Dan Bldrsbts

“the three factors that seem to have the greatest influence on increasing our happiness are our ability to reframe our situation more positively, our ability to experience gratitude, and our choice to be kind and generous.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

“We compare what we have with what other people have. Poverty, then, is relative—that’s not to say it isn’t a very bad/uncomfortable/life-shortening/fatal position to be in, just that it’s not an absolute. What it means to be “poor” changes through time and across the world—as does what it means to be “rich,” “well off,” or merely “comfortable” (though what it means to be “starving” is flatly invariable). In terms of toasters, if everyone else has a toaster and I don’t, well, I’ll feel a bit deprived, and I’ll go and buy a toaster if I can afford it. The fact that wealth is relative is, I think, one thing that drives the economy. It’s not that people have “infinite wants” (as economists traditionally claim), just that no one wants to be at the poor end of the scale.”
― Thomas Thwaites, The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch

“If you can’t, or don’t wish to, cut back production, then try to manufacture demand—the story of the twentieth century?”
― Thomas Thwaites, The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch

“After meticulously analyzing videos of 185 venture capital presentations — looking at both verbal and nonverbal behavior — Lakshmi ended up with results that surprised her: the strongest predictor of who got the money was not the person’s credentials or the content of the pitch. The strongest predictors of who got the money were these traits: confidence, comfort level, and passionate enthusiasm.”
― Amy Cuddy, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges