagious disease; too much exposure and you might “catch” it.
 There is plenty of scientific evidence showing that we tend to take on the negative thoughts, behaviors and emotions of others.
 A study at the University of British Columbia found that when students have a teacher who is experiencing emotional exhaustion, they’re more likely to have elevated stress hormones than students whose teacher isn’t emotionally burned-out.
 And at the University of Florida, researchers found that it takes only one incident of rude behavior, such as reading an insulting email, for a person to become a “carrier” and pass on the negative behavior to others. The study concluded that negative behavior can spread “like the common cold.”
 So to avoid catching the bug, it’s best to limit your exposure by distancing yourself from those who are showing symptoms. The key is to keep a safe distance. Move to a new desk, floor or building, if you can.
 In the 1970s, MIT professor Tom Allen found that coworkers who sat in close proximity to each other spent more time talking and corresponding across all mediums of communication. And since we have far more means of communicating now, with texts, social media and e-mail, this presents an even greater danger today.
 In one interview, the author asked a former Apple employee who’d worked under Steve Jobs for 15 years how he’d managed to cope with Jobs, who was notorious for his asshole behavior. The answer: he kept his distance, sitting as far away as possible in meetings and even avoiding elevator rides with him.
 <h5>Reframe asshole behavior as something that is not your fault.</h5>
 Sometimes, under extreme conditions, we must develop defenses against assholes.
 For instance, former US military cadet Becky Margiotta had to develop strong mental defenses to endure ritualistic hazing from her senior cadets that involved verbal abuse and other forms of humiliation.
 To keep her morale up, Becky dealt with this group of super-aggressive assholes by reframing their behavior.
 Reframing is a psychological technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy, and it allows patients to contextualize their problems in a positive light and, in a way, turn lemons into lemonade. Or, in this case, assholes into allies, since Becky reframed the hazing as being imaginative and funny, and not threatening in the least. On occasion, she even laughed at her tormentors’ inventiveness as they hazed her.
 Simply put, with the right frame of mind, you can turn a negative or threatening situation into an enjoyable challenge, and this can help you do better in it. A study of African-American students taking a math test found that the framing of the test affect test performance. African-American students are sometimes stereotyped as being at an educational disadvantage, and this stereotype is sometimes internalized by students themselves. But when the test wasn’t framed as a measurement of intelligence, but rather an interesting and challenging questionnaire, students didn’t focus on this stereotype, and results improved.
 If you want to reframe an asshole’s behavior, start by understanding that you’re not to blame. Instead, imagine that there might be a perfectly plausible reason for their actions. For example, perhaps something stressful is going on in their personal life that you’re unaware of. This form of reframing is called reappraisal, and there’s science to back up its effectiveness as well.
 In a Stanford University study, students had their reactions analyzed after being shown “upsetting” photographs of angry people. After the first batch of photographs, some students were then given reappraisal training, where they were told to consider that maybe the angry people in the pictures had just had a bad day and that the real source of their anger was someone else. These students were significantly less upset by the subsequent photos than those who weren’t given the chance to reappraise.
 So put reappraisal to use in your life too!
 <h5>Before confronting an asshole, collect evidence of their behavior and evaluate how to confront them.</h5>
 If you’re forced to endure an asshole every day, you’ve probably thought about fighting back against their annoying or harmful behavior. You should know, however, that starting a war with an asshole is a risky business fraught with pitfalls. So here are some tips to help you strategize.
 First of all, prepare documentation of the person’s past behavior. Rock-solid evidence of asshole behavior will prevent you from entering a he-said-she-said situation./p>
 When Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson accused the powerful network head, Roger Ailes, of firing her because she turned down his sexual advances, she did so with strong documentation in hand. Carlson had recordings of over 18 months of meetings with Ailes that contained a multitude of inappropriate remarks. Thanks to this evidence, Aisles was fired, Fox News apologized and Carlson was awarded $20 million in compensation.
 But what if you’re not looking to file a complaint or start a lawsuit, and simply want the asshole to stop acting like an asshole? Well, there are two ways to go about it.
 The first is a calm and rational confrontation, which involves taking the asshole aside in a civilized manner and gently voicing your concerns. This works best with both temporary and clueless assholes who don’t realize the negative effect their behavior is having. It’s also effective with the egotistical sort who would be mortified to think that people are calling them assholes behind their backs.
 The other option is aggressive confrontation, which you can think of as fighting fire with fire and giving the asshole a taste of their own medicine. Being an asshole to an asshole is shown to work with selfish, Machiavellian personalities who view others as a tool for their success. A 2015 study showed these types tend to back off when confronted by a similarly selfish and uncooperative person. So it seems that sometimes to defeat an asshole, you need to act like one yourself.

<h5>You might be an asshole, especially if you’re rich, so make sure you practice self-awareness.</h5>
 There are two main philosophies regarding how to deal with assholes: we want to avoid them whenever possible, and we don’t want our loved ones to have to deal with them either. To be able to check off both of these boxes, you need to make sure you aren’t an unwitting asshole yourself.
 There’s an old joke that goes, “Every group has an asshole, and if you don’t know who it is, it’s probably you!” Unfortunately, identifying and acknowledging your own asshole tendencies isn’t easy.
 In fact, only one percent of people confess to being assholes, even though over 50 percent of Americans have reported persistent bullying, either of themselves or others. So, if these numbers are correct, there are clearly a great many oblivious assholes.
 But if you are an asshole, it’s important to realize this. Psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson believes that an integral part of our self-awareness, and happiness, depends on acknowledging and accepting how others perceive us, however painful that reality may be. The closer we bring our self-perception to the perceptions of others, the happier and healthier our relationships with those people will be.
 If you happen to be rich, self-awareness becomes even more important, because the power that wealth bestows is a risk factor for becoming an asshole.
 A study at the University of California in Berkeley found that drivers with the most expensive cars would cut in front of fellow drivers 30 percent of the time and refuse to stop for pedestrians 50 percent of the time. Meanwhile, drivers of the cheapest cars always stopped for pedestrians and only cut off fellow drivers 10 percent of the time. In other words, wealthy drivers tended to behave like assholes.
 So remember, even if you encounter great success in life and find yourself in a position of power, don’t go the same route that so many others have gone. Break the cycle and stay considerate of your fellow human beings.
 As a reader wrote to the author, no one on their deathbed wishes they would’ve been meaner!

<h5>One - Enough complaining, no more excuses: You are responsible for the course of your life.</h5>
 Are you ready to ditch your unfulfilling daily routine and start living your dream life? Then let’s get started!
 The first thing you need to understand on your journey to personal and professional success is that you are the director of your own life.
 When we fail, we often look for an excuse, blaming the failure on things that happen to us. But how these events affect us in the long run depends on how we respond to them.
 magine one circumstance where you receive $400. You could buy something nice for yourself, or invest the money in a mutual fund.
 If you opt for the former, you have no money left. If you choose the latter, you have made an investment on which you can later build and earn even more money – a much wiser decision.
 So if you want to start seeing improvements in your life, you need to change your responses.
 It’s far too easy to just complain about your circumstances. But if you pay more attention to how you’re living and the choices you’re making, you’ll soon see whether you’re on the right path to success.
 For instance, you’re either fit or out of shape. Ask yourself, what are you doing – or not doing – to make your body this way?
 If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll need to be aware of your daily calorie intake and your level of activity. Be honest with yourself: Do you eat well? Should you cut out chocolate or junk food?
 No one says that change is easy. It requires discipline, persistence and some experimentation. In the next blink, you’ll find out how to get a good start on changing your life

Success Principles

<h5>Two - Finding your purpose in life will help you better define what success means to you.</h5>
 What if you’re not sure what personal success would look like for you? Relax – you’re not alone.
 Slow down and take some time to contemplate. One of the first steps toward personal success is to examine your reason for being: why are you here on earth? The life purpose exercise can help you discover this.
 To find your purpose, identify two of your strongest personality traits; describe the way you interact with others; and then imagine your ideal world. Once you have done this, combine these into a statement of life purpose.
 You might come up with: “My purpose is to use my honesty and passion to inspire others to move forward in their chosen profession, to help contribute to a world where people have fulfilling careers.”
 The next step is to create a vision – a mental picture of what your perfect future looks like. What would your perfect job be? How much free time would you have? What sort of friends?
 American president John F. Kennedy, who envisioned putting a man on the moon, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, who imagined a free and equal America for all people, were two influential visionaries. They succeeded in making seemingly unattainable ideas a reality – so why shouldn’t you do the same?
 Once you have your vision in mind, break it down into smaller goals that are ambitious, specific and tangible. What do you want to achieve, and how much time will you give yourself to achieve it?
 For example, being nicer to your employees may be well-meaning, but it’s not a specific, measurable goal. A clearer goal would be, “I will acknowledge six employees for their help with the latest project by the end of this week.” As you can measure your progress, you’ll know when you have achieved your goal.
 Defining a goal for every part of your vision will narrow the gap between your current reality and ultimate success.
 <h5>Three - When you visualize your dream, you should be able to see it, smell it and feel it, as if it was real. </h5>
 How do you push beyond your comfort zone toward achieving your vision? Two practices – affirmation and visualization – can help you.
 Affirmation starts when you state your goal as if it has already been realized, in a complete sentence. The most effective affirmations are in the first person, are positive and to the point.
 For example, “I love driving down the highway in my new yellow Lamborghini” is far more effective and precise than saying, “I want a new car.” You should specify exactly what your goal will look like once you have reached it.
 It is also important to add to your affirmation sentence how you will feel when you have reached your goal. Researchers have found that ideas stick in our memory better when a thought is coupled with a strong emotion.
 Thus, “I feel ecstatic when I’m driving down the highway in my new yellow Lamborghini” is a great affirmation!
 Once you’ve crafted your affirmations, connect each with a vivid image of your affirmation, called a visualization.
 To do this, close your eyes and imagine your affirmation in as much detail as you can. If your affirmation is, “I enjoy relaxing in the sunroom of my villa in Madrid,” visualize the colors of your house, the furniture in the sunroom, and so on.
 Add sounds, smells and tastes to your mental picture. What does it physically feel like to sit on the couch in your sunroom? Can you hear the sounds of the busy street, or birds singing?
 The more you fill your visualisation with emotions and sensory details, the more intensely you’ll feel it, giving you more power and momentum to reach your goal.
 <h5>Four - To succeed, be persistent, never give in to “no” and don’t forget to practice, practice, practice.</h5>
 Now that you’re well on your way to achieving ultimate success, you’ll need to prepare yourself for potential obstacles and, if you depend on others, possible rejection.
 Rejection is just a speedbump on the road to success. If someone says “no,” just keep trying until someone says “yes,” while keeping in mind your next step.
 Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders was no stranger to rejection. In fact, he heard “no” more than 300 times when proposing his business idea before someone said “yes.” If he’d quit at the first rejection, there wouldn’t be more than 11,000 KFC restaurants around the world!
 Best-selling author Stephen King also nearly chucked out the manuscript for his book Carrie after receiving many early rejections. But because he refused to give up, Carrie ended up selling more than 4 million copies, and was made into a film.
 On your road toward your dream life, you need to excel at what you do. An important principle to focus on is to become an over-achiever. Don’t be afraid to keep trying, and work your way toward your goal one step at a time.
 Take author Debbie Macomber. It took her five years of hard work before she sold her first book. She wrote for two and a half years while raising her children. To add to the pressure, her husband wanted her to give up her dream and go back to work.
 However, Macomber knew she could do it and spent a further two and a half years pursuing her dream, despite being tight on cash, never taking a vacation and losing a lot of sleep. In the end, it was worth it: she’s published over 100 books and many have become best sellers.
 Now that you know perseverance is the key to success, how do you allow success to happen?
 <h5>Five - Clear your slate of unfinished business or projects: do it, delegate it, delay it or dump it. </h5>
 Now that we’ve explored the fundamentals of success, let’s focus on some work you need to finish before you can really achieve your dreams.
 First, you need to address unfinished business. Do you have any projects you’ve abandoned or left half-done? Do you need to clean your closet,or finish last year’s taxes? These small things can take valuable energy from achieving your larger goals.
 View it this way: it’s better to have five completed projects than 15 half-completed projects.
 One useful method is to schedule a completion weekend, where you take time to clear your slate of all unfinished business. Be clear and decisive: either do it, delegate it, delay it or dump it.
 Although choosing to delay a project doesn’t sound productive, it differs from procrastination in that you are consciously deciding to relegate the item.
 This “cleaning up” is not only applicable to tangible stuff in your life, but also to your relationships.
 How much energy are you wasting, holding a grudge against a colleague who sold your work as his? How about that friend who is never around when you need her? To move forward, you need to forgive. Forgiving doesn’t mean doing someone else a favor, it means that you have let go and released tension for your own benefit.
 People who have found the strength to fully forgive can experience remarkable results. In some instances, they no longer suffer from ailments such as chronic migraines, constipation or other diseases. One man even dropped six pounds within two days without changing his diet.
 Picture how fantastic you would feel if you were suddenly at peace with others!
 One effective technique you can use to help you forgive someone is to write a “total truth letter” to vent your anger. Write down things that have angered you, and you’ll notice that acknowledging your pain and grudges is the first step toward forgiveness.

<h5>Six - We are our worst enemies when it comes to believing in ourselves. Think positively! </h5>
 Once you’ve taken care of unfinished business, you’ll hopefully feel like you’re already making significant progress toward your goals. Now, let’s make sure that your thoughts are in order, too.
 Face it: you’re often your own biggest enemy. Most of us harbor negative thoughts about ourselves, so-called limiting beliefs, where we fixate on the things we think we can’t do. This mentality can be very damaging, as this one example shows.
 A railroad worker got trapped in a refrigerated freight wagon while carrying out some repairs. Panicked, he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of his freezing to death, and decided to write a last message to his family.
 The next morning he was found dead in the wagon. And although he showed physical signs of having frozen to death, the wagon's cooling system was actually out of order, and the temperature inside the wagon was a temperate 13°C. The man had essentially died through his own negative thinking.
 To succeed, you need to stem, if not eliminate completely, your negative thoughts.
 Yet if you look deep enough, self-love is often found underneath self-criticism. You might think, “I’m fat and lazy,” but if you examine this thought, what you’re really saying is, “I’m scared.”
 You’re scared that you might get sick by being overweight, and in your self-criticism, you’re asking yourself to take better care of your body. You’re really saying inside: “I care about myself. I want to be healthy and strong and I deserve to feel great about my body!” This is an expression of self-love.
 By transitioning from judgment to admitting fear, to a request for action and then acknowledging love, you’ll start changing your limiting beliefs into thoughts that are positive and beneficial.
 So stop judging yourself and start talking to yourself like you know your real value!
 <h5>Seven - Building a support team chock-full of successful people can help you reach your goals. </h5>
 Having personal resolve is crucial on your path to success, but you can’t walk that path on your own. Highly successful people always have others to inspire or mentor them along the way.
 One thing you can do is to create a support group. You can do this by gathering a so-called mastermind group, a supportive circle of people with whom you can share ideas and challenges.
 Consider identifying six people with whom you are close, and hold scheduled conferences or Skype calls where each person takes 15 minutes to pose questions. For you to get the most value from these sessions, each group member should excel at a skill you wish to learn, or have achieved a goal you covet.
 For example, if you’re a small business owner, it might be advantageous to include one or two successful entrepreneurs from your industry in your group. Other professionals such as consultants, lawyers or investment bankers can also be of great help.
 Another powerful way you can find support is to identify a mentor.
 Even though it’s tempting to ask advice from friends or coworkers, it’s far more useful to ask people who’ve already achieved what you want to achieve.
 You needn’t be shy about approaching successful people, as most will be eager to share their recipe for success with you.
 For example, when motivational speaker Les Brown started his career, only Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, an acclaimed motivational guru, had faith in him. When Brown approached Peale, the latter was honored to share his experiences and ensured that Brown was well-equipped to become a successful coach and speaker.
 You can get the ball rolling by writing an email to someone you think would make a suitable mentor, and ask if they could spare 15 minutes per month for you to share ideas and ask questions.
 <h5>Eight - Support others, and they will support you in return. Create meaningful, honest relationships!</h5>
 To get the most benefit out of your support network, you must first lay a solid foundation of honesty and appreciation to build meaningful relationships.
 Telling the truth can be scary. But we must tell the truth if we are to create and foster our connections with others.
 Consider the story of Jack Canfield and Larry Prince and their non-profit, Foundation for Self-Esteem.
 The two men submitted a proposal to design a training program for job hunters for the Los Angeles County Office for Education. However, when they realized the restrictions of the program, they decided to inform the county officers that they couldn’t comply with the regulations, thus risking losing the competition and the $730,000 grant.
 But because of their honesty, they actually ended up winning the competition!
 In addition to honesty, appreciation of others is often undervalued in relationships. In a study of some 200 companies, employees rated appreciation as the number-one motivator of a list of ten motivational themes; managers and supervisors, however, ranked appreciation in eighth place.
 It’s clear that we want to be more appreciated at work; so be sure you do your bit by showing appreciation for others.
 How exactly do you do this? It depends on the type of person you are, whether auditory, visual or tactile. The best way to appreciate others is to discover what makes them tick and combine different ways to express appreciation.
 For instance, you could invite someone for dinner, give them an encouraging pat on the back, praise them over the phone or write them a thank-you card.
 But crucially, be as authentic as possible. You shouldn’t hide the truth when it needs to be told. But also remember to honor and thank the people who support you.
 <h5>Nine - Being a “wealthy” person means so much more than just having a lot of cash in the bank. </h5>
 Do you agree that “money is the root of all evil?”
 If so, you need to redefine what wealth means to you. Most of us think that wealth is only about money, our assets or possessions. However, it’s much more than that: wealth also contains intellectual, human and civic facets.
 In terms of financial assets, you may ask: what goals do I have for my property, and what stocks and bonds would I like to own?
 Aside from tangible assets, try to also see how your relationships, health, morals and habits connect with how you create wealth. Also consider your education, your reputation and your skills.
 Bearing these factors in mind, you can start making your wealth work to your advantage. Many financially successful people consider their human and intellectual assets to be more valuable than their financial assets, as health, happiness and relationships form a foundation for lasting financial success.
 Another factor that will add considerably to your personal well-being is to offer your time to a worthy cause. Helping others has a remarkable effect on keeping us content and satisfied in our lives.
 Studies on volunteerism have shown that people who help others enjoy longer and healthier lives. Also, those of us who start volunteering and helping others at a young age are more likely to benefit from a successful career later on.
 Consider which causes are closest to your heart. For example, if you love to read, you could volunteer to read to the blind. You could even start a business that makes books for blind people.
 To get the most out of what life can offer, you need to become “wealthy,” which means so much more than just having financial assets.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 You can achieve your greatest ambitions, but it takes some know-how. Following and practicing the principles of success will equip you to reach your personal and professional goals and live your dream life.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 Cross off a nagging task on your to-do list, today.
 It may be as simple as filing some papers or getting your car’s oil checked, but completing a neglected task, even if just one per day, will make a huge difference toward achieving your more ambitious goals.
 Ask someone you admire for 15 minutes of their time.
 Find someone who has achieved a dream similar to your own and ask for 15 minutes of their time per month to advise and mentor you. The worst they can say is “no,” and in the best case, you might find a person who will be an invaluable resource in helping you live the life you want.
 Suggested further reading: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People introduces the habits which single out people who deal effectively with the world around them. The author believes that people who lead successful and fulfilling lives do not pursue a state of individual independence as their ultimate goal, but instead align themselves internally with universal principles, such as honesty and integrity.

