This collection is based on publicly available interviews, podcasts, and writings. These are interpretations for inspiration — not direct quotes. Please verify with original sources.
The mindset that separates those who happen to life from those life happens to
Ask yourself: who would you call to break you out of a third-world jail? That person embodies high agency—the ability to solve seemingly impossible problems through sheer resourcefulness.
Optimism says the glass is half full. Pessimism says it's half empty. High agency says you're the tap—you have the power to fill it yourself.
High agency requires three skills working together: clear thinking, bias to action, and disagreeability. Remove any one wheel and the tricycle stops working.
When facing a problem, ask: does this defy the laws of physics? If not, it's not unsolvable—it just hasn't been solved yet. Claude Shannon beat roulette by asking this question.
Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer all warmed up completely differently. There's no single correct method—only what works for you.
Stop waiting for a superior class of adults to save you. Even the greats were deeply flawed humans. Steve Jobs delayed cancer treatment for juice cleanses. Newton spent 30 years on alchemy.
We hide our weirdness to fit in, but normal behavior disappears into the memory abyss. At funerals, people only share the weird, unconventional stories. Only weird survives.
The past is just memory appearing now. The future is just a dream appearing now. You have finite 'nows'—chase your dreams because you might die screaming anyway.
Most thoughts are emotional GIFs bouncing around like a random Tumblr page. Transform thoughts out of your head—write, draw, speak them aloud—to filter out the vague mud.
The less intelligent person often has more agency than the midwit because they can't overcomplicate things. Use inversion: how would you guarantee failure? Then do the opposite.
Ask: 'What would I do if I had 10x the agency?' This question throws a first-principles grenade into your assumptions and unlocks creative solutions you'd never consider.
Stress comes from not taking action on things you can control. Reframe decisions as experiments—you're a scientist testing hypotheses, not a perfectionist frozen on stage.
Video games break overwhelm by chunking everything into levels. Ask: what's the smallest first step? Level 1 is always easy enough not to feel overwhelmed.
Look for weird teenage hobbies, unpredictable opinions, immigrant mentality, quitting prestigious positions, and people who verify rather than trust blindly.
Social incentives push us to be nice to faces and gossip behind backs. High agency people do the opposite—they give honest feedback directly and defend you when you're not there.
Discipline is a candle flame. Incentives and consequences are a nuclear reactor. Design stakes that make inaction painful—public deadlines, bets, burnt boats.
A wealthy man borrowed $5,000 against his Rolls Royce—not because he needed money, but because he found the cheapest parking in New York: $15.41 for two weeks.
Write down what you value, list 10 specific actions that display that value, pick one (ideally the scariest), break it into micro-steps, and do them now. Repeat daily.