Monica > Recent Status Updates

Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived?

Que sera sera -what will be, will be

That the beginning, and the end may have been chosen for us, the string already spun, but the middle had always been left undetermined, to be woven and shaped by us.

No matter what happens, I still feel the same.

I always used to wonder about these other versions of myself potentially leading different lives, but now I know that this life is the one I was meant for.

She didn’t want to talk about the ending. So she talked about the story itself.

“Tell them that I always wanted to be an explorer. That I always tried to take the first step, to be the first one to dive into the freezing water, the first to taste the strange looking food, the first to get on stage and sing. And now I’ll be the first to know what happens next, the first to find out what’s waiting for us all. I promise to do enough recon that I can tell you all about it when you get here.”

And in true Maura fashion, she even gave me a final message to ensure that that hers was the last voice we would hear at her service:

Celebrity mugshots: they’re a reminder that sometimes we screw up, and sometimes the system screws with us, but if you love your life with enough passion and boldness, then that’s what you’ll be remembered for. Not the crap that happened along the way.

That’s what passes for a life. That’s what passes for happiness for most people. They’re like sleepwalkers and nothing ever jolts them awake.

I think people … think work is supposed to be drudgery punctuated by very occasional moments of happiness, but when I say happiness, I mostly mean distraction.

“I’m talking about these people who’ve ended up in one life instead of another and they are just so disappointed. Do you know what I mean“ they’ve done what’s expected of them they want to do something different but it’s impossible. Now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped.” … High-functioning sleepwalkers, essentially. …

Understand the people who have made different decisions than you, and ended up with a different outcome than you, can be just as smart, funny, insightful, and worthy as you. They do what makes sense to them, and they’re trying to find their way in a complex world. You do what makes sense to you, and you’re trying to find your way in a complex world.

Spend less than you make.
Quietly compound.
Money serves you, not the other way around.
No one is thinking about you as much as you are.
Independence is wealth.
Health is wealth.
Aim to be a good ancestor.
Love your family.

It’s almost impossible to build wealth without controlling your biggest expenses. And it’s very difficult to grow wealth without caring about smaller expenses. Balance.

Tend to the small things. More people are defeated by blisters than mountains.

It’s impossible to know what you’re going to like until you try it, so you have to try everything. But the only way to try a million things is to have a strong filter that immediately rejects what isn’t for you.
Spend extravagantly on the things you love as long as you mercilessly cut the things you don’t.

There is only one success-to be able to spend your life in your own way. Christopher Morley
When you do things quietly, you’re less susceptible to people with different goals and personalities telling you you’re doing it wrong. Live and let live.

The best position to be in is rich AND anonymous. More money=more social debt
Quiet compounding

Imagine if, by the time you died, you had done everything you were told to do: you worked hard, saved your money, and looked forward to financial freedom when you retired. The only thing you wasted along the way was….your life.

Good advice is never as simple as “Live for today” or “Save for the future.” The only good advice is “Minimize future regret.”

The value of anything is its ability to help you live the life you want. Nothing more. Utility vs. Status

The gap between struggle and reward is a big part of what makes people happy. Going from nothing to something can be so much more powerful than going from a lot to even more.

The most mundane things can feel incredible when they’re a contrast to what you’re used to. What actually brings happiness is the contrast between what you have now and what you were just experiencing. The contrast, not the amount, is what makes you happy.

A good life is everything you need and some of what you want. If you have everything you want, you appreciate none of what you have.

The best measure of wealth is what you have minus what you want. Desiring less can have the same impact on your wellbeing as gaining more money.

Your brain doesn’t want stuff. It doesn’t even want new stuff. It wants to engage in the process and anticipation of getting new stuff.

Nothing is as desired as much as the thing you want, but can’t have.

Happiness is contentment. Contentment is what you have relative to what you want. All happiness in life is just the gap between expectations and circumstances. When you don’t appreciate what you already have, and only focus on what’s missing, nothing ever feels good enough. Happiness remains elusive.

If your expectations grow faster than your income, you will never be happy with your money.