<h5>Mentally strong people replace self-pity with gratitude.</h5>
 One day, Amy Morin witnessed a minor accident: two cars in a supermarket parking lot were backing up and bumped into each other. Morin watched the two drivers get out of the car and she couldn’t help noticing something. Even though those drivers just experienced the same accident, their reactions couldn’t have been more different. The first driver got out and looked almost relieved. How lucky he was that no one was seriously hurt! How miraculous that this hadn’t led to a serious injury! The second driver, however, felt rather unlucky: Oh great, he moaned. Just exactly what he needed! Why does this BS always happen to him? 
 So, what’s the point? Well, the second driver is a perfect example of the first behavior that mentally strong people don’t do: he is pitying himself. He is sulking, dwelling in his misfortune, throwing a pity party. People who pity themselves tend to think their problems are much worse. They complain that life is not fair and when you ask them how their day went, they will readily hand you a list of all the things that went wrong. 
 But as common as it is, it’s also a problem. Because feeling sorry for yourself can be quite self-destructive. You're not only wasting your time; you’re also training your mind to focus on the negatives. Which will make you more miserable, and this in turn will make you focus even more on the downsides. Meanwhile, all the good luck and positive experiences pass by unnoticed.
 So, yes, self-pity is destructive. But how can you stop? Well, the most effective antidote is gratitude. If you’re stuck in a mindset of “Bad things are always happening to me,” just stop for a second. Sit down and write a list of the good things that have happened to you. To make it more regular, you can also keep a gratitude journal. All you have to do is write down at least one thing you are grateful for per day. Also, it helps to say it out loud – tell the people around you what life has gifted you. 
 Sooner or later, you might find yourself in the mindset of the first driver. Instead of complaining about a minor accident, you’ll actually feel thankful that nothing worse has happened. Which brings you one step closer to becoming a mentally strong person.

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.

<h5>Mentally strong people hold onto their power and forgive others.</h5>
 Let’s meet Lauren, a loving mother of two. She nearly had a picture-perfect family life, if it wasn’t for one thing: her mother-in-law. Lauren found her overbearing. Not only would she come over unannounced, she constantly criticized Lauren’s parenting style and even made nasty comments about her weight. Lauren always kept a polite smile on the outside, but was boiling on the inside. And it wasn’t only that her mother-in-law occupied precious family time; Lauren also found herself ruminating and complaining about her at least several hours per week. Clearly, something was wrong. 
 Which brings us to the second habit that mentally strong people don’t do: they don’t let other people have power over them. 
 This was the core of Lauren’s problem: because she was afraid of speaking up, she let her mother-in-law control how she felt and behaved. There are many ways in which this habit can manifest. If you’re susceptible to other people’s criticism, if you let other people make you angry, if other people can guilt you into doing something you don’t wanna do – it’s a sign that you give others power over you.
 So how do you take back control over your life? Let’s take another look at Lauren. After she realized how much time and energy she spent complaining about her mother-in-law, she sat down with her husband. They decided to set respectful, but clear and healthy boundaries. So they had a talk with her. They told her that instead of her dropping by unannounced, they would regularly invite her for dinner. They also demanded that she stop criticizing Lauren’s parenting style. In the beginning, it was hard for her mother-in-law to adapt – but she managed. And Lauren got back control over her family home and her life.
 <h5>Retaining your power is about being confident in who you are and the choices you make, despite the people around you and the circumstances you are in</h5>
 Mentally strong people are always ready to embrace change.
 Richard was frustrated. He just got diagnosed with diabetes and his doctor told him he was 75 pounds overweight, so he felt like he needed to make a change – which was easier said than done. He made a pledge to abstain from any sort of junk food; he even cleared his shelves of all the cookies and sugary drinks. He signed up for the gym. All of this sounded like a good plan – on paper. In real life, though, he soon found himself snacking in front of the TV instead of exercising. Despite all the best intentions, he didn’t lose a single pound!
 Let’s face it: Making a change is difficult. But if you lack the mental strength, it’s easy to shy away from it. But this comes at a heavy price: Without change, you can feel like you’re stuck while others are outgrowing you.
 So how do mentally strong people approach change? First and foremost, they avoid the single biggest pitfall: overwhelming yourself with too much change at once. This is what happened with Richard. His methods were just too radical, too unrealistic – he set himself up for failure. 
 Instead, try these two tips.
 First, break down your ambition into smaller, more reachable goals. Replace radical change with incremental change. This is what Richard learned to do. Instead of wanting to lose 75 pounds at once, he now strived to lose five pounds as a first step. 
 And, secondly, make a plan. This means you craft concrete action steps that are easy to follow. For example, Richard started a food journal to keep track of his eating and prepared lunch instead of eating out. He planned out three gym visits per week in advance and for the other days, he made a pledge to go for a short walk with his family after dinner. 
 So now we know how mentally strong people handle change: They avoid the scary all-or-nothing-change and instead they craft smaller and more realistic goals and attach concrete actions to it that they can do daily. You can make change so un-scary that shying away from it is simply not an option anymore.
 <h5>Mentally strong people don’t get distracted by things they can’t control.</h5>
 One day, James wanted to spend an afternoon whale watching with his daughter. Such dates had become a rare and cherished occasion; after the divorce from his wife, Carmen, she was granted primary custody while James was only allowed to see her on Wednesdays and weekends. To make things even more complicated, the divorced parents were competing over their daughter’s favor, trying to trump one another with gifts and fun activities. So when he learned from his daughter that her mom had taken her on a whale watching trip just the week prior – supposedly to ruin their whale watching trip – James was infuriated. Instead of enjoying the rare quality time with his daughter, he sent angry text messages to his ex-wife. The afternoon was ruined.
 So what exactly are we witnessing here? It’s this: James got unnecessarily upset about something that was outside his control. But like most people, James loves to have full control over the situation. This includes telling people what and what not to do. But this just made the situation worse, spoiling the already rare quality time with his daughter.
 Mentally strong people, on the other hand, develop a balanced sense of control. They have a good grip of what they can and cannot control and therefore invest their time and energy more wisely. 
 The first step here is clear: You need to acknowledge that there are some things you won’t be able to change. For example, you won’t be able to force your child to be an A+ student, you can’t force people to follow your advice, and you cannot control illnesses or the weather. 
 Once you’ve accepted that some things are out of your control, you can focus on what’s actually in your sphere of influence. And then you make the best out of the circumstances. 
 Which brings us back to James. Soon he realized he won’t be able to change his ex-wife, and also has no power over how she spends her time with their daughter. What he could do is make the best out of his time with his daughter. So instead of complaining or dragging his ex-wife to court over custody, he learned to be more present and enjoy every bit of time he gets to have with his daughter.
 <h5>Always wanting to please others doesn’t work, and being ready to sometimes displease makes you stronger.</h5>
 This time, let’s say hi to Megan. Megan had a relatable problem: she felt constantly stressed. The to-dos seemed to pour in from all sides – church members asked her to quickly bake some muffins for Sunday Service, her sister needed her as a babysitter, and her cousin always came over with some last-minute favor to ask. Soon it became clear that Megan’s stress had a particular reason: it was because she had a hard time saying no. Or, in other words, she was a people pleaser.
 Being nice is – well, nice. But it becomes a problem if you’re being too nice. First of all, people who tend to be too nice can be easily taken advantage of. Since they hate to disagree, they will rather say yes than risk a conflict. Not only are they constantly concerned about what other people think about them, they will also go to great lengths to change their behavior so that they appear more likeable, often at the expense of their own desires and wishes. 
 It’s not hard to guess what’s wrong with this sort of behavior. If you always focus on other people’s needs, you're not gonna get your own needs met. Not only is it extremely stressful; it can also damage your relationships. That’s what happened with Megan. Because she always said yes to the short-term requests of her cousin, she grew frustrated and behaved irritably toward her own family. Sometimes she’d even miss dinner or couldn’t put her kids to bed. 
 So if you find yourself to be an overly agreeable person, what can you do? Here are two tips:
 Tip number one is that you have to remember one thing: It’s not your job to make everybody happy all the time. It’s okay if someone else feels mad or upset. It’s not the end of the world. They’re grown-ups, and they learned how to cope with negative emotions just as you did.
 Tip number two is a rather practical one. If someone asks you for a favor, take some time before you say yes or no. This is actually what the author told Megan. Whenever someone asked her for something, she felt pressed and automatically said yes, even if she didn’t want to. So Morin gave her a script, something she could easily respond with in those situations. For example, when someone asked her for a favor, she said something like this: “Thanks for asking. Let me check my calendar and then I’ll get back at you in a bit.” This way, she bought herself some time. Which made it easier for her to say this small but powerful word with two letters: no.
 <h5>Mentally strong people are not afraid of taking calculated risks.</h5>
 When Dale told his wife about an old dream of his – opening up his own furniture store – he was met with a good amount of eye-rolling. Oh, what a dreamer he was! And he agreed – why would he give up his stable job as a high school teacher for a risky undertaking like this? So he kept on working in the same old job. The only problem: The more he tried to forcefully repress his true aspiration, the more frustrated he grew. Even worse, he felt defeated and depressed. He found himself stuck in a dilemma. What should he do?
 So let’s take a deeper look at this and see how mentally strong people handle risks. Like Dale, most people are naturally averse to risk-taking. They’re afraid of making certain decisions, often entertaining worst-case scenarios in their head. But instead of fulfilling their wishes, they end up on the couch ruminating about what life could have had in store for them if they only dared to do X and Y. 
 So what do mentally strong people do differently? Here’s the answer: they take calculated risks. They do this in two steps.
 First, they get a full and realistic picture of the potential dangers and benefits involved. They ask themselves: What is the worst thing that can happen? Also, what is the best thing that can happen? 
 Second, they find a way to appropriately adjust the risks involved. Too many people approach life decisions with an all-or-nothing attitude. “Either I’ll become a famous rock star or I’ll be a loser forever!,” they cry. But don’t be overly dramatic. There’s a middle way.
 And that’s exactly what Dale did. He realized it’s not an either-or-decision. He can have the safety of his daytime job and the excitement of running his own business at the same time. All he had to do was start his furniture shop on a part-time basis, working on evenings and weekends. And instead of buying a whole store, he could sell his creations online. If there was enough interest, he could open a storefront later on. His mood immediately improved. After all, he did what mentally strong people naturally do: he took a calculated risk.
 <h5>Coming to terms with the past makes you stronger, but it takes concrete steps to do so.</h5>
 Gloria's relationship with her 28-year-old daughter was more than difficult. It became clear to Gloria that her daughter was stuck in a loop of self-destructive behavior – constantly switching boyfriends, not holding down a job, and moving back in with her. But instead of saying anything, she even enabled it with her well-meaning behavior. Why? Because she felt guilt and shame over how she wasn’t really there for her daughter when she was younger, so now she wanted to make up for it. In other words, she was so stuck in the past that she couldn’t move forward.
 If there’s something we can learn from Gloria’s story, it’s this: if you want to become mentally stronger, you should stop dwelling on your past. This habit comes in many forms. It can mean you’re replaying certain scenes from your past over and over; you’re wondering how your life would’ve turned out if you had taken this one job; or you assume that getting back with your ex-lover will solve all your problems. Yes, a certain amount of retrospective reflection is healthy, but too much of it can be destructive. 
 How do you stop then, you might ask yourself. Here’s the trick: Instead of dwelling on your past, you should come to terms with it and then move forward.
 The first step here is acceptance. You’ve got to realize that no matter what you do, you’re not gonna be able to change what has happened. This may also mean that you forgive someone who has inflicted pain on you.
 And second, move forward. Shift your thoughts onto something new, and do this with intention. When you notice how your thoughts are spiraling back to past events, make an effort to replace those thoughts – for example, start making plans for your next vacation. Even better: Come up with new goals for your future. The more you get yourself in a habit of thinking about the future, the harder it will become for your brain to go back to the past. Hence you stop dwelling on it.
 So far, we’ve been talking quite a lot about habits. But we haven’t really acknowledged that habits can come in many shapes and forms. Take Gloria from the blink before. It was her thinking that was problematic, since her thoughts were so stuck in the past. This was different from Richard from blink number three who found himself snacking in front of the TV even though he wanted to lose weight – here we are talking about habitual behavior. And remember James, who got so upset that his ex-wife took their daughter on a whale watching trip before he did? Well, his bad habits were all about emotions.
 The point here is, if you want to develop your mental strength, you need to be aware of these three levels of mental strength: thoughts, behavior and emotions. Some bad habits start out on one level and then have a tendency to spill over. But it also works the other way around; if you start improving one of those three, it will affect the other two. They are all intertwined.

<h5>Mentally strong people avoid repeating the same mistakes, and this requires self-discipline.</h5>
 Let’s take a little time machine to a small town in mid-nineteenth-century Massachusetts. We’re with the businessman Rowland Macy, who just launched a dry goods store, but made quite a fatal mistake. The location he chose was way too quiet, and he struggled to attract customers as a result. 
 To drum up interest in his fledgling store, Macy organized a large parade through his town that would end up at his shop. Unfortunately, on the day of the parade it was so blazing hot that nobody turned up. He fell so deep into debt that he had to give up his business. 
 But Macy learned from this experience and vowed not to make the same mistake again. The next time he opened a “Macy Dry Goods” store he chose a prime location in downtown New York. It was a massive hit. The rest is history: Macy’s became one of the biggest chain stores in the world and still holds a parade every year – just in the fall, to avoid the heat. 
 What Rowland Macy did here is another characteristic of mentally strong people: they study and learn from their mistakes so they don’t repeat them in the future.
 To learn from your mistakes the next time something goes wrong, you can take some time to ask yourself the following questions: What did I do wrong? What could I have done better? And what can I do differently next time around? 
 Of course, knowing what you need to do differently and actually doing it is not the same thing. This is why, if you want to put a stop to the bad habits once and for all, you need to practice self-discipline. Here are three simple methods to become a more disciplined person.
 First, keep your eyes on your goal. By picturing how great it will feel once you’ve reached it, like how amazing it will feel once you’ve put the finishing touches on your novel, it will be easier to sit down to write on evenings when you feel like just dropping down in front of the TV.
 Second, make a list of mistakes you’ve made in the past that you don’t want to repeat. Carry this list with you at all times, and when you feel like you’re about to repeat a mistake, take it out and read it to yourself. 
 And third, make it harder to make mistakes. Let’s say your goal is to save money for a dream trip, but you always end up spending too much money when you’re out with your friends. Before you leave home for an outing, take a small amount of cash out and leave your credit card at home. That way, you’re less likely to go on a spending spree.
 
