Shane Parrish > Quotes

“You get paid linearly for analyzing and solving problems. You get paid non-linearly for spotting and siezing opportunities.”
― Shane Parrish

“You don’t have to solve problems for others. You can let them be uncomfortable.”
― Shane Parrish

“What happens in ordinary moments determines your future.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“You can’t improve if you don’t know what you’re doing wrong.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“Results are a function of position. You don’t need to be smarter than others to outperform them if you can out-position them. Anyone looks like a genius when they’re in a good position, and even the smartest person looks like an idiot when they’re in a bad one.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“Seneca said, “Happy is he who can improve others not just when he is in their presence, but even when he is in their thoughts!”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“There are two ways to handle such a world: try to predict, or try to prepare.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“I don’t want to be a great problem solver. I want to avoid problems—prevent them from happening and doing it right from the beginning.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“One reason the best in the world make consistently good decisions is they rarely find themselves forced into a decision by circumstances”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“The only way you’ll know the extent to which you understand reality is to put your ideas and understanding into action. If you don’t test your ideas against the real world—keep contact with the earth—how can you be sure you understand?”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“We also tend to undervalue the elementary ideas and overvalue the complicated ones. Most of us get jobs based on some form of specialized knowledge, so this makes sense. We don’t think we have much value if we know the things everyone else does, so we focus our effort on developing unique expertise to set ourselves apart. The problem is then that we reject the simple to make sure what we offer can’t be contributed by someone else. But simple ideas are of great value because they can help us prevent complex problems.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“it’s only after we accept reality that we can attempt to change it.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“You don't need more time, you need more focus.”
― Shane Parrish

“There is always something you can do in the moment today to better your position tomorrow. You might not be able to solve the problem, but your next action will make the situation better or worse. There is always an action you can control, however tiny, that helps you achieve progress.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“If I were a Dr., I’d prescribe books. They can be just as powerful as drugs.”
― Shane Parrish

“During their colonial rule of India, the British government began to worry about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi. To reduce the numbers, they instituted a reward for every dead snake brought to officials. In response, Indian citizens dutifully complied and began breeding the snakes to slaughter and bring to officials. The snake problem was worse than when it started because the British officials didn’t think at the second level.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“Self-accountability means taking responsibility for your abilities, your inabilities, and your actions.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“In the short term, you are as good as your intensity. In the long term, you are only as good as your consistency.”
― Shane Parrish

“Working with a master firsthand is the best education; it’s the surest way of raising the bar. Their excellence demands your excellence. But most of us aren’t lucky enough to have that opportunity. Still, not all is lost. If you don’t have the chance to work with a master directly, you can still surround yourself with people who have higher standards by reading about them and their work.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“Most people go through life assuming that we’re right about everything all the time and that people who don’t see things our way are wrong. We mistake how we want the world to be with how it actually is. The subject doesn’t matter: we’re right about politics, other people, our memories; you name it. We mistake what we believe for the true facts.
Of course, we can’t be right about everything all the time. Everyone makes mistakes or misremembers some things. But we still want to feel right all the time, and ideally get other people to reinforce that feeling. Hence, we channel inordinate amounts of energy to proving to others—or ourselves—that we’re right. When this happens, we’re less concerned with outcomes and more concerned with protecting our egos.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“There is an old adage that encapsulates this: “To the man with only a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.” Not every problem is a nail. The world is full of complications and interconnections that can only be explained through understanding of multiple models.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts

“The person who carefully designs their daily routine goes further than the person that negotiates with themselves every day.”
― Shane Parrish

“The stronger we are relative to others, the less willing we generally are to change. We see strength as an immediate advantage that we don’t want to compromise. However, it’s not strength that survives, but adaptability. Strength becomes rigidity.”
― Shane Parrish, The Great Mental Models, Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology

“While the rest of us are chasing victory, the best in the world know they must avoid losing before they can win. It turns out this is a surprisingly effective strategy.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

“In order to get the results we desire, we must do two things. We must first create the space to reason in our thoughts, feelings, and actions; and second, we must deliberately use that space to think clearly. Once you have mastered this skill, you will find you have an unstoppable advantage.”
― Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results