“If you set up your business like you don’t need the money, people are happier to pay you. When someone’s doing something for the money, people can sense it, like they sense a desperate lover. It’s a turnoff. When someone’s doing something for love, being generous instead of stingy, trusting instead of fearful, it triggers this law: We want to give to those who give.”
― Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
― Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
“In the end, it’s about what you want to be, not what you want to have.”
― Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
― Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
“If you keep experiencing the same things, your mind keeps its same patterns. Same inputs, same responses. Your brain, which was once curious and growing, gets fixed into
deep habits. Your values and opinions harden and resist change.
You really learn only when you’re surprised. If you’re not surprised, then everything is fitting into your existing thought patterns. So to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives.
With effort, you could do this from the comfort of home. But the most effective way to shake things up is to move across the world. Pick a place that’s most unlike what you
know, and go. This keeps you in a learning mindset. Previously mindless
habits, like buying groceries, now keep your mind open, alert, and noticing new things. New arrivals in a culture often notice what the locals don’t. (Fish don’t know they’re in water.)”
― Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
deep habits. Your values and opinions harden and resist change.
You really learn only when you’re surprised. If you’re not surprised, then everything is fitting into your existing thought patterns. So to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives.
With effort, you could do this from the comfort of home. But the most effective way to shake things up is to move across the world. Pick a place that’s most unlike what you
know, and go. This keeps you in a learning mindset. Previously mindless
habits, like buying groceries, now keep your mind open, alert, and noticing new things. New arrivals in a culture often notice what the locals don’t. (Fish don’t know they’re in water.)”
― Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
“People often ask me what they can do to be moresuccessful. I say disconnect. Even if just for a few hours. Unplug. Turn off your phone and Wi-Fi. Focus. Write. Practice. Create. That’s what’s rare and valuable these
days.
You get no competitive edge from consuming the same stuff everyone else is consuming.”
― Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
days.
You get no competitive edge from consuming the same stuff everyone else is consuming.”
― Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
“any business that’s in business to sell you a cure is motivated not to focus on prevention”
― Anything You Want
― Anything You Want
Ruben’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ruben’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Ruben
Lists liked by Ruben


