 <h4>"Learning from each mistake requires self awareness and humility, but it can be on of the biggest keys to reaching your full potential"</h4>
 
 <h5>Mentally strong people don’t envy other people’s success but rather seek to collaborate with them.</h5>
 So if you ever got grumpy while browsing through your peers’ seemingly perfect lives on social media, this one might be for you. In 2013, researchers published a study with the telling title “Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users’ Life Satisfaction.” The result: People can get really bummed out to see other people’s successes and happiness. Being exposed to your peers’ vacation photos is particularly bad, and they can even get angry over a lot of birthday wishes.
 If that sounds relatable to you, behold! This feeling is called resentment and – you guessed it – it’s something mentally strong people don’t do. If you feel like other people are more successful than you, you’ll likely feel envious about their good fortune. On the outside you might keep a polite smile, but when your neighbour shows you his brand-new Tesla, you might secretly despise him. You were just about to enjoy this garden party, but now your mood is ruined.
 Often, people’s resentments are a sign of their own insecurities. And it's particularly easy to resent other people’s accomplishments if you don’t really know what you want yourself. Let’s say you’ve got a friend who’s flying all around the world for important business trips and your first thought is: “I wish I could have that lifestyle.” But do you? Didn’t you wish you had more family time before? Now what is it that you want, a jetset life or more family time?
 So what do you do? First of all, you need to gain clarity about what success and accomplishment looks like to you. If your New Year’s resolution is to bike more often to work, you’ll have a hard time despising your neighbor’s new car – you wouldn’t even want his car in the first place. Case closed.
 Another way to get rid of resentful emotions is a change of attitude. Life’s not a rat race in which you perpetually have to outperform everybody around you. Instead of competing, think more about collaborating. Yes, you might be secretly angry about your brother’s financial success – but why not ask him for some tips and learn from him? It’s hard to resent someone who’s about to help you out, isn’t it?
 <h5>Mentally strong people don’t give up easily, and they are self-compassionate about failure.</h5>
 Today, Thomas Edison is world-famous for inventing the light bulb. But did you know that he also came up with contraptions like the electric pen or the so-called ghost machine? If you’ve never heard of these, don’t worry – both were complete failures. And they were far from being Edison’s only flops – at least, from our perspective. Edison himself didn’t consider these attempts to be failures. Instead, he saw them as learning opportunities, chances to experiment with what worked and what didn’t. Each time he failed, he considered himself to be one step closer to succeeding.
 But, yeah, this is not the common perspective on failure. If you drop out of college or lose an important client, your go-to-reaction is not “Finally, another learning opportunity.” The opposite is true. It often comes with a sense of shame – an experience we want to avoid at all costs. As a consequence, some people will stop trying entirely, making it a habit to give up at the faintest sign of hardship.
 Obviously, giving up is not an option if you want to develop your mental strength. How do you deal with it then? We have two tips in store.
 First, get rid of unhealthy beliefs about success and failure. In the face of resistance, it’s easy to make excuses that you’re just not talented enough. Well, not true – science has it that regular practice will trump natural talent. If you just put in enough hours, you’ll most likely overtake anyone who doesn’t. Same goes for IQ. IQ is a rather lousy predictor of success. Yes, being smart might give you a head start, but perseverance has shown to be way more important when it comes to long-term achievement.
 Second, self-compassion can be key when you have to face challenging times. More often than not, you are your harshest critic. But being too hard on yourself can result in resignation, falsely believing that you’re just not good enough. Instead, try being as compassionate with yourself as you might be with a friend. Nobody is perfect, yourself included. Be kind towards your own weaknesses. That will help you develop a realistic view of what’s possible or not.
 <h5>Mentally strong people are comfortable being alone and use meditation to become more resilient.</h5>
 Okay, now back to Morin’s counseling office. This time we’re sitting with Vanessa, who has a very particular problem. Despite being exhausted from busy work days, she had a hard time falling asleep. It feels like she can’t turn off her mind; her thoughts are racing hour after hour, pondering situations of the day or worrying about tasks to come. During the day, she was working as quite the successful real estate agent, always on the go, always “on.” Morin asked her how often she just sat down just by herself, doing nothing and giving her thoughts some space, to which she replied, “Never – why would I?!”
 Being alone and winding down is not something that ranks high on most people’s priority list. Some find it unproductive, others outright scary. They’re uncomfortable with silence and solitude. They pack their calendar with social events, and when they’re actually by themselves, they’re on their phone or let the TV fill their apartments with background noises. 
 But as mentally strong people know, they’re missing out on something. Of course, too much alone time can be detrimental, especially if it comes with the feeling of loneliness. But studies show that solitary skills correlate with increased mental well-being, life satisfaction, and better stress management. Maybe, most importantly, being by yourself helps to recharge your batteries.
 So how do you get more comfortable with yourself and your thoughts?
 It’s easy to regard alone time as unimportant and disposable. So to really make time for yourself you should schedule a date with just yourself. Put it into your calendar and tell family and friends you won’t be able to see them during this time. 
 Once you’ve carved out your alone time, find something that you enjoy doing by yourself. Be aware, though: TV, social media and scrolling through YouTube for cat videos doesn’t count here. Instead, give your thoughts and desire to self-reflect the room it deserves. You can take up journaling, for example. Also, meditation and mindfulness are the best known methods to quiet your mind and find a sense of peace.
 And by the way, that’s what Vanessa did, too. She made it a habit to make some time for meditation and mindfulness practices in the evening. Her racing thoughts slowed down considerably. And before she knew it, she was lying in bed, sleeping like a baby.
 <h5>Many people have an entitlement mentality, but strong people concentrate on giving rather than taking.</h5>
 Lucas was by no means popular among his coworkers. Even though he was fresh out of college and just starting out, he behaved like a know-it-all. He constantly told his more experienced coworkers how he would do it. He thought of himself as an extremely valuable employee who deserved a promotion into a leadership position. But instead of promoting him, Lucas’s boss told him to tone it down; his coworkers were annoyed by his bossy behavior. They felt like he’s acting a bit, well . . . entitled.
 Even though that sounds far from relatable, we all have a little bit of Lucas inside us. To some degree, we’re all inclined to believe that the world owes us something
 Here’s the problem: The more you think you are deserving something, the less likely it will become that you will actually earn it. If you think that the world owes you, you’ll just demand it instead of putting in the effort. On top of that, unrealistic expectations about what you should get is a real turn-off for the people around you. If we sense that someone is mostly taking and never giving – well, that will make us avoid this person.
 So how do you get over your sense of entitlement? Most importantly, you should become aware of it. Feeling that the world owes you doesn’t mean you’re walking through life like a princess – most of us show more subtle forms of entitlement. It’s mostly hidden in your thought patterns. If you believe there’s something exceptional about you, if you think a law doesn’t apply to you because it’s stupid or if you simply think, “Life isn’t fair, I deserve better than this” – then these are signs of an entitled attitude.
 So instead, let’s try some humility for a change. For starters, let’s acknowledge that you have weaknesses, too. Yes, I know, hard to grasp, but for real: you are not perfect. Like everybody else, you have shortcomings, insecurities and traits that make you less of a Prince Charming – and by the way, that’s perfectly fine. 
 Also, let’s receive critical feedback with some more humbleness, shall we? Since we’re not perfect, the other person probably has a point. We might not agree entirely, but dismissing this person as stupid isn’t helpful, either.
 After all, that’s what Lucas managed to do as well. He realized what kind of unfavorable impression he left with his coworkers and made a pledge to change. He stopped assuming that he knew everything better and grew open to learn more from those around him. And who knows, with this attitude he might earn the promotion after all.
 <h5>Mentally strong people recognize that achievements take time and that progress isn’t always immediately apparent.</h5>
 If there’s one weakness that Marcy had, it was her notorious impatience. When her kids or coworkers wouldn’t comply with her pace, she’d say, “I’m not getting any younger.” She’d read dozens of self-help books, but was disappointed when they didn’t magically change her life overnight. She abandoned therapy just after a few sessions because she didn’t see the immediate results that she wanted. What she was desperately looking for was a shortcut, a magic pill that would eliminate her dissatisfaction with life. Unfortunately, as mentally strong people know, this pill doesn’t exist.
 In a world of 24-hour delivery, on-demand streaming and fast food, most people are used to getting what they want as quickly as possible. But if instant gratification becomes an overall expectation, you’re gonna have some problems in your life. 
 The hard truth is: Change is hard and progress is not always immediately apparent. The question is how you handle this. If you’re like Marcy, you might get discouraged easily and abandon your efforts prematurely. This means you’ll never reap those special benefits that only come with a long-term commitment. Some things – like an education, an important career step or an artistic breakthrough – only come after years of hard, unrewarding work and perseverance.
 The first step of embracing the long haul is to create realistic expectations. If you expect quick and painless success, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Also, beware of fixed and unshakable deadlines for your goals; while it’s good to have an approximate idea of when you would like to finish, making it an all-or-nothing situation can certainly backfire. 
 And then, practice perseverance. Try to abstain from instant gratification more often – say no to the cookie or the impulse online shopping. But no matter how self-disciplined you are, you will also need some moments of accomplishment. So try to create them yourself! Try to break down your big goal into smaller short-term objectives, and once you’ve reached them, celebrate! If you accomplish milestone after milestone, it’s going to energize you for the overall journey.

<h4>Final Summary</h4>
 <ul>
 <li>Refrain from feeling sorry for yourself.</li>
 <li>Never give your power away to others.</li>
 <li>Embrace change.</li>
 <li>Avoid fretting about things you can’t control. </li>
 <li>Stop worrying about pleasing everyone.</li>
 <li>Never be afraid of taking risks, but be clever about which risks you take.</li>
 <li>Resist the urge to dwell on the past.</li>
 <li>Make sure to never make the same mistake twice.</li>
 <li>Never be resentful of other people’s success. </li>
 <li>Keep at it and never give up after an initial failure.</li>
 <li>Face your fears of being alone and overcome them.</li>
 <li>Be on your guard for feelings of entitlement.</li>
 <li>Never expect immediate results and be patient.</li>
 </ul>

<h5>Achieve success by learning from experts and accepting responsibility for your life.</h5>
 Have you ever wondered how certain individuals, though allotted no more time than most people, manage to accumulate vast wealth and achieve great success? Well, it’s mostly a matter of self-discipline applied to the three fundamental areas of life: personal success, career and overall happiness.
 You can do this, too. And it’s best to start by becoming disciplined about your personal success.
 A great way to do that is to learn from the experts in your field. Attend their conferences, read their books and listen to their podcasts.
 Just consider the author’s San Diego-based dentist. He attended every dental conference he could, and, at a conference in Hong Kong, he learned a technique that transformed his career. At the conference, a Japanese dentist shared a new procedure that permanently improved the appearance of teeth. The author’s dentist immediately began implementing this new technique, and within a few years, clients from all across the United States were booking treatments at his clinic.
 By the age of 55, he was known as a “dentist’s dentist” and had earned enough money to retire.
 Is the thought of early retirement appealing to you? Well, then it’s time to accept responsibility in your life.
 The author learned this the hard way. When he was 21, he worked in construction, earning just enough money to get by. He had no car, no savings and lived in a tiny apartment. Then he had an epiphany: he had to take responsibility and change his life. He had to stop blaming his problems on his childhood and lack of education.
 The very next day, he began working harder. He also started buying self-help books and dedicating his life to self-improvement. His conscious decision to no longer make excuses or blame others played an important role in his future success.
 
 <h4>"“With self-discipline, the average person can raise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him” "</h4>

No Excuses!

<h5>Accomplish your goals by adopting the Seven-Step Method and following advice from successful people.</h5>
 It’s hard sticking to New Year’s resolutions. In January, you’re dedicated to whatever you’ve resolved to do – be it taking a daily jog or quitting smoking. Come February, you find yourself skipping scheduled runs and sneaking forbidden smokes. So why can’t we stick to the program?
 USA Today reported that, in one study, a mere 4 percent of participants followed through with their resolutions. However, of those who did manage to stick to their resolutions, 44 percent wrote the resolution down.
 Committing your goals to paper makes it much likelier that you’ll achieve them; the simple act of writing out what you want minimizes distractions and focusses your energy in the right areas.
 To cash in on the power of the pen (and paper!), use the Seven-Step Method to achieve your goals:
 <ul>
 <li>Step 1: Decide what you want and be specific. If you want to accumulate more wealth, decide on exactly how much money you want. Or if you want to lose weight, determine exactly how many pounds you wish to shed.</li>
 <li>Step 2: Write down your specific goal.</li>
 <li>Step 3: Set a date by which you think you could accomplish it. Be realistic. If it’s a large goal, break it down to sub-deadlines.</li>
 <li>Step 4: Write down a list of everything you could possibly do to achieve your goal. This includes listing the obstacles that you’ll face and the additional knowledge and skills you’ll need to achieve it.</li>
 <li>Step 5: Prioritize the most beneficial tasks and add them to your calendar. Your most important tasks should be completed first.</li>
 <li>Step 6: Start on your tasks right away.</li>
 <li>Step 7: Do something every day that helps you achieve your goal.</li>
 </ul>
 
 <h4>"“There are no unrealistic goals; there are only unrealistic deadlines"</h4>
 
 In addition to employing the Seven-Step Method, ask for advice on how to achieve your goals more quickly.
 To demonstrate the effectiveness of seeking advice, consider the story of Bob Barton, one of the author's seminar attendees. Bob wanted to get ahead in his career. He paid close attention to how the senior salespeople at his company talked and dressed, and made a conscious effort to imitate them.
 This helped, but it wasn't until he asked one of the top salespeople to recommend a book that he really started to see results. They were flattered that he asked them and continued to recommend more books and audio programs. By disciplining himself to read and listen to them, Bob became the best salesperson in the office.
 <h5>Conquer your fears by facing them immediately and by completing The Disaster Report.</h5>
 Is your fear of failure – like not earning enough money or losing what cash you do have – holding you back from reaching your potential? If so, don’t fret: such fears aren’t hardwired into our brains. They’re learned during life, which means that, with a little willpower, they can be unlearned.
 An effective aid to overcoming your fears is The Disaster Report, which is comprised of four steps.
 <ul>
 <li>Step 1: Describe your fear clearly.</li>
 <li>Step 2: Determine the worst-case scenario. Are you holding back from investing because you’re afraid that you’ll lose all your money in the process? When you confront your fears, they gradually become manageable instead of dominating your thoughts and feelings.</li>
 <li>Step 3: Find solutions for the worst-case scenario. For example, say you did lose money in the process. Big deal! You can always find a job and earn it back. Fear often stems from an unwillingness to consider the worst possible outcome, so it really does help to confront it.</li>
 <li>Step 4: Do everything in your power to ensure the worst-case scenario doesn’t play out. Not only will you be so busy making sure that the worst thing doesn’t happen; you also won’t have any time to worry.</li>
 </ul>

<h5>Another way to overcome your fears is to train yourself to deal with them straight away.</h5>
 For instance, one of the author’s seminar participants was unhappy at work because her boss kept criticizing and belittling her, even though she was a top employee. It’s no wonder that she slowly became afraid of interacting with her boss.
 After receiving advice from the author, however, she knew how to deal with the situation. The next time her boss berated her, she repeated what the author had advised her to say: Please don’t talk to me like that. I’d appreciate being spoken to differently. When my feelings are hurt, I can’t focus on my work or do as good of a job. 
 How did her boss react? Well, he apologized and never unfairly criticized her again. From that point on, she no longer resented her boss or her job.
 
 <h4>"“According to Robert Half International, the average employee wastes about 50 percent of his or her time on activities unrelated to work."</h4>
 
 <h5>Whether you’re self-employed or work for a company, self-discipline is crucial to success.</h5>
 Did you know that 80 percent of global wealth is owned by 20 percent of the global population? Fortunately, in Western countries such as the United States, there is high income mobility. That means it’s possible to move from the lower-income brackets to the higher ones through hard work.
 So, if you work for a company, you should do your best at whatever work your boss delegates to you.
 His boss once asked him to go to Reno to start developing the property of a company they’d bought. But instead of flying out within a couple of weeks, as suggested, the author booked a flight for the next day.
 He immediately met with the lawyer and engineer, eventually discovering that the property had no access to water and could not be developed. He terminated the contract, which would otherwise have ended up costing his company $2 million!
 His boss was impressed and, within a year, the author was promoted, managing 42 employees in the company.
 Now, if you have your own business, you’ll also need to work hard if you want to achieve your goals.
 Bear in mind that the average business owner works 59 hours every week. This requires willpower and constant improvement, so, to help you and your business succeed, try using the CANEI formula, which stands for Continuous And Never-Ending Improvement.
 <h5>This is how it works:</h5>
 When you start a new business, one of the first things you do is write up a business plan detailing your target market, pricing, marketing strategies and so on. But this business plan isn’t set in stone. Regardless of how successfully your business is performing today, it’s crucial that you continuously improve it. Indeed, you should revise and update it on a yearly basis to keep up with your competition and customers’ needs.
 You need to keep in mind that running a successful, constantly improving business requires months, or even years, of working long hours.
 <h5>Reach financial freedom via the One Percent Formula and conquer procrastination with the A B C D E Method.</h5>
 Imagine a life of complete financial freedom. You live off the interest from your savings – spending all your time traveling and engaging in your favorite activities. Sounds dreamy! The good thing is this goal is achievable if you’re willing to apply certain tools.
 The first step toward financial freedom is practicing delayed gratification, and the One Percent Formula is here to help you do just that.
 Simply force yourself to start saving 1 percent of your income and discipline yourself to live off the remaining 99 percent. So, say you earn $3,000 per month; 1 percent is just $30.
 And if you’re like most people who live paycheck to paycheck or have accumulated a large amount of debt, the One Percent Formula is still a realistic goal. As soon as you learn to start living off the remaining 99 percent, you can increase your savings ratio to 2 percent, and so on.
 Each month, you’ll train yourself to consciously spend less and save more. And as you move toward financial independence, you can even pay off any debt you have and begin to attract more wealth.
 <h5>Then you must overcome procrastination by applying the A B C D E Method of prioritizing.</h5>
 To start doing this, you need to write out a list of all the tasks you have to complete at the beginning of each day. Then prioritize them by following the A B C D E Method. The only rule is that you shouldn’t complete a lower-value task before completing all the higher value tasks first. It takes a great deal of discipline to choose your most important tasks and start on them immediately, but the following steps will assist in instantly doubling your productivity and earnings.
 <ul>
 <li>Under A, list your “Must do” tasks – those that hold major consequences if uncompleted.</li>
 <li>Under B, write your “Should do” tasks, which have mild consequences if uncompleted.</li>
 <li>C tasks are “Nice to do” activities, which have no consequences if uncompleted.</li>
 <li>D tasks should be delegated to others so you can focus on the more important jobs.</?>
 <li>And, lastly, E tasks aren’t essential to your goals and should be eliminated.</li>
 </ul>
 <h5>Live a healthier life by getting into the habit of exercising and avoiding the “three whites” in your diet.</h5>
 These days, people are living longer than ever before, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t live a long and meaningful life, too. The big question is how to do this. One of the key ingredients is having a healthy lifestyle, and that means eating well and exercising.
 You can take control of your weight by following the author’s Thinking Big weight-loss program, which is centered around avoiding the “three whites”: sugar, salt and flour.
 First, you should eliminate all sugars from your diet. That means no sugary desserts, no soft drinks and no more sugar in your morning coffee. This should help you shave off one pound per day and boost your energy levels. Next, for permanent weight loss, you should stop adding salt to your meals.
 And, lastly, eliminate white-flour products such as breads, pastries and pasta from your diet.
 It really does work. Just six months after starting the Thinking Big program, a 32-year-old man from Florida who had been struggling to lose weight managed to drop 22 pounds. Not only did he look different, he also felt happier and more confident and attracted more dates than ever before.
 On top of eating healthily, you should realize that it’s never too late to start exercising.
 The perfect example of this is a 68-year-old woman who lived in a senior-citizens home. She’d never really been into exercise, but then she watched an interview featuring marathon runners her age.
 Right then and there, she decided that she also wanted to complete a marathon. The very next day, she bought running shoes, invested in running books and started walking around her local neighborhood.
 At the end of the first year, she was able to complete a mini-marathon, and by the time she reached 75, she’d finished two 50-mile cross-country marathons.
 <h5>Improve your personal relationships by making more time for your family and practicing forgiveness.</h5>
 When you become a parent, your children become your priority. But can you guess one of the biggest regrets expressed by parents? That they didn’t spend enough time with their children when they were young. However, you have the power to cut back and get rid of other commitments that get in the way of you becoming the best parent possible.
 Start by making a decision today to spend more time with your family.
 Just consider one of the author’s friends, a man who used to play golf five days per week and who took frequent golfing holidays in the winter. Even after getting married and having four kids, he continued to play golf several times a week. As you can imagine, his wife wasn’t happy with his lack of familial commitment, and she confronted him about it.
 Consequently, he made a conscious decision to be responsible and reduce his golfing to once a week. This decision not only made him a better father and husband; it made him happier, too.
 On the path to happiness, you also need to learn to forgive others.
 This is perhaps most common when people harbor resentment toward their parents for something they did many decades ago. Such people complain about their childhood experiences and use them as an excuse for their failures.
 The only way you can reach peace of mind is through the discipline of forgiveness. By developing the habit of forgiving those who have hurt you in the past, you free yourself from the emotional baggage that holds you back from happiness.

