The Big Idea: Losers have goals.  Winners have systems.

• Losers have goals.  Winners have systems.
• Your mind isn’t magic.  It’s a moist computer you can program.
• The most important metric to track is your personal energy.
• Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success.
• Happiness is health plus freedom.
• Luck can be managed, sort of.
• Conquer shyness by being a huge phony (in a good way).
• Fitness is the lever that moves the world.
• Simplicity transforms ordinary into amazing.
• A smart friend can save you loads of time.
• Forget about passion.  Be successful first and passion will follow.
• The market rewards execution, not ideas.
• Positive affirmations really work.
• Simple systems are probably the best way to achieve success.
• Simplification frees up time and energy, which makes other things possible and easier.
• Exercise, sleep, and food should be your first priority in maintaining good energy.
• Working on a big, world-changing project (on the side) can be very energizing.
• Smiling makes you feel better.
• Success at one activity can spill over to other activities.
• A clue to an innate talent: willing to embarrass yourself in something.
• Be persistent if something doesn’t work out perfectly.  However, know that most big successes started out successful in some small, important way.
• Try to be good at several complementary things instead of excellent at only one.  (Eg. good engineer + good marketer > great engineer.)
• Key skills for success: public speaking, psychology, business writing, accounting, design, conversation, conversation, overcoming shyness, foreign language, golf, grammar, persuasion, technology, voice control
• Be familiar with most common cognitive biases.
• Successful people tend to follow this pattern: lack of fear of embarrassment, they love learning, they exercise regularly.
• Luck can be engineered by consistently being in the right place at the right time.
• Experts are right about 98% of the time on easy stuff, but only 50% of the time on complicated stuff.
• Happiness should be your primary goal in life.
• If you’re not happy, look at your environment and fix what’s wrong.
• The flexibility in your schedule to take naps, all else equal, will make you much happier.
• Simply imagining a better future hacks your brain chemistry and makes you happier.
• People become unhappy if they have too many options in life.
• No two humans are alike, but eating too many simple carbs is probably depleting your energy.
• Think of food as the fuel that makes exercise possible.
• Vegetarianism is probably healthy and beneficial, but be wary of the science quoted because vegetarians have an agenda beyond nutrition.  (Not a malicious agenda, however.)
• Coffee makes you more likely to exercise and has cancer-protective antioxidants.
• Any form of exercise that requires willpower is probably unsustainable for most.
• Make exercise fun, or at least, make exercise a non-negotiable habit.
• After exercise, always reward yourself with reading, healthy snack, or coffee.