Many important nuggets of truth in this tiny book. Some points that resonated with me in particular:
On impostor syndrome: Others' minds work much in the same way ours do. Other people must be as anxious, uncertain and wayward as we are; therefore, nothing fundamental stands between us and the possibility of responsibility, success and fulfillment.
History is now: the majority of what exists is arbitrary, neither inevitable nor right, simply the result of muddle and happenstance. We should be confident ... of our power to join the stream of history and, however modestly, change its course.
Confidence isn't the belief that we won't meet obstacles: it is the recognition that difficulties are an inescapable part of all worthwhile contributions. We need to ensure that we have plenty of narratives to hand that normalise the role of pain, anxiety and disappointment in even the best and most successful of lives.
Death: inaction is not cost free - we must not let our lives leak away because we ignore our own mortality and put off action for another day.
We can, despite our fears, survive the loss of hope... what we fear will happen has, in truth, already happened; we are projecting into the future a catastrophe that belongs to a past we have not had the chance to fathom and mourn adequately.
Why we need confidence: It isn't enough to be kind, interesting, intelligent and wise inside; we need to develop the skill that allows us to make our talents active in the world at large. Confidence is what translates theory into practice.