<h4>Final Summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 You should always strive to learn more in your chosen field. This includes reading books, listening to podcasts and attending seminars by experts. Don’t waste your time with shortcuts. Achieving your goals requires great self-discipline and hard work, as well as dealing with your fears as they arise. Do this, and you can achieve financial freedom and more overall happiness.
 Actionable advice:
 Invest 3 percent of your income in yourself.
 According to the American Society for Training and Development, 3 percent is the percentage that profitable companies invest in their employees’ self-development. If you make $50,000 every year, decide to put at least $1,500 toward improving your knowledge and skills. It’ll pay off in the long run.

<h5>Clear goals create a pathway to your full potential.</h5>
 French naturalist Jean Henri Fabre once conducted an experiment with caterpillars. The species he chose was called Pine Processionary. They get their name from the way in which they, unerringly, follow one another. 
 Fabre made a ring of these caterpillars around a flowerpot, then put their meal of choice – pine needles – in the center. For seven days, the caterpillars followed each other in a circle, hoping to reach those pine needles. Eventually, they died of hunger, even though food was just inches away.
 Many of us are like those caterpillars. We confuse busyness with meaningful action. But if our actions aren’t carrying us toward a specific destination, we’re just going around in circles. That’s why, if you want to succeed, you need to set goals.
 The key message here is: Clear goals create a pathway to your full potential.
 You may think that you’re smarter than a caterpillar. But have you reflected deeply on what you want to achieve? Have you written down your goals? If you haven’t, you’re not alone. Only 3 percent of Americans have written down clearly defined goals. These are the people who make their dreams a reality.
 Having clearly defined goals will help you stay focused on what you truly want to achieve. It’ll also prevent you from becoming resentful in challenging moments, or distracted when you need to be knuckling down. When you have a clear goal with specific outcomes, you gain direction. Why? Because you understand what exactly you must do to achieve that goal. Working toward something you want generates energy, and that’ll motivate you to put in the effort. 
 It takes time to formulate goals properly. You might think you don’t have days, or even hours, to sit down and think about what you want to achieve in life. But this investment of time is worthwhile.
 Clear goals will give you focus, which’ll make you more efficient. They can save you up to ten hours each week – time you can dedicate to other activities.
 If you have clear goals, you’ll use your time more strategically because you’ll prioritize the steps you need to take to achieve them. This will make you happier because you’ll be spending your time building a life you truly want to live, instead of getting sidetracked by activities that don’t lead to your goal.

Goals

<h5>Setting goals requires time and reflection.</h5>
 Most of us can list plenty of things we’d like to have or do in life, from owning a mansion to becoming a pro golfer. But there’s a difference between a realistic goal and a whim. If you want to achieve something specific, you need to put aside the time for three crucial goal-setting steps. 
 First, identify what you’re aiming for. Then, evaluate whether you really want to put the effort in. And finally, plan how you’re going to achieve it.
 Here’s the key message: Setting goals requires time and reflection.
 <h5>So how do you actually set goals?</h5>
 First, grab some paper and write this heading: “Wild Dreams.” Then, spend an hour writing down absolutely every dream you have. Cover things like what you want to be, what you want to do, and what you want to have.
 Don’t worry if your dreams seem ridiculous or even contradictory. The author, for example, listed both eating ice-cream three times a day and exercising for an hour every day.
 Then it’s time for deep reflection. Wait a few days, then look back at your list and ask yourself why you want to achieve each item on it. This will help you sort out the whims – like eating copious amounts of ice-cream – from authentic goals you truly care about, like getting to a healthy weight. If you can’t articulate why you want to achieve a specific dream, strike it off the list.
 Ideally, your list should be balanced. So categorize all items on it. You might group them under “career,” “relationships,” “well-being,” or “finances.” If all your goals fall into one category, you’ll end up unhappy, because you’ll have neglected other aspects of your life.
 The third step is to think about the benefits each goal will bring you, and the resources you’ll need to achieve it. Do you have access to those resources now? If not, perhaps you should delay working on that particular goal.
 <h5>Work on your goals every single day.</h5>
 The author used to be severely overweight, so much so that his doctor told him to lose 37 pounds – an intimidating prospect for someone obsessed with French chocolate almond ice cream.
 At the time, the author was working on a new book, which, he expected, would take him ten months. So he decided to deal with his extra weight over the same period. That meant losing under four pounds a month – not even a pound a week! Breaking the task down like that made the goal feel manageable.
 If you split goals into small tasks or targets, chances are you won’t feel overwhelmed with them. But that’s just the first step. To actually achieve your goals, you need to apportion those tasks into daily doses.
 The key message is this: Work on your goals every single day.
 If you want to follow through on those daily tasks, you need to hold yourself accountable. Buy a goal planner and map out the milestones that will lead you to achieve your goal. Before you go to bed each night, spend ten minutes recording the actions you took that day. Then identify six activities you can do the next day – things that will move you closer to your goal.
 And if one day you don’t do anything at all to support a goal, well, then it’s time to take out a red pen and write the word “Nothing” in your planner. That way, you can quickly evaluate your progress at the end of each week.
 If you have a trusted partner or friend, share your goals with that person and invite him to do the same, so you can support each other. Reaching ambitious goals works best as a team effort.
 Take, for instance, Roger Bannister – who wanted to become the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. He came up with a speed he needed to achieve, then measured his stride and calculated how quick he had to be at every quarter-mile segment. Three men he’d recruited as pacers helped him keep track of how fast he was running. With their support and his own determination, Bannister succeeded.
 It’s crucial not to listen to voices that say you can’t achieve your goal – especially that voice in your own head. Around 90 percent of the messages we’re exposed to each day are negative. It’s no surprise, then, that 70 percent of our self-talk is also negative. 
 Combat this negativity by visualizing yourself living your dream. This will keep you committed and focused when people try to discourage you.

<h5>Drive is what fuels goals.</h5>
 If you heat water to 211 degrees Fahrenheit, you can make a cup of tea. If you heat it just one more degree, you end up with steam. Steam’s no use if you want a hot drink, but it can do something far more impressive: it can propel a locomotive. That one last degree is what transforms potential into power.
 Many people who have ambitious goals never increase the heat. They fail to add that final degree, which is crucial for achieving a breakthrough. This is because they lack the drive they need to achieve their goals. If you want to rise above mediocrity, foster an intense desire to succeed.
 The key message here is: Drive is what fuels goals.
 People who don’t achieve their goals often think it’s because they simply aren’t good enough. They claim that if their voices were stronger, they’d become famous singers. Or if they had better sales skills, they’d own million-dollar businesses. 
 But these people typically aren’t using the gifts they already have. Instead of making the most of their potential, they never take action. Why? Because their negativity stops them. In truth, if they fostered their natural talents, they’d be able to develop new skills, and these skills would support them in achieving their goals.
 These people are missing that crucial ingredient for success – determination. When you’re determined, you find ways to overcome any obstacle that stands between you and your goal, even in the most tragic circumstances.
 For instance, when Bernie Lofchick’s son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a specialist said the baby would never walk or talk. But Lofchick was determined to do everything in his power to help his son.
 On the advice of another specialist, Lofchick and his wife began an intensive, daily therapy program with their son. It took years until young David started showing signs of progress, but they stuck to the program without exception. Thanks to his parents’ unwavering determination, David grew up to be a happily married father and a successful real estate agent.
 This desire to achieve your goal no matter what will help you transform adversity into opportunity. Instead of giving up when you hit an obstacle, shift your thinking from what you can’t do to what you can do. When you make your goal your mission, you’ll find ways – however small – to move toward it.
 <h5>Hard work is the only path to success.</h5>
 Many people think that an expensive education is the key to success. But you can graduate from the best school in the country and still fail to achieve your goals. This happened in America in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Parents spent nearly three times more on education than in previous decades, and yet SAT scores fell dramatically.
 A US Education Department publication shed some light on this. It found that the best way to predict educational achievement wasn’t to look at school fees or class size. No, the best predictor was homework. Students who completed quality homework got the best grades, whatever school they attended. 
 It’s hard work that makes an A student, not expensive schools. This means all of us can achieve our goals, no matter what type of education we’ve had.
 Here’s the key message: Hard work is the only path to success.
 To support members of the new generation in achieving their goals, we need to help them develop a good work ethic from an early age. It not only leads to people realizing their dreams – it’s great for the country, too.
 For instance, it’s possible that one of the underlying reasons the US has an import deficit is because Americans are being outworked by their Japanese counterparts. People in Tokyo or Osaka aren’t more intelligent than New Yorkers or San Franciscans, but they do know how to work harder. And this is something they learned at a young age.
 By the time a Japanese high school student graduates, she’s spent more time in the classroom than an American college graduate. And on top of that, she’s also studied for three hours a day outside school. 
 By contrast, the average American kid spends just half-an-hour a day on homework. This puts her at a disadvantage later on in life.
 Japanese students also have more focus than American students. Japanese teenagers can tell you exactly what they’ll be doing in ten years from now, and how they’ll achieve those goals. American teenagers are more likely to be able to update you on the latest entertainment or sporting news. But this isn’t their fault. If we want our young people to live their best lives, adults must show them that hard work is the only path to success.
 Even if a teenager is just waiting tables at a local steakhouse, you should encourage her to take pride in her work. If she doesn’t do a simple job well, how will a future employer trust her with a more challenging role? By showing kids that hard work opens doors to opportunity, you’ll ensure that the young people in your life meet their full potential.
 <h5>To reach your goals, you must play the long game.</h5>
 Thomas Edison was one of America’s most prolific inventors. But despite his genius, success didn’t come easily. Before he invented the light bulb, Edison conducted 10,000 failed experiments. He didn’t see these experiments as failures, though. He saw them as successfully discovering 10,000 ways incandescent light didn’t work.
 There’s no such thing as overnight success. It takes time and commitment to achieve challenging goals. What often seems like a sudden breakthrough is almost always the result of effort and hard work that happens behind the scenes.
 The key message is this: To reach your goals, you must play the long game.
 According to former US president Calvin Coolidge, persistence is more important than talent when it comes to achieving goals. In fact, success looks much less glamorous than most people realize. In a study of company vice presidents who earned more than $200,000 a year, those with the highest income had been in the same job for more than 15 years. Over 80 percent were still married to their first spouses, and all of them said their success came about because of all the hard work they’d put in. 
 Often, people with ambitious goals forget that you need to put in the effort before you reap rewards. They’re convinced that if their boss would just give them that raise, they’d work harder and reach their next career goal. But that isn’t how success works. Just like a farmer who has to tend to the crops before harvesting, you have to put in the effort before you reap the rewards.
 And if you think about which achievements you value most, you’ll probably agree that it’s those that demanded the most work – perhaps a promotion you’ve striven to earn, or an A grade in a subject you struggle with. 
 When the odds are stacked against you, what keeps you going is discipline. That’s why it’s so important to hold yourself accountable – remember that goal planner we’d discussed in previously? 
 Like Edison, you may need to pursue thousands of potential solutions before you reach a breakthrough. Every attempt will bring you new knowledge and insight.
 And there’s another thing you can learn from Edison: don’t give up too soon. Often, we don’t reach our goals because we stop trying. But you will never succeed unless you give it your all every single day.
 It’s that persistence, combined with hard work and determination, that will bring you the success you seek.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book is that:</h5>
 Unless you put the effort into carefully selecting and planning your goals, you won’t have a clear roadmap to achieving them. But even a clear roadmap won’t help you progress, unless you put in the effort each day, monitoring your progress and holding yourself accountable. If you couple that commitment with unwavering desire to succeed, you’ll be able to overcome any obstacle, achieve your goals, and live a full and enriching life.
 And here’s some more Actionable advice: 
 <ul>
 <li>Write a book to identify what you want to achieve.</li>
 <li>It takes time, energy, and commitment to achieve goals. Which is why, before you begin working toward them, it makes sense to reflect properly on where you’re trying to get to. But what do you do if you’re not clear on what you want to achieve in life? If you face this predicament, give yourself the task of writing a book. Its title might be something like How to Live Your Best Life. </li>
 <li>Use the act of writing to explore what’s important to you and what you see as meaningful. Don’t write with the intention of publishing the book; instead, write to discover and articulate what matters to you</li>
 </ul>

<h5>Your life is made up of ten areas that need to be worked on simultaneously.</h5>
 Let’s start by picturing where you want to be in 12 months. What do you see? Some of the more common desires are to be free of debt, physically fit, a happy family life, a good relationship, master a hobby and feel spiritually well. The good news is that you can have all of this.
 Measuring your progress in ten areas of your life will allow you to see what you need to improve.
 These interrelated aspects are mental health, physical health, spirituality, intellectual life, marriage or partnerships, parental life, friendships, job, hobbies and personal finances. These components are key to living a fulfilling life, which is why it’s important to work consistently on improving them.
 To begin, rank yourself from zero to ten on each of the aspects previously mentioned. This way you will be able to identify the areas in greatest need of improvement and regularly mark your progress by comparing the results. Moreover, it will give you a clear indication as to where you should be focusing your efforts.
 These ten aspects are connected to and influenced by one another, and therefore improvements in one area will most likely result in growth in other areas as well.
 For instance, a relaxing home life will allow you to concentrate better at work, while a rich social life will lead to a higher chance of meeting a partner.
 Likewise, performing poorly on certain aspects could have negative impacts on other areas too. You may lack energy in the workplace if you’re not physically healthy, while not having any hobbies could negatively affect your marriage.
 Working on all these aspects might seem like a daunting task, but this lines will show you how to overcome your worries and devise a practical plan to bring about change in your life.

Your Best Year Ever

<h5>Mental blocks may stand in our way, but we can learn to overcome them.</h5>
 Most of us lug around a lot of baggage, or mental blocks, that determine what is and isn’t possible for us to achieve.
 One such mental block is false assumptions. Humans continuously make assumptions about the world and themselves. These are often wrong and create a barrier to our progression. These assumptions can be thoughts, such as “You’re not the creative type,” “You’re ugly,” “You can’t hold down a job,” or “The recession means nobody will buy your product.” These are almost always self-inflicted and objectively untrue in most cases.
 <h5>What’s more, we also set up physical barricades with our minds.</h5>
 Pilots once thought it impossible to fly faster than the speed of sound, and athletes believed that no human could run a mile in under four minutes. The ones that broke through and achieved the seemingly unthinkable are those who dispensed with the negative narrative and went about proving that it was, in fact, possible.
 This is the mentality that former United States Air Force general officer Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager had when he broke the sound barrier in 1947. In 1954, athlete Roger Bannister also ignored the impossible narrative by running a mile in three minutes and 59 seconds. By dispelling common knowledge about physical limitations, both Yeager and Bannister succeeded where others had failed. Since then, numerous airplanes have broken the sound barrier, and many runners have recorded one-mile runs in under four minutes, now that the perceived limits have been surpassed.
 By revising the perceived limits, not only can you improve yourself, but you can even change the world.
 In 1963, it was the belief of many that the civil rights movement wouldn’t amount to anything. Most said that non-violent efforts would never achieve change and that racism was far too deeply ingrained in American society for anything to be done about it. Dr. Martin Luther King, however, refused to take these perceived beliefs as undeniable truths and led a peaceful protest march of 200,000 people to Washington, where he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. With this speech, King replaced the taken-for-granted worldview with an alternative perspective – knocking down the mental blocks in many American minds and opening them up to change.
 <h5>Instead of letting past failures derail you, learn from them and grow.</h5>
 It might’ve been a primary school teacher who told us we’re hopeless at art, or it could’ve been last month’s failed attempt at dieting. Whatever the case, past experiences can contribute to our negative thinking and keep us from moving ahead.
 
 <h4>"A bad experience in the past can affect our confidence in future circumstances."</h4>
 
 A good example of this is comparing the 80% of teenagers who make New Year’s resolutions to the 30% who do so aged 60 and older. This discrepancy is because the older people get, the more failures and setbacks they’ve experienced, and so they are less optimistic about their desires coming true. But this is a false assumption, and you shouldn’t let past experiences affect your actions in the future.
 <h5>Instead, use those previous failures as useful advice.</h5>
 The author’s greatest failure occurred when he was working all year for a client – an up-and-coming author working on landing a big publishing deal. Toward the very end of the year, the client stopped taking his calls, and just like that, the author had wasted 12 months on someone who’d decided to go with another publisher at the last minute.
 Now, the easy choice would’ve been to give up and look for another job. Instead, the author used what he’d learned over those 12 months to improve his company in a number of ways. For instance, he realized that he should never focus on just one client, and instead spread his net wide. He also learned never to assume that a client would be appreciative of his work. To minimize the risk, he now asks his clients to explain exactly what it is they want out of the partnership.
 As important as it is to set future targets for yourself, it’s also critical that the goals you set are attainable. Let’s take a look at how you can achieve this in the next blink.
 <h5>Set challenging goals, but keep them realistic.</h5>
 Some targets that we set for ourselves are so unrealistic that even the world’s greatest geniuses wouldn’t be able to attain them. On the flip side, sometimes the goals may be so easy that we lose motivation to try and achieve them because so little effort is required.
 The key to ensuring high enthusiasm levels is striving for a goal that’s within your capabilities, but one that also requires a reasonable amount of effort.
 To set the right goals, you need to find the discomfort zone.
 Let’s say you’re planning to write a book. Winning the Nobel Prize for literature is a desirable goal, but it’s also quite unreasonable for a first-time writer. Furthermore, such an ambitious target could prevent you from starting altogether. Conversely, if you set your sights too low and allow yourself to finish your first draft in 6 months, you’ll end up taking too long and probably never get around to finishing. Instead, find a happy medium, which the author calls the discomfort zone. For example, give yourself three months to finish the first draft, and then another three to complete the second.
 <h5>Setting goals is important, but don’t be delusional.</h5>
 It’s possible to exceed the discomfort zone and break into the delusional zone, if you’re not careful. Just as an athlete who overtrains will end up pulling a muscle, setting delusional targets will result in you undermining yourself.
 One example of this is the automobile company General Motors. In 2002, they set a target to obtain 29% of the US market. This absurdly ambitious goal almost bankrupted the company.
 Employees were required to wear badges with the number 29 on their lapels so that they were constantly reminded of the goal. The staff became so fixated on sales numbers that they sold cars with zero-interest loans – costing the company money and affecting its bottom line. It effectively undermined the business and put the 29% target even further out of reach than when they started the initiative. If General Motors had considered it more thoroughly, they would’ve realized that the goal was delusional and this misadventure would’ve been avoided.

<h5>Work until you become addicted to “little and often” tasks, and you will accomplish more.</h5>
 Imagine you had to read a long book like the Bible. That’s almost a million words – a rather daunting task. To make this a more attainable goal, break up the task into 20-minute chunks every morning, and you’ll have read the entire Bible in a year.
 When you split up mammoth tasks into short-term goals, the rewards can be very satisfying.
 Humans get addicted to daily tasks, particularly if they’re done over an extended period of time. This also applies to tasks that were born from the discomfort zone. A task that we enjoy can turn from a stick to a carrot, that is from a punishment to a reward. People who intend to read the Bible might find it daunting at first, but once they get started, they’ll enjoy the spiritual and peaceful moments that accompany the task.
 The key action, though, is to work on the task until you become addicted.
 Some of you may have heard that it takes 21 days to get addicted to a habit, but some tasks only take a few days before an addiction forms, while more complex ones can take over 200 days. According to researchers from University College London, the average number of days for a task to transition into an addictive habit is 66.
 To make it easier to become addicted to a task, you need to introduce rewards into the system. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean buying yourself a new suit once you shed those 20 pounds. Rewards for completing discomfort zone tasks are more like feelings of gratitude and pleasure, and simply noticing your progression toward your long-term goal can be rewarding enough.
 You can also increase your enthusiasm levels by turning your task into a game: Tick off a daily task on your calendar, and try to see how many days in a row you can achieve it. Phone apps can be very handy here. The author uses an app where you’re instructed to drink a glass of water before watering a virtual plant. By turning it into a game, the app takes the mundane task of drinking water throughout the day and makes it more enjoyable.
 <h5>Identify and remind yourself why you’re doing something to stay motivated.</h5>
 To stick to a task and remain positive, you need to form an emotional attachment to it. In other words, you need to understand why that task makes you a better person.
 Start by identifying your main motivations.
 Jot down a list of reasons for doing a particular activity, then pick out the strongest points. If your goal is to work out more, some of the reasons could be “I’m sick of being fat,” “I want to prove to myself that I can succeed,” and “Exercise makes me more productive and happy.” It’s important to disregard how other people might value your reasons. What’s most significant is that they resonate with you.
 Once that’s done, you need to constantly remind yourself of your main motivations.
 Say you find yourself heading to the fridge. In a situation like this, it’s useful to have your list of reasons at hand. As you reach for a snack, remind yourself why you want to be more healthy. Looking at the list will divert your attention away from your temporary desire and prompt you to consider your longer-term, more meaningful targets.
 To motivate yourself even further, let your reason define you as a person.
 Anders Ericsson, a researcher of psychology at Florida State University, studied the motivation behind the many hours of practice guitarists and other musicians put into honing their craft. He discovered that a crucial element of their dedication was that when they perform well, and their talents receive recognition from their peers, their actions became part of their identity. In other words, identifying as musicians drove them to become better at making music.
 This is no surprise, as humans are social beings, and the way we identify ourselves is in relation to others. In the following blink, you’ll learn how to benefit from this group identification so that you can experience your best year yet.
 <h5>To experience your best year ever, you need to have good allies.</h5>
 In addition to identifying your primary motivations, one key factor to living a successful year is having a good group of people around you. This means finding individuals who can support your goals – either those who have the means to see them come to fruition or those on a similar path who can offer encouragement and advice.
 People are a readily available source of knowledge and experience that we can tap into. They could be a member of a community or a mentor, and many are more than happy to pass on their skills and lessons to those who seek it.
 Joining a community is one way to find supportive people to help you with your quest.
 For example, people who want to lose weight join dieting groups such as Weight Watchers and are more likely to drop the pounds than those who go it alone.
 Similarly, alcohol and drug addicts have a higher chance of staying clean if they go to supportive meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
 According to psychologist Henry Cloud, this is because positivity is contagious. We are more likely to succeed when part of a community due to four key reasons: firstly, we can learn from other group members; secondly, competition within the group helps our performance; third, we are held accountable to the community; and fourth, we motivate and encourage each other.
 <h5>Another avenue from which we can seek help is through tutoring.</h5>
 It’s easy to conclude that if we want to improve at the piano, we should hire a piano teacher. If we want to learn Spanish, we should find a language tutor. But when it comes to improving our lives, many of us wouldn’t consider hiring a life coach, or even a fitness instructor.
 The author was guilty of this oversight. For a couple of years, he was stuck on a particular level of fitness and didn’t know how to improve. His friend suggested he get a fitness instructor, and since then, not only has he gained new and invaluable advice on different exercise techniques, he also gained a new gym buddy. Through this new avenue of support, he broke his personal records and reached new levels of fitness.
 Creating your best year requires individual effort, but it’s equally important to make sure you have a good network supporting you.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>he key message in this Book</h5>
 To have the perfect year, you need to take a holistic approach to improving yourself and distribute your efforts equally over ten different aspects. The goals you set for yourself must be realistic and clearly identified so that you have the motivation to change. Finding a strong support group and becoming addicted to daily tasks will also help you achieve a fulfilling life.
 <h5>Actionable advice:</h5>
 <ul>
 <li>Express gratitude.</li>
 <li>The first thing you should do when you wake up in the morning is take a few minutes to yourself to thank the universe, God, yourself or anyone, for everything that you already have.</li>
 <li>Say thanks for being healthy, for having people who care about you, for having access to clean water.</li>
 <li>Being grateful will help keep you positive and hopeful and remind you of the small victories you’ve already made.</li>
 </ul>

<h5>We need several breakthroughs in software before AI surpasses human intelligence.</h5>
 Today’s computers can process information at astounding speeds. But even as early as the 1950s, computers were being touted as super-brains that are “faster than Einstein.”
 Of course, computers back then had nothing on the human brain. But we still compared the two. In fact, from the very beginning of computer science, we’ve tended to measure computational intelligence – and progress – against human intelligence.
 So, what about today’s computers? Some of them, surely, can give us a run for our money?
 The key message here is: We need several breakthroughs in software before AI surpasses human intelligence.
 The fastest computer in the world today is the Summit Machine, housed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US. Compared to the world’s first commercial computer, the Ferranti Mark 1, the Summit Machine is 1,000 trillion times faster and has 250 trillion times more memory. That’s a lot of zeros.
 In terms of raw computing power, the Summit Machine actually slightly exceeds the human brain, although it requires a warehouse full of hardware and a million times more energy.
 Still, it’s impressive. But can we say that today’s supercomputers – the Summit Machine included – are as powerful as the human brain? The answer is decidedly no.
 Sure, these computers have impressive hardware, which allows their algorithms to operate faster and process more information. But there’s far more to intelligence than just processing speed.
 The real problem in designing intelligence is in the software. As of now, we still need several major conceptual breakthroughs in AI software before we witness anything resembling human-level artificial intelligence.
 The most important breakthrough we need is in the comprehension of language. Most of today’s intelligent speech recognition AI are based on canned responses and have trouble interpreting nuances in meaning. That’s why you get stories of smartphone personal assistants responding to the request ‘call me an ambulance’ with ‘ok, from now on, I’ll call you Ann Ambulance.’ Genuinely intelligent AI will need to interpret meaning based not just on the words said but on their context and tone as well.
 We can never really say when conceptual breakthroughs will take place. But one thing’s for sure – we shouldn’t underestimate human ingenuity.
 Consider the following example. In 1933, the distinguished nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford announced at a formal address that harnessing nuclear energy was impossible. The very next day, the Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd outlined the neutron-induced nuclear chain reaction, essentially solving the problem.
 We don’t yet know whether superintelligence – intelligence beyond human abilities – will emerge soon, later or not at all. But it’s still prudent to take precautions, just as it was when designing nuclear technology.

Human Compatible

<h5>We’ve been operating under a misguided conception of intelligence.</h5>
 If we don’t treat AI with caution, we may end up like the gorilla.
 Just consider that, thanks to human-caused habitat loss, every gorilla species today is critically endangered. Sure, in recent decades conservation efforts have successfully pulled some species back from the brink of extinction. But, whether gorilla numbers dwindle or thrive, their fate depends largely on the whims of humans.
 The concern is that in a world controlled by superintelligent AI, we’d be in much the same position as the gorillas. Can humans maintain supremacy and autonomy in a world where they rate second place to more intelligent beings?
 Thankfully, there’s one important difference between us and the gorillas: we’re the ones designing this new intelligence. It’s paramount that we take great caution in how we design intelligent AI if we’re to ensure they remain under our control. But we have a crucial problem.
 The key message here is: We’ve been operating under a misguided conception of intelligence.
 In the current paradigm of AI design, an AI’s intelligence is measured simply by how well it can achieve a pre-given objective. The big flaw in this approach is that it’s extremely difficult to specify objectives that will make an AI behave the way we want it to. Pretty much any objective we come up with is liable to produce unpredictable, and potentially very harmful, behavior.
 This problem is known as the King Midas problem, named after the fabled king who wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. What he didn’t realize was that this included the food he ate, and even his own family members. This ancient tale is a perfect example of how a poorly specified objective can end up causing more strife than good.
 The danger from unpredictable behavior increases as AI becomes more intelligent and wields greater power. The consequences could even present an existential threat to humanity. For example, we might ask a superintelligent AI to find a cure for cancer, only for it to start giving people cancer in order to do experiments on them.
 You might be wondering: if we’re not happy with what an AI’s doing, why don’t we just turn the blasted thing off?
 Unfortunately, for the vast majority of objectives, an AI would have an incentive not to allow itself to be turned off. That’s because being turned off would threaten its objective. Even apparently straightforward objectives like ‘“make a coffee” would lead an AI to prevent itself from being turned off.
 After all, you can’t make coffee if you’re dead.

<h5>Instead of just intelligent machines, we should be designing beneficial machines.</h5>
 Until now, the mantra among AI researchers has been: the more intelligent the better. But is this really what they should be chanting?
 As we’ve just seen, an AI given a carelessly stated objective can end up engaging in very harmful behavior. And it’s not much consolation if the AI engages in harmful behavior intelligently – if anything, it makes it worse.
 What we need is a different mantra. One that aims to build AI that will stay tuned to human objectives, no matter what. The new mantra should be: the more beneficial the better.
 The key message here is: Instead of just intelligent machines, we should be designing beneficial machines.
 There are three principles that designers should follow if they’re to make beneficial AI.
 The first principle is that AI should only have one objective, which is the maximal fulfillment of human preferences. The author calls this the altruism principle. It ensures an AI will always place human preferences above its own.
 The second principle is that the AI should initially be uncertain about what those preferences are. This is the humbleness principle. The idea here is that an uncertain AI will never fixate on a single objective, but will change its focus as new information comes in.
 Uncertain AI systems would be more cautious and more likely to defer to humans. Being uncertain, an AI will continuously search for clarifying information. This means they’ll often ask for permission, solicit feedback and might even do trial runs to test human reactions.
 And, crucially, uncertain AI will allow themselves to be turned off. This is because it would interpret a human trying to turn it off as having the preference that it be turned off.
 The third and final principle for making beneficial AI is that their ultimate source of information about human preferences should be human behavior. This is called the learning principle. It ensures that an AI will always remain in a direct and sustained relationship of learning with humans. It means an AI will become more useful to a person over time as it gets to know her better.
 These three principles represent an alternative understanding of what genuine intelligence involves: the ability to scrutinize and redefine one’s own objectives in light of new information. AI with this kind of intelligence would be much closer to human intelligence, since we’re also capable of examining and altering the goals that we strive towards.
 And, if AI could change its objectives in light of human preferences, we would have the basis for a radical new relationship between humans and machines: one in which machine and human objectives are essentially the same.
 <h5>We can expect AI to benefit us in many ways.</h5>
 It’s been reported that some virtual home assistants, unable to differentiate who’s talking to them, have been obeying commands to buy products that they’ve overheard on the television. Clearly, virtual assistants aren’t quite superintelligent yet.
 But this is going to change.
 Virtual assistant technology is improving in leaps and bounds, thanks in part to massive investment from the private sector. The reason for such great interest in this technology is that the range of tasks virtual assistants could perform is seemingly unlimited. We’re not just talking about making shopping lists and turning the stereo on, we’re talking about performing the work of highly skilled specialists.
 The key message here is: We can expect AI to benefit us in many ways.
 Virtual lawyers, for example, are already vastly outperforming real lawyers at sourcing legal information quickly. Similarly, virtual doctors are outperforming human doctors at providing correct diagnoses for illnesses.
 Eventually, there may be no need for specialists at all. Instead we’ll all have our own, personal, all-in-one doctor, lawyer, teacher, financial advisor, and secretary in our pockets, on call, 24 hours a day. Thanks to virtual assistants, these vital services will be democratized – no longer accessible only to the rich – thereby raising the standard of living for everybody.
 The benefit of AI to scientific research will also be colossal. An AI with even basic reading comprehension skills would be able to read everything the human race has ever written between breakfast and lunchtime. By comparison, it would take 200,000 humans reading full-time just to keep up with the world’s current level of publication.
 With the help of superintelligent AI, scientists will no longer have to sort through immense amounts of published research, as AI will be able to extract and analyze the relevant data for them.
 Superintelligent AI will also have global applications. By collecting information from surveillance cameras and satellites, we should expect AI to be used to create a searchable database of the entire world in real time. From this data, we could produce models of global systems – such as economic activity, and environmental changes. These models would make it feasible to design effective interventions into these systems, helping us to, for example, mitigate the effects of climate change.
 However, the potential for privacy violation implied by a system of global monitoring is obvious. This leads to our next blink, which tackles the darker side of AI that we all need to brace for.
 <h5>AI is going to make life less secure for everyone.</h5>
 The Stasi of former East Germany were one of the most effective and repressive intelligence agencies ever to have existed. They kept files on the majority of East German households, listening to their phone calls, reading their letters, and even placing hidden cameras within their homes. This was all done by humans and written on paper, requiring a vast bureaucracy and massive storage units containing literally billions of physical paper records.
 Just imagine what the Stasi could have done with AI. With superintelligent AI, it would be possible to monitor everyone’s phone calls and messages automatically. People’s daily movements could also be tracked, using surveillance cameras and satellite data. It would be as though every person had their own operative watching over them 24 hours a day.
 The key message here is: AI is going to make life less secure for everyone.
 AI could lead to yet other dystopias. This includes the Infocalypse – the catastrophic failure of the marketplace of ideas to produce the truth. Superintelligent AI will be capable of manufacturing and distributing false information without any human input. They’ll also be able to target specific individuals, altering their information diet strategically to manipulate their behavior with surgical accuracy.
 To a large extent, this is already happening. Content selection algorithms used by social media platforms – ostensibly designed to predict people’s preferences – end up changing those preferences by providing them only a narrow selection of content. In practice, this means users are pushed to become more and more extreme in their political views. Arguably, even these rudimentary forms of artificial intelligence have already caused great harm, entrenching social division and proliferating hate.
 While the Infocalypse is still in its infant stage, the next dystopia is well in the making. This is the state of constant fear caused by autonomous weapons technology.
 Autonomous weapons – machines that seek out and neutralize targets by themselves – have already been developed. Such weapons identify targets based on information like skin color, uniform, or even exact faceprints.
 Miniature drones called slaughter bots are already being primed to search for, locate, and neutralize specific individuals. In 2016, the US air force demonstrated the deployment of 103 slaughter bot drones. They described the drones as a single organism sharing one distributed brain, like a swarm in nature.
 The US is only one of many nations currently building – or already using – automated weapon technology. As autonomous weapons come to displace conventional human warfare, all of our lives will become less secure, since anyone will be targetable – no matter where they are in the world.
 <h5>Mass automation will either liberate humanity’s potential or debilitate it.</h5>
 We’ve just looked at three terrifying scenarios that could be caused by AI. But we haven’t yet considered what is perhaps the most worrying and socially destructive threat from AI: automation.
 Automation may well grant more people access to important services like healthcare and legal advice. But it could also cause widespread unemployment. Exactly how much of a threat this is is open to debate. Optimists point out that in every previous industrial revolution, automation produced at least as many jobs as it eradicated. If you look at the research, however, it shows that over the past 40 years, jobs have fallen significantly in every industry that has implemented automation technology.
 So, should we be worried?
 The key message here is: Mass automation will either liberate humanity’s potential or debilitate it.
 The truth is, in the long run, AI is likely to automate away almost all existing human labor. This will not only affect low-skilled work like truck driving. As we saw earlier, even highly-skilled professionals like doctors, lawyers, and accountants are at risk.
 So, when a machine replaces your labor, what will you have left to sell? Well, not much. But what if you didn’t need to sell anything? What if we could let machines do all the work, and still make sure we all had enough to live by?
 One way to do this might be to institute a universal basic income or UBI. A UBI would provide every adult person a reasonable monthly income regardless of circumstance. Those who want to earn more would be free to work – if there’s any available. But, for everyone else, liberated from the need to earn a living, they would be free to pursue whatever they want.
 This is a rosy picture, isn’t it? But would this scenario really be a utopia? If all labor, learning, and striving towards skill acquisition were taken over by machines, wouldn’t we become diminished beings?
 This is a genuine concern. Until now, the only way to sustain our civilization has been to pass knowledge, from one human to another and over successive generations. As technology develops, we increasingly hand that knowledge and expertise over to a machine that can do the task for us.
 Once we lose the practical incentive to pass knowledge onto other humans, that knowledge and expertise will wither. If we’re not careful, we could become an enfeebled species, utterly dependent on the machines that ostensibly serve us.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book</h5>
 <ul>
 <li>The way we currently design AI is fundamentally flawed. We’re designing AI to be intelligent but not necessarily to have humanity’s best interests at heart.</li>
 <li>We therefore need to make the fulfillment of human goals AI’s only objective.</li>
 <li>If we can successfully control superintelligent AI, we’d be able to harness its immense power to advance our civilization and liberate humanity from servitude.</li>
 <li>But If we fail, we’re in danger of losing our autonomy, as we become increasingly subject to the whims of a superior intelligence.</li>
 </ul>

<h5>Turn pain into motivation and face challenges with positivity.</h5>
 Brent Gleeson and his fellow trainees faced the ultimate test of strength and resilience: the six-day Navy SEAL selection course called “Hell Week.” The program is designed to push soldiers to their limits. But explosions, smoke grenades, and machine gun fire are just the beginning. The real challenge comes from surf torture, a grueling regimen involving constant exposure to the freezing ocean. As a result, the course has a failure rate of 70 to 80 percent. Crazy, right? But here’s the thing. Those who survive the verbal and physical onslaught share one crucial trait: they embrace the suck.
 Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training isn’t for the faint-hearted. To succeed, applicants must learn to transform their pain into a powerful source of motivation. The question is, how do they do it? What separates those pushing through from those who ring the bell and quit? To answer this, we need to delve deeper into psychology. 
 Have you ever faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge? Perhaps you’ve even considered quitting before you began. It’s natural to try and avoid pain and adversity, but the problem is that doing so prevents you from achieving your full potential. So, how can you overcome your fears and build your resilience? Here’s where embracing the suck comes into play.
 Retired SEAL Jason Redman is a true fighter in every way. Despite being shot seven times in battle, he refused to see himself as a victim. Instead, he focused on his recovery, declaring his hospital room a pity-free zone. Redman accepted his injuries, pain, suffering, and uncertainty with remarkable bravery. With an unwavering determination, he achieved a full physical recovery. His story shows that anyone can overcome even the harshest obstacles with the right mindset and attitude.
 Embracing the suck is about confronting problems head-on. It’s about accepting that we don’t always have control over what happens to us, but we do have control over how we react to it. We can develop the skills and resilience needed to handle even the most difficult situations by approaching our challenges with a positive mindset. Then, rather than seeing obstacles as roadblocks, we begin to see them as opportunities for growth and improvement. This shift in perspective empowers us to take action and tackle future challenges with greater energy and resolve.
 Before using painful experiences to fuel your growth, though, you need to understand where you are now. One practical way to answer this is to describe your core values. These are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide your actions and decisions. They reflect your personality and the legacy you wish to leave. Are you ready to identify those values? 
 Great! Grab a stack of Post-it notes and jot down four to six core values. Don’t overthink it – focus on capturing what matters to you most. You might include values such as health, family, faith, or integrity, to name but a few. 
 Before moving on to the next step, you should be aware that it isn’t enough to simply acknowledge your core values; you should embody them, too. For that reason, take action and actively integrate them into your daily life.

Embrace the Suck

<h5>After identifying your core values, the next step is to develop supporting behaviors that align with them.</h5>
 These supportive behaviors must be specific, measurable, and achievable. For example, if one of your core values is health, you could develop a diet plan, exercise regularly, prepare nutritious meals, and ensure you get enough sleep. Similarly, one of your core values might be integrity. In that case, supporting behaviors might include honest and transparent communication; fulfilling your commitments and responsibilities; and standing up for what’s right, even when it’s difficult.
 Remember that small, deliberate actions can have a substantial impact over time. Actions, as they say, speak louder than words. But staying on track can be tough with the constant distractions of your hectic life. So, how can you remain focused and committed to your values?
 Consider using a calendar or a goal-setting app to jumpstart your progress. Improving your accountability is crucial to living out your core values. So display your supporting behaviors in a prominent location, such as on your wall or in the notes app on your phone. The more often you see them, the more likely you are to take action. Try experimenting with different accountability methods until you find the best one.
 Of course, setbacks and mistakes are inevitable. When they happen, it’s important not to be too hard on yourself. Instead, use the time to reflect on your approach and the supporting behaviors you’ve put in place to figure out where you went wrong. Perhaps overindulging in sweets derailed your diet, or failing to schedule your time correctly cut your workout short. By analyzing your actions and identifying areas for improvement, you can develop mental resilience and a grittier mindset. As Gleeson puts it, you’re building up your brain calluses.
 So, embrace the suck, learn from your mistakes, and keep moving forward. By reframing your obstacles, you can realize your full potential and become the best version of yourself. So, take some time to consider your values and devise strategies to implement them. Focus on your goals and recognize that every challenge you overcome is a plus for your growth. Because embracing the suck builds wisdom and strength, it helps you understand what truly matters in your life and commit to your values and priorities.
 In the following section, we’ll look at the importance of commitment.

<h5>Use stress and failure to learn and grow.</h5>
 The SEAL team’s objective is clear: locate a high-value target in rural Iraq. But fate intervenes. As the team approaches its destination, one of the Humvee tires blows out, forcing an abrupt halt. The team sets up security and then replaces the wheel. But the troubles are just beginning. As the elite soldiers approach the secluded farmhouse, they encounter unexpected resistance in the form of some bullheaded livestock. After corralling the troublesome goats, the team moves in. Yet, their luck worsens when Gleeson falls waist-deep in muck. Aside from uncovering a weapons cache, their mission is a bust.
 Despite the setbacks, Gleeson quickly loads the weapons onto the Humvees for extraction. As the team returns to base, one of the convoy loan vehicles collides with a bridge, causing a traffic pile-up. Unfortunately, it takes two hours to clear the roads. Eventually, the SEALs move out, leaving the damaged Mercedes behind. After completing their mission and delivering the weapons, the team returns to retrieve the $300,000 vehicle, only to find that it’s been stripped of its parts. The only option left is to write a check to cover the damages. Wow. What a day. So why are they all so chill?
 There’s a simple explanation – at the core of SEAL training lies perseverance. Giving up isn’t an option. Well, it is, but not for those who want a career in the special forces. The key point here is to view failure as a learning experience. By embracing the hardships that come our way, we can learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The question is, how can we shift our mindsets and deal with setbacks efficiently? Well, we can start by examining the realities of failure.
 First, we need to accept that failure can distort our view of our goals and abilities, leading us to believe false things. Failure can also lead to feelings of helplessness and fear, which, in turn, result in a failure complex. Another disadvantage of failure is the possibility of self-sabotage. So, in order to succeed, we have to confront our fears. And because willpower is a muscle, we must exercise it, or it’ll be lost. Finally, when dealing with failure, we need to concentrate on what we can control.
 To recap, accepting these realities can help you navigate failure more effectively and develop a resilient mindset. Yes, it’s true: when used correctly, stress and anxiety are powerful growth tools. How can that be? Well, think back to when you excelled at something, like learning a new language or taking a test. Stress and anxiety were almost certainly present, shaping your results and who you are today. With this in mind, psychologists Alia and Thomas Crum have developed a three-step model to help people harness the creative power of stress. Here’s how it works:
 <ul>
 <li>Step one: see it. Acknowledge and recognize the stress you are experiencing, reframing it as an opportunity to grow. Investigate its potential root causes.</li>
 <li>Step two: own it. Take ownership of your stress response, recognizing that you can choose how you react.</li>
 <li>Step three: use it. Channel negative energy into constructive action, using it as a tool for growth and development.</li>
 </ul>
 Learning to confront and express difficult emotions can be tough, but it’s vital for personal growth. Accepting and processing your feelings allows you to gain a better understanding of yourself and how you prioritize your experiences. Also, being comfortable with discomfort and facing obstacles is the only way to move forward positively. In other words, the key to personal growth is to embrace the suck and learn from it. By doing so, you become more self-aware, empathetic, and resilient, capable of crushing any obstacle that comes your way.
 Are you settling for an unfulfilling job or relationship? Are you letting grudges, laziness, or quitting hold you back? To live an extraordinary life, you have to commit to embracing pain. Falling into a comfortable routine is easy, but this isn’t the path to success. So are you ready to bust out of your comfort zone? Great. How can you do it? The answer might be simpler than you think – do something that sucks every day.
 After you’ve selected your goals and whittled them down to the ones that genuinely excite you, the next step is to list specific actions for each, including parts that suck. All this is great practice for regularly testing yourself and your comfort zone. So collect your courage and take action. It may sometimes feel unsettling, but you’ll be proud of yourself for making positive life changes. Now let's move on to your execution strategy.
 <h5>Master the SEAL mindset: self-discipline and strategy.</h5>
 So far, you’ve learned that pain is a pathway, and being comfortable with discomfort is a key factor in achieving success. Now, you can start putting this all into practice. By modeling the SEAL mindset for execution, you can live beyond your comfort zone. So what’s your next move? Let's begin by breaking the tasks down.
 SEAL operations require strategic planning. Setting goals and identifying controllable threats is the first step. Next, the team evaluates the resources needed and assesses mission feasibility, drawing from past experiences. Finally, each team member's role and responsibilities are defined to establish accountability, and outside experts are consulted for additional perspectives. Contingency plans are also developed to prepare for unexpected issues.
 How can you make sure this model works? To execute any plan, you need self-discipline. Do you routinely put off tasks that you plan to complete first thing in the morning? If so, it’s time to take another page from the Navy SEAL playbook. These elite combatants are highly skilled in close-quarters combat and follow the training motto, "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." They learn how to overcome subconscious limitations and improve their self-control, and so can you.
 The problem is that discipline involves more than just willpower. It’s also about recognizing your flaws and taking preventive steps to avoid temptation. When you make mistakes, Gleeson stresses the importance of reflection, using missteps to identify triggers and create plans to stay on track. For instance, if you want to drink less, you should remove alcohol from the house. Likewise, muting your phone can help you avoid distractions. By taking these steps, you can develop the discipline needed to achieve your goals and live your best life. Ultimately, self-discipline is a crucial skill you can master with the right approach. You must have self-awareness, a clear plan, and realistic expectations to achieve this.
 Previously, we mentioned the realities of failure. When you encounter such setbacks, do your best to overcome your guilt, anger, or frustration and embrace these challenges. Remember to learn from your slip-ups and go easy on yourself when things don’t go as planned. The fact is, life is short. So why not make the most of your time here? We humans have the unique power to influence our future by accepting responsibility for our actions and actively working toward something more meaningful. Living purposefully means rising above fleeting distractions and hollow relationships to pursue something more valuable: a life free of regrets.
 Fear should never hold you back. Not if you take control of your life and plan your future with the end in mind. Imagine the possibilities if you accepted pain as a necessary part of your journey to success. So don’t leave your life to chance. Instead, ask yourself what truly matters, and prioritize your goals accordingly. Then, take deliberate action to build an extraordinary future and strive to leave a legacy you can be proud of.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 Instead of avoiding pain, embrace it and use it to propel you forward. By aligning your actions with your core values, you can face problems while remaining focused on your goals. Setting realistic targets and making steady progress requires self-discipline and self-awareness. So take small, incremental steps outside of your comfort zone to promote growth.
 Then, using the "See it, Own it, and Use it" model, you can use stress and fear to your advantage. So, embrace the suck and don't let failure cloud your vision of success – you are capable of overcoming any obstacle.

<h5>History shows that superintelligence – a technology more intelligent than any human being – is fast approaching.</h5>
 What fundamentally sets us apart from the beasts of the field? Well, the main difference between human beings and animals is our capacity for abstract thinking paired with the ability to communicate and accumulate information. In essence, our superior intelligence propelled us to the top.
 <h5>So what would the emergence of a new species, intellectually superior to humans, mean for the world?</h5>
 First we’ll need to review a bit of history. For instance, did you know that the pace of major revolutions in technology has been increasing over time? For example, improving at the snail’s pace of a few hundred thousand years ago, human technology would have needed one million years to become economically productive enough to sustain the lives of an additional million people. This number dropped to two centuries during the Agricultural Revolution in 5,000 BC. And in our post-Industrial Revolution era it shrunk to a mere 90 minutes.
 A technological advancement like the advent of superintelligent machines would mean radical change for the world as we know it. But where does technology stand at present?
 We have already been able to create machines that have the capacity to learn and reason using information that’s been plugged in by humans. Consider, for example, the automated spam filters that keep our inboxes free from annoying mass emails and save important messages.
 However, this is far from the kind of “general intelligence” humans possess, and which has been the goal of AI research for decades. And when it comes to building a superintelligent machine that can learn and act without the guiding hand of a human, it may still be decades away. But advancements in the field are happening quickly, so it could be upon us faster than we think. Such a machine would have a lot of power over our lives. Its intelligence could even be dangerous, since it would be too smart for us to disable in the event of an emergency.

Superintelligence

<h5>The history of machine intelligence over the past half decade has had its ups and downs.</h5>
 Since the invention of computers in 1940, scientists have been working to build a machine that can think. What progress has been made? One major advance in Artificial Intelligence (or AI) are man-made machines that mimic our own intelligence.
 The story begins with the 1956 Dartmouth Summer Project, which endeavored to build intelligent machines that could do what humans do. 
 Some machines could solve calculus problems, while others could write music and even drive cars. But there was a roadblock: inventors realized that the more complex the task, the more information the AI needed to process. Hardware to take on such difficult functions was unavailable. 
 By the mid-1970s, interest in AI had faded. But in the early ‘80s, Japan developed expert systems – rule-based programs that helped decision-makers by generating inferences based on data. However, this technology also encountered a problem: the huge banks of information required proved difficult to maintain, and interest dropped once again. 
 The ‘90s witnessed a new trend: machines that mimicked human biology by using technology to copy our neural and genetic structures. This process brings us up to the present day. Today, AI is present in everything from robots that conduct surgeries to smartphones to a simple Google search. The technology has improved to the point where it can beat the best human players at chess, Scrabble and Jeopardy!
 But even our modern technology has issues: such AIs can only be programmed for one game and there’s no AI capable of mastering any game. 
 However, our children may see something much more advanced – the advent of superintelligence (or SI). In fact, according to a survey of international experts at The Second Conference on Artificial General Intelligence at the University of Memphis, in 2009, most experts think that machines as intelligent as humans will exist by 2075 and that superintelligence will exist within another 30 years.
 <h5>Superintelligence is likely to emerge in two different ways.</h5>
 It’s clear that imitating human intelligence is an effective way to build technology, but imitation comes in many forms. So, while some scientists are in favor of synthetically designing a machine that simulates humans (through AI, for instance), others stand by an exact imitation of human biology, a strategy that could be accomplished with techniques like Whole Brain Emulation (or WBE).
 So what are the differences between the two?
 AI mimics the way humans learn and think by calculating probability. Basically, AI uses logic to find simpler ways of imitating the complex abilities of humans. For instance, an AI programmed to play chess chooses the optimal move by first determining all possible moves and then picking the one with the highest probability of winning the game. But this strategy relies on a data bank that holds every possible chess move. 
 Therefore, an AI that does more than just play chess would need to access and process huge amounts of real world information. The problem is that present computers just can’t process the necessary amount of data fast enough.
 But are there ways around this?
 One potential solution is to build what the computer scientist Alan Turing called “the child machine,” a computer that comes with basic information and is designed to learn from experience. 
 Another option is WBE, which works by replicating the entire neural structure of the human brain to imitate its function. One advantage this method has over AI is that it doesn’t require a complete understanding of the processes behind the human brain – only the ability to duplicate its parts and the connections between them. 
 For instance, a scientist could take a stabilized brain from a corpse, fully scan it, then translate that information into code. But we’ll have to wait. The technology necessary for this process – high-precision brain scans, for instance – likely won’t be developed anytime soon. But, someday, it will.
 <h5>Superintelligence will either emerge quickly via strategic dominance or as a result of long collaborative efforts.</h5>
 Most of the great discoveries of humanity were achieved either by a single scientist who reached a goal before others got there or through huge international collaborations. So, what would each route mean for the development of SI?
 Well, if a single group of scientists were to rapidly find solutions to the issues preventing AI and WBE, it’s most likely their results would produce a single superintelligent machine. That’s because the field’s competitive nature might force such a group to work in secrecy.
 Consider the Manhattan Project, the group that developed the atom bomb. The group’s activities were kept secret because the U.S. government feared that the USSR would use their research to build nuclear weapons of their own. 
 If SI developed like this, the first superintelligent machine would have a strategic advantage over all others. The danger is that a single SI might fall into nefarious hands and be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Or if a machine malfunctioned and tried to do something terrible – kill all humans, say – we’d have neither the intelligence nor the tools necessary to defend ourselves. 
 However, if multiple groups of scientists collaborated, sharing advances in technology, humankind would gradually build SI. A team effort like this might involve many scientists checking every step of the process, ensuring that the best choices have been made.
 A good precedent for such collaboration is the Human Genome Project, an effort that brought together scientists from multiple countries to map human DNA. Another good technique would be public oversight – instating government safety regulations and funding stipulations that deter scientists from working independently. 
 So, while the rapid development of a single SI could still occur during such a slow collaborative process, an open team effort would be more likely to have safety protocols in place.
 <h5>We can prevent unintended catastrophes by programing superintelligence to learn human values.</h5>
 You’ve probably heard it a million times, but there is some wisdom in being careful what you wish for. While we may be striving to attain superintelligence, how can we ensure that the technology doesn’t misunderstand its purpose and cause unspeakable devastation?
 The key to this problem lies in programing the motivation for SI to accomplish its various human-given goals. Say we designed an SI to make paper clips; it seems benign, but what’s to prevent the machine from taking its task to an extreme and sucking up all the world’s resources to manufacture a mountain of office supplies?
 This is tricky, because while AI is only motivated to achieve the goal for which it has been programmed, an SI would likely go beyond its programmed objectives in ways that our inferior minds couldn’t predict. 
 But there are solutions to this problem. For instance, superintelligence, whether it be AI or WBE, can be programmed to learn the values of a human on its own. For example, an SI could be taught to determine whether an action is in line with a core human value. In this way we could program SI to do things like “minimize unnecessary suffering” or “maximize returns.” 
 Then, before acting, the machine would calculate whether a proposed action is in line with that goal. With experience, the AI would develop a sense of which actions are in compliance and which aren’t. 
 But there’s another option. We could also program an AI to infer our intentions based on the majority values of human beings. 
 <h5>Here’s how:</h5>
 The AI would watch human behavior and determine normative standards for human desires. The machine would essentially be programmed to program itself. For instance, while each culture has it’s own culinary tradition, all people agree that poisonous foods should not be eaten. By constantly learning through observation, the SI could self-correct by changing its standards to correspond to changes in the world over time.

<h5>Intelligent machines will probably replace the entire human workforce.</h5>
 But enough about decimation and total destruction. Before panicking about the impending machine-led apocalypse, let’s take a look at how general intelligence technology can be developed and put to productive use. 
 It’s likely that the increasing availability and decreasing cost of technology will lead to the cheap mass production of machines capable of doing jobs that currently require the hands and mind of a human. This means that machines will not only replace the entire human workforce but will also be easily replaceable. 
 For instance, if a WBE worker needs a break, just like a real human would, it can simply be replaced with a fresh unit and no productive time needs to be sacrificed. In fact, it would be easy to do this by programing a template WBE that thinks it just got back from vacation. This template could then be used to make infinite copies of new workers. 
 But clearly this amounts to mechanical slavery and raises important moral issues. For example, if a machine became aware that it would die at the end of the day, we could simply program it to embrace death. But is that ethical? Should these artificial employees be treated like sentient beings or inert tools?
 Work isn’t the only thing that SI machines could take over; they could also be in charge of various mundane tasks in our personal lives. As the minds of these machines come increasingly closer to resembling those of human beings, we could use them to optimize our lives; for instance, we could design a digital program that verbally articulates our thoughts or that achieves our personal goals better than we could alone. 
 The result of such advances would mean a human existence that is largely automated, low-risk, devoid of adventure and, frankly, too perfect. And where would that leave us? How would we occupy ourselves in such a future?
 <h5>In the superintelligent future, the average human will be impoverished or reliant on investments; the rich will be buying new luxuries.</h5>
 It’s clear that an entirely robotic workforce would completely transform the economy, as well as our lifestyles and desires; as machine labor becomes the new, cheaper norm, the pay of workers will drop so low that no human will be able to live off a paycheck. Also, the few employers of the mechanical workforce would accrue a lot of money. 
 But this brings us back to an earlier point, because where that money ends up also depends on whether SI is designed by a single exclusive group or is the result of a slow collaborative process. If the former turns out to be true, most people would be left with few options for income generation, likely renting housing to other humans or relying on their life-savings and pensions. 
 And the people who don’t have property or savings?
 They would be destitute. Their only options would be to use their remaining money to upload themselves into a digital life form, if such technology exists, or rely on charity from the hyper-wealthy. 
 <h5>And the rich?</h5>
 They’ll lose interest in what we today consider highly desirable luxuries. That’s because with machines doing all the work, anything made or offered by a human will become a highly-valued rarity, much like artisanal products are in our time. While today it might be wine or cheese, in the future it could be something as simple as a handmade keychain. 
 But the new mode of production would also make possible an unimaginable variety of technological products – maybe even the ability to live forever or regain youth. So instead of buying yachts and private islands, the wealthy might use their money to upload themselves into digital brains or virtually indestructible humanoid bodies. 
 However, this scenario assumes that the superintelligent worker robots will not rebel and try to destroy human society. Therefore, whatever route we follow with SI, safety will always be key.
 <h5>Safety must be a top priority before superintelligence is developed.</h5>
 It’s clear that the development of SI comes with a variety of safety issues and, in the worst case scenario, could lead to the destruction of humankind. While we can take some precautions by considering the motivation for the SI we build, that alone won’t suffice.
 <h5>So what will?</h5>
 Considering every potential scenario before bringing a hyper-powerful force like SI into the world. For instance, imagine that some sparrows adopted a baby owl. Having a loyal owl around might be highly advantageous; the more powerful bird could guard the young, search for food and do any number of other tasks. But these great benefits also come with a great risk: the owl might realize it’s an owl and eat all the sparrows. 
 Therefore, the logical approach would be for the sparrows to design an excellent plan for how to teach the owl to love sparrows, while also considering all possible outcomes wherein the owl could become a negative force. 
 So how can we teach our robotic, superintelligent baby owl to love humans?
 As we already know, we can make safety a priority through a long-term international collaboration. But why would the competitive rush to design the first SI be a safety threat?
 Because scientists would forgo safety to speed up their process and wouldn’t share their work with others. That means that if an SI project went horribly wrong and threatened humanity with extinction, too few people would understand the machine’s design well enough to stop it. 
 On the other hand, if governments, institutions and research groups join together, they could slowly build a safe and highly beneficial SI. That’s because groups could share their ideas for safety measures and provide thorough oversight for each phase of the design. Not just that, but an international superintelligence project would promote peace through its universal benefits. Just consider the International Space Station, an endeavor that helped stabilize relations between the US and the USSR.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 Inventing a superintelligent machine capable of things far beyond the ability of a human is both a tantalizing prospect and a precarious path. In order to ensure such technology develops in a safe, responsible manner, we need to prioritize safety over unchecked technological advancement. The fate of our species depends on it. 
 Suggested further reading: Out of Control by Kevin Kelly
 Though written from the perspective of 1994, these lines paint a startlingly current and still futuristic image of how technological developments like the internet and artificial intelligence could affect society and humanit

<h5>The quest to explain our world took us from the mythological to the scientific.</h5> 
 One of the defining characteristics of human beings is our curiosity. As long as we’ve been around, we’ve been pondering the big questions: why are we here? Are we alone in the universe? Is there a creator?
 While these questions are thousands of years old, the method of using scientific inquiry to get answers is relatively new.
 Back in ancient times, we used gods to explain the world’s natural phenomena. We had sun gods, gods of rain and thunder, even earthquake and volcano gods.
 So, when we were desperate for good weather, we went out of our way to please the appropriate gods. And when drought or natural disasters befell us, we believed it was due to a failure on our part to adequately please the gods.
 It would take the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle, Archimedes and Thales to move us past this mythological thinking. These Greek thinkers were devoted to pondering life’s big questions and contemplating the universe, and they began to find ways of understanding the world apart from godly intervention.
 While someone like Archimedes wouldn’t be considered a proper scientist today, he was one of the first to conduct experiments and carefully observe and measure the results. This is how he came up with revolutionary principles like the law of the lever, which explained how small forces can be used to lift heavy objects.
 This line of thinking would continue to be refined, and in early modern times, it became known as the scientific method – a strict system for formulating a hypothesis and rigorously testing it through experiments, measurements and observation.
 In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, scholars like Galileo, Johannes Kepler and René Descartes were early proponents of the scientific method. Isaac Newton used this system to formulate the laws of gravity and motion, which finally allowed us to understand the movements of planets and stars.
 Eventually, scientists would use the scientific method to explain how all of the physical world functions.
 This led us to scientific determinism, the belief that every occurrence in nature can be scientifically explained – even human decisions.

The Grand Design

<h5>Scientists have long argued whether humans have free will, or whether we are subject to scientific determinism.</h5> 
 You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, if my decisions can be explained scientifically, doesn’t that go against the idea of free will?”
 Indeed, while many people can accept the rules of scientific determinism as it applies to nature, it’s a trickier proposition with respect to human nature.
 As a result, scholars have long debated the concept of free will and whether such a thing even exists.
 In defense of free will, we have the philosopher René Descartes, who refused to believe that human beings simply adhere to the laws of nature, as if we were all robots following a predetermined program.
 Descartes saw a clear distinction between the human body, which could be explained through scientific law, and the human soul, to which such reasoning did not apply.
 He saw the soul as the source of a person’s free will and even went so far as to suggest a location for our soul: the pineal gland, which resides in the center of the brain.
 Descartes makes a compelling case, yet it also raises a great many questions that highlight the conflict between free will and scientific determinism.
 First of all, if humans have free will, do all mammals? If so, when did this trait appear in our evolution?
 Is free will a trait of multicelled organisms, or do bacteria have it as well? Where do we draw the line between living things that are subject to scientific law and those that possess this seemingly magical quality?
 The simple truth is that there is no line. While it may comfort us to think we’re free to choose whatever action we see fit, all of these thoughts and decisions can indeed be explained by physical and chemical laws.
 Recent advancements in neuroscience have made the scientific laws behind our actions quite clear.
 Scientists now know how each area of the brain can be stimulated to give people the desire to talk or move certain parts of their body. So, any choice we make can now be attributed to biological mechanics, much like the rest of the organisms around us.
 <h5>There is no “reality” independent from the observer.</h5>
 What do you think a goldfish sees if it lives in a fishbowl in your living room?
 This was actually a concern in the city of Monza, Italy. In 2004, the city council outlawed curved fishbowls since they decided that the curved glass would distort the fish’s vision, therefore forcing them to live in a cruelly distorted reality.
 But for this to be true, we first have to believe that our reality isn’t distorted in any way, or that there’s one definitively accurate reality to behold.
 This would be awfully presumptuous since the truth is that we all see things in a way that’s uniquely our own.
 Or, to put it another way, there is no “reality” apart from what an individual experiences.
 What you call “reality” is a mental picture that your brain produces from the information your senses are sending.
 If you recognize the image of a tree, it’s because your eye’s retina caught the light that was being scattered by the tree-like object and your brain used this to create the mental image of a tree.
 The reason you believe what you see is reality is because people have used the same senses you have to create the scientific laws that have been accepted as accurate. Since your vision adheres to these laws, you accept your reality as being the correct one.
 So, with this in mind, the goldfish’s reality within a curved fishbowl could be just as accurate and correct.
 Imagine the goldfish conducting experiments in this fishbowl and formulating a series of laws about the governing principles in its world. While the results would be different than our world, since the curved fishbowl would cause observed objects to travel in a curved line rather than a straight line, this world would still be a functioning version of reality.
 Ultimately, the reality you experience is no more or less valid than that of any other living organism. And though they may see things differently, they all have the potential for creating scientific laws that accurately reflect their relative experiences.
 <h5>A good model of reality should be elegant and consistent, should fit reality and should predict the future.</h5>
 While it’s important to remember that everything is relative, this doesn’t mean that any old theory or scientific model should be considered acceptable.
 There are four criteria that every good model of reality should adhere to.
 First of all, it should be elegant.
 It’s true that elegance is rather subjective. But in the world of science, most experts agree that an elegant model is one that can make an incredibly complex subject extremely simple. Einstein's famous formula of E=MC² is perhaps the perfect example of scientific elegance.
 Einstein’s advice for scientific theorists is that they should strive for a theory that is “as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
 The second criteria for a good theory is that it shouldn't be dependent on too many adjustable or random factors.
 It’s a bad sign for a theory to require an abundance of extra elements to make it work.
 For example, early astronomers used to believe that everything revolved around the Earth in perfect circles. But it wasn’t long before observations were in clear conflict with this theory, so astronomers had to add new mitigating factors to keep this theory alive.
 The Roman mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy suggested that planets must move in smaller individual circles around the Earth, which would account for the observations – but what it really proved was that the original theory was faulty.
 The third criteria for a good model is that it needs to explain every existing observation.
 Take Newton’s theory of light, which suggests that light is made up of particles, or as he called them, corpuscles. Newton’s theory explained why light moves in a straight line and why it becomes refracted in water.
 But it couldn’t explain one thing, namely why light forms a pattern of concentric rings when reflected between two surfaces. And since Newton’s theory failed to explain this one observation, it wasn’t an acceptable scientific law.
 Finally, the fourth criteria states that every good theory must contribute to future observations and predictions.
 Quantum theory describes nature at a subatomic scale – and it provides us with a different conception of the world
 So far, we’ve been looking at what’s observable to the naked eye, and for the most part what we see around us is all normal and explainable. But if we could see what is going on around us at the subatomic level, where quantum theory rules, things wouldn’t seem so normal.
 One of the most important tenets of quantum physics is the uncertainty principle, established in 1926 by the German physicist Werner Heisenberg.
 Heisenberg believed that it was impossible to simultaneously measure, with any precision, the position and velocity of a particle.
 The best you can do is measure the probability of the various places a particle is likely to be.
 Another key principle of quantum theory states that we cannot passively observe something. Rather, by making an observation, we are affecting what we are observing.
 For example, if we open a refrigerator to see what’s inside, we’re changing the temperature of the contents and exposing the food and drinks that are in there to photons of light.
 While shining a light on something as big as an apple isn’t going to do much, shooting photons, or particles of light, will greatly affect the movement and direction of other tiny particles.
 So, as you can see, the disruption that simple light can cause makes it quite difficult to conduct experiments on the quantum level.

<h5>Einstein revolutionized our understanding of time and space.</h5>
 Albert Einstein was only 26 years old in 1905, the year he turned physics on its head.
 With his Theory of Special Relativity, Einstein proved that the way we experience time is also relative.
 To understand how this is possible, imagine being in the cockpit of an airplane that is traveling at nearly the speed of light. And as you’re flying along, there’s a beam of light that’s continuously bouncing from the plane to the ground below.
 From your point of view, the light will always be traveling straight up and down. But for someone standing on the ground and watching the plane zoom by, the light will be traveling along a different path, moving at a forward angle with each bounce.
 Makes sense, right? But here’s where things get tricky: the speed of light is the same for everyone. No matter if you are traveling at 10mph or 10,000mph, light will always travel at 186000 miles per second. So, if you consider that speed = distance/time, and in this scenario, the speed of light is the same for both you and the observer on the ground – yet your perception of the distance is different. This means that your perception of time must be different as well.
 In other words, the faster you travel, the slower time gets for you compared to someone standing still.
 Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity was also a game changer in that it described how gravity works.
 For this, Einstein theorized that our dimension is a combination of space and time, which is therefore called space-time.
 You can imagine space-time like the surface of a billiard table; without gravity, the table would be straight and everything would move freely. But gravity is like a weight right in the center of the table, causing it to warp, such that objects are drawn toward it and travel around the center.
 This is how the gravity of a big star like the sun can draw in a solar system’s worth of planets to orbit around it.
 <h5>Physicists still argue on a unified theory of everything, although M-Theory might be a great candidate.</h5>
 Nowadays, we have a lot of theories that explain how different things like gravity and quantum particles work, but these separate theories aren’t always compatible. Quantum theory and general relativity, for instance, don’t exactly play well together.
 This is something physicists have been struggling with for generations: a Grand Unified Theory (GUT) that will link together three out of the four fundamental forces of nature – weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force and electromagnetism. The final fundamental force of nature is gravity.
 Despite many attempts, all efforts at formulating a GUT have failed, as experiments continue to disprove the theories.
 In the 1970s, for example, there was an attempt at a GUT that predicted protons decayed at an average rate of 10³² years. But recent experiments have shown that the accurate rate is over 10³⁴ years.
 But all is not lost, as the M-Theory may be the long-sought-after answer to a unifying theory.
 M-Theory is a bit different than traditional attempts since it isn’t one theory, but rather a collection of multiple theories that work together to form one big, complete picture.
 M-Theory works a bit like an atlas: it contains individual maps that provide the details of local areas, and when you put them all together you have everything covered.
 One of the most interesting aspects of M-Theory is that it suggests the likelihood of multiple universes.
 In fact, it suggests the existence of a whole range of other universes and, as we’ll see in the next blink, it was pure luck that led to our universe being the one fit for life.
 <h5>The universe is expanding and we are lucky to be where we are within it.</h5>
 Our existence in the universe has always been a touchy subject, as has the existence of the universe itself. For centuries, the subject of how the universe came to be was dealt with through two schools of thought: those who believed that it always existed and those who believed it was the work of God.
 It was only relatively recently that modern science had the tools to explain how the universe began, and how it is expanding, while still adhering to the laws of nature.
 It was 1929 when the American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the discovery that nearly all galaxies are moving in one direction – away from Earth. He also noted that their speed is gradually increasing the further away they get.
 The conclusion was clear: the universe is expanding. And if something is expanding, that means it was once smaller.
 In fact, scientists could rewind the expansion all the way back to the point when all matter and energy was tightly concentrated into a small area of incredible density and extreme temperature. And they believe this is how the universe was right before the Big Bang, the explosion that set the universe in motion.
 After the Big Bang, it was a bit of good luck that Earth ended up being suitable for life to form.
 Our planet exists in what is now called the habitable zone, a small area that is just the right distance from the sun and out of harm’s way from destructive meteorites.
 By not being too far or too close to the sun, the water that makes up much of the surface of the planet is neither boiling hot nor icy cold. Even so, many people, from a number of different religions, see our fortunate position not as a matter of luck, but of intelligent design by God.
 However, if we believe it is God that created the universe, this raises more questions, including the core question of who or what created God.
 For most astronomers, physicists and those who follow the scientific method, it wasn’t a divine hand that brought us into being. It was a number of factors coming together, making us Earthlings an astoundingly lucky and fortunate people.

<h4>Final summary</h4> 
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 For thousands of years, humans have explained physical occurrences by attributing them to the whims of gods. But the universe is governed by physical laws and can be understood in accordance with them. Physical laws tell us how the universe behaves, and humans have been able to discover these laws through the development and implementation of the scientific method.

Nevertheless, many founders do use corporate-management tools such as milestone plans and long-term market forecasts. They act as if they are preparing a space rocket for liftoff, tinkering with it for years and only launching it when they think it’s perfect. In reality, managing a startup is more like driving a jeep across unstable and shifting terrain, where the founders must constantly change direction and respond quickly to unexpected obstacles and dead-ends.
 However, start-ups shouldn’t abandon planning completely to adopt a chaotic “just do it” mindset either. Driving chaotically is not going to get you anywhere; someone has to be at the wheel to make intelligent decisions about which way to go.
 A start-up’s management team should try to maintain an overview of their situation and keep their company steered toward its overall goal. Hence, they need to find the right metrics to measure whether their journey is leading them in the right direction.
 
 Start-ups need to be managed differently from established companies.
 
 <h5>The purpose of a start-up is to find a sustainable business model.</h5>
 The main goal of any start-up is to find a business model that is profitable and sustainable.
 The most intricate and detailed milestone plans, the most efficient execution of those plans or even the undivided and devoted attention of the press won’t help the slightest without a sustainable business model.
 If you want your company to be more than just a temporary pet project that will sooner or later dwindle and die, you must find a way to acquire customers and earn money by serving them. Say you want to build your business around online kilt-knitting instructions. Ask yourself, does anyone want these instructions? Is there any way to make money out of them? If the answer in both cases is no, find something else that people do want and will be willing to pay for.
 Thus, the one and only goal for your start-up is to find a sustainable business model, one that works today and can work in the future as well. In practice, this means finding out which products your potential customers want and how to turn their desires into constant revenues.
 The main responsibility of any start-up’s management should be to focus the whole company, including everything being done on a day-to-day basis, on reaching this one main goal. The faster a start-up finds its way to a sustainable business model, the likelier it is to succeed.
 
 The purpose of a start-up is to find a sustainable business model.

The Lean Startup

<h5>Startups need to be managed differently from established companies.</h5>
 In the first three blinks, you'll discover what the main goal is that a start-up should pursue.
 Traditional management consists of two components: developing plans and overseeing the people executing them.
 A manager creates a plan, sets milestones, and delegates tasks to her employees, guiding them to ensure they hit their milestones on time.
 This management strategy works in established companies that have been around long enough to know what worked in the past and therefore what could work in the future.
 Start-ups are different, though: they can’t predict their own future because they have no past, don’t know what their customers want, and don’t know which approaches are best for finding customers or creating a sustainable business. To find out what could work, they must stay flexible. To adopt fixed plans with set milestones or rely on long-term market forecasts would be to delude themselves.
 Nevertheless, many founders do use corporate-management tools such as milestone plans and long-term market forecasts. They act as if they are preparing a space rocket for liftoff, tinkering with it for years and only launching it when they think it’s perfect. In reality, managing a start-up is more like driving a jeep across unstable and shifting terrain, where the founders must constantly change direction and respond quickly to unexpected obstacles and dead-ends.
 However, start-ups shouldn’t abandon planning completely to adopt a chaotic “just do it” mindset either. Driving chaotically is not going to get you anywhere; someone has to be at the wheel to make intelligent decisions about which way to go.
 A start-up’s management team should try to maintain an overview of their situation and keep their company steered toward its overall goal. Hence, they need to find the right metrics to measure whether their journey is leading them in the right direction.
 
 Start-ups need to be managed differently from established companies.
 
 <h5>Find your sustainable business model through validated learning.</h5>
 In order to find a sustainable business model, start-ups have to discover what their customers want and how to make money from it. They have to find the right product for the right people and understand how to sell it to them.
 This doesn’t mean coming up with a great plan from the start. Rather, it requires a process of constant learning: ideally validated learning, meaning learning through a scientific approach.
 To begin the process of validated learning, you must come up with hypotheses about whether and how certain products will be successful in a given market. For example, “US customers will be willing to purchase shoes online.”
 Such fundamental hypotheses have to be tested, and only if they are validated by talking to customers can the start-up know it’s on the right track toward finding a sustainable business model.
 Don’t use questionnaires or fictional customers though; instead, talk to real customers in a realistic environment. The most reliable way to find out whether people will buy your product is to offer it to them and see how they respond.
 Take the success story of Zappos: it started with the simple hypothesis that people would be willing to buy shoes online. To test this idea, the company took photographs of shoes in shoe stores and displayed the photographs in a fake web shop. When people actually tried to buy the shoes online, Zappos saw that their hypothesis was valid.
 Through this approach, the foundation was laid for one of the most successful business models of the last decade.
 
 Find your sustainable business model through validated learning
 
 <h5>The leap-of-faith assumptions: test your value and growth hypotheses.</h5>
 Part of developing a product is the leap of faith: a founder believes in the future success of the product she wants to create, even though there’s no proof for this yet.
 To quickly close the gap between believing and knowing, every founder should formulate and test two fundamental assumptions:
 The value hypothesis assumes that a product will deliver value to its customers, that is, that early adopters will find and embrace the product.
 The growth hypothesis states that the product will not only appeal to the small group of early adopters but will also find a bigger market later.
 Both assumptions must be tested as soon as possible. Only if they can be validated is it worth investing the time and effort into developing the product.
 Take a look at Facebook: they managed to validate both the value and growth hypothesis at a very early stage when the social network had only a few users.
 First of all, the registered users were very active in the network. More than half logged in at least once a day – impressive proof for the value hypothesis.
 Second, Facebook had sensational user-activation rates, meaning it gained market penetration very quickly. In colleges where Facebook had been introduced, three quarters of all students signed up within one month – without the company having spent a penny on marketing. Thus, the growth hypothesis was proven as well.
 Such impressive data made investors strong believers in the future success of this new social network, leading them to invest millions at a very early stage.
 
 The leap-of-faith assumptions: test your value and growth hypotheses.
 
 <h5>Develop a minimal viable product to test your idea in the market.</h5>
 Many founders spend too much time working on a product in isolation, without knowing whether there are actually any real customers for the product.
 If you want to create a sustainable business, you must find out as quickly as possible whether there is any demand for your product.
 The quickest and easiest way to get real-world customer feedback on your idea is to create a minimal version of the product. This minimal viable product (MVP) should be as simple as possible and should contain only what is needed to give the customers a realistic experience of how your product would work – just enough to draw useful feedback from them.
 The MVP can be a simple bare-bones prototype of your product, or even a smoke test: pretend to sell a fake product. Uploading pictures of shoes to a web shop, even though you cannot yet sell any, is a prime example.
 Take the founders of Dropbox. They knew that developing their idea into a product would take a lot of time, so they chose a simple and creative way to validate their hypothesis that there was demand for a new and user-friendly data-synchronisation service: they created a video presenting their idea.
 The founders had assumed there was a demand for such a product, and they were right: within one night, 75,000 people had signed up to their waiting list, and the Dropbox team concluded they were on the right track. Thus, they could confidently start developing the actual product.
 Similarly, every start-up should first find out whether there’s an actual demand for their product before they start building it.
 
 Develop a minimal viable product to test your idea in the market.
 
 <h5>Build, measure, learn – as fast and as often as possible.</h5>
 In the search for a sustainable business model, the top priority is learning: every start-up has to learn which products to build and how to earn money from them.
 This can’t happen if you’re out of touch with the real world. You need to get out there, show your product to customers, gather their feedback and then learn from it.
 To facilitate this, set up so-called BML loops. BML signifies the cycle build-measure-learn:
 First you build a simple version of your product, like a prototype or a smoke-test.
 Second, you take this product to its actual market and gather customer feedback. By collecting quantitative data from this experiment, you measure interest in the product; for instance, how many people clicked the purchase button and tried to buy shoes from your fake web shop.
 When measuring, make sure you don’t just look at the numbers but also talk to your customers. If you want to understand your data, you should learn about the individual impressions and opinions of your customers as well.
 What you learn in one cycle should then be used to conceptualize and build a new, optimized product, which brings you into the next BML cycle. This process is then repeated until you find a sustainable business model.
 It’s important to be fast here. Each BML loop helps you improve your product and gives you valuable insights about what your customers want. The more loops you can go through, the more likely it is you will find your sustainable business model.
 
 Build, measure, learn – as fast and as often as possible.
 
 <h5>Use split-tests to optimize your product.</h5>
 When developing and improving a product, start-ups have to distinguish between value and waste: they must find out which features are valuable for their customers and which aren’t.
 Valuable features are those that help the company attract more customers or increase its revenue.
 Features that don’t do either are wasteful – even if the founders or engineers think they’re the greatest thing ever.
 A clever way of distinguishing between value and waste is split-testing. Whenever you consider adding a feature or changing an existing one, create two versions of your product: one with the new feature and one without it. By testing both versions, you’ll soon see which one is more appealing to customers.
 The first companies that used this technique were mail-order businesses. For example, to find out whether a new catalogue layout would increase orders, they printed two versions of it: 50 percent of their customers got the old design, and 50 percent got a new one. The catalogues were identical in every other way and the customers were split randomly, so the companies simply had to compare how many orders were placed by each group. This data answered the question of whether the new design was an improvement or not.
 In the same spirit, any start-up can test every possible change before actually implementing it. Want to know whether your website works better in red than in blue? Why not create two test versions of it and track customer click-rates for a couple of days?
 Any change you wish to make to your product should be tested with this semi-scientific approach before you actually implement it.
 
 Use split-tests to optimize your product.

<h5>To find the right business model for your company, you usually have to pivot.</h5>
 Many start-ups believe in the popular myth that the key to founding a successful company is perseverance and an iron will: a heroic founder has a brilliant idea and fights through lots of setbacks until the idea finally becomes a hit.
 But this way of thinking leads most start-ups into the so-called land of the living dead. Like mindless zombies, they just can’t take a hint and will keep working hard to sell a product that the market simply doesn’t want.
 To avoid this, you should keep asking yourself how you need to change your product to improve it and help it find its market.
 Also, you should periodically ask yourself whether a pivot might be in order – a fundamental change of course.
 A pivot can take many shapes, such as: redefining the core value or your product; choosing to pursue a different customer segment and; changing your main sales channel.
 A main characteristic of a pivot is that the core assumptions behind the start-up have changed, and therefore new hypotheses must be tested.
 meetings, you take an honest look at the data you’ve gathered and ask yourself whether you might be a zombie in need of a pivot.
 Many start-ups had to pivot a couple of times before finally becoming successful businesses. Take Groupon: they started as a platform for activism and fundraising, and only later turned into the daily deals platform they’re known as today.
 
 To find the right business model for your company, you usually have to pivot.
 
 <h5>Every startup should initially focus on one engine of growth.</h5>
 A fundamental part of any business model is an engine of growth that ensures the company does not stagnate.
 There are three different kinds of growth engines:
 <ul>
 <li>The Sticky Engine works by retaining existing customers who already generate a constant stream of revenue. The focus is not to win new customers by investing in marketing but rather to make current customers use the product even more often by offering new features or great service.</li>
 <li>The Viral Engine works by getting existing customers to take care of the company’s marketing. Awareness of the product spreads among your target customers by word-of-mouth. This can save you a lot of marketing expenditure, so you should make it as easy as possible for customers to engage in this kind of viral marketing. A famous example of a viral engine of growth is Hotmail’s automatic email signature: “P.S. Get your free e-mail at Hotmail.”</li>
 <li>Finally, a Paid Engine works by investing into marketing, for example through paid online advertising. Of course, this is only sustainable if existing customers bring in enough revenues to ensure the costs per user acquisition are lower than user lifetime value.</li>
 </ul>
 In general, you can engage all three engines of growth at the same time, but it’s often wise to focus on only one of them at first so that it picks up speed as quickly as possible.
 Focusing on one engine of growth also makes it easier to assess the success of new features: if they help the growth engine gain speed, they’re valuable; if not, they’re waste.
 
 Every startup should initially focus on one engine of growth.
 
 <h5>Vanity metrics are often flattering but misleading – they won’t help you find a sustainable business model.</h5>
 No startup can find a sustainable business model without occasionally pausing to get directions, and these directions are derived from examining the right metrics.
 To gauge whether you’ve made any progress toward your long-term goals, you need to examine the data you’ve gathered along the way.
 Unfortunately, many start-ups give in to the temptation of using vanity metrics: flattering but useless or even harmful metrics that make a company look good but don’t help bring it closer to its goals.
 Startups relying on vanity metrics are effectively looking into the business equivalent of a slimming mirror, which makes it hard to face actual problems and fix them.
 For instance, it may be flattering to get a lot of media attention and Facebook fans, but never make the mistake of interpreting these signs as success. They don’t pay the bills, and you should not waste your energy trying to impact such meaningless metrics.
 Other vanity metrics could be the hours of work you’ve already put into a product or the number of milestones you’ve accomplished. These numbers can (but don’t necessarily) have anything to do with the success of your start-up. Hence, the goal should never be to maximize them. Even if someone works 100-hour weeks, it’s still possible that those hours are wasted on something that’s useless from the point of view of long-term success.
 To be successful, you must find a sustainable business model and grow a base of customers who use your product – and you can do neither if you’re fixated on the wrong metrics.
 
 Vanity metrics are often flattering but misleading – they won’t help you find a sustainable business model.
 
 <h5>Every startup has to define its core metrics and analyze them properly.</h5>
 Defining the right metrics to track and continuously evaluating them is crucial for any start-up. Only by seeing the metrics improve will you know you’re on the way towards your long-term goal of finding a sustainable business model.
 The right core metrics differ from start-up to start-up, but often they’re things like increases in number of paying customers, average session length per customer, and number of recommendations generated per, say, one thousand customers.
 Each startup has to find its own right metrics to give it direction and a realistic view of its progress.
 When analyzing data, it can be helpful to use the so-called cohort analysis. Instead of simply looking at how the revenues or user base have grown in general, compare how new customers behave compared to old ones.
 Say one of your core metrics is your recommendation rate. To understand how it advances, you should examine the following factors: On average, how often did customers who signed up six months ago recommend your product to their friends?; What about customers who signed up four months ago?; Two months ago?
 By comparing cohorts (in this case, groups of users who signed up at different times) and their respective recommendation rates, you can see whether you’re advancing towards your goal. Only if the metric is improving are you progressing; otherwise, you’re stagnating.
 
 Every start-up has to define its core metrics and analyze them properly.

<h4>Final summary</h4>
 <h5>The key message in this book:</h5>
 Startups should use a semi-scientific approach to test their core assumptions and then build a sustainable business model on the validated hypotheses. They should develop product prototypes quickly and then continuously refine them by gathering customer feedback and going through build-measure-learn loops.
 <h5>The questions this book answered:</h5>
 <ul>
 <h5>Which main goal should a startup pursue and how?</h5>
 <li>Startups need to be managed differently from established companies.</li>
 <li>The purpose of a start-up is to find a sustainable business model.</li>
 <li>Find your sustainable business model through validated learning.</li>
 <h5>How can startups find the right product and business model?</h5>
 <li>The leap-of-faith assumptions: test your value and growth hypotheses.</li>
 <li>Develop a minimal viable product to test your idea in the market.</li>
 <li>Build, measure, learn – as fast and as often as possible.</li>
 <li>To find the right business model for you company, you usually have to pivot.</li>
 <h5>How can startups find their engine of growth and how can they analyze the right metrics?</h5>
 <li>Every startup should initially focus on one engine of growth.</li>
 <li>Vanity metrics are often flattering but misleading– they won’t help you find a sustainable business model.</li>
 <li>Every start-up has to define its core metrics and analyze them properly.</li>
 </ul>

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