An important passage that stuck with me from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits is the one which describes how people feed their identities. I want to develop and explore this idea, because I think it’s an important one and it has changed how I view my actions. Simply put: Every action that you take contributes, or feeds, into a particular identity. This can be seen most in habitual or regular things. If you get up every morning and go for a jog, are stringent about your diet, and like keeping your mind active, you’re likely a healthy person. Being a healthy person…

Focus Is One of the Most Important Things in Life It’s not enough talked about, but the ability to consistently will yourself to focus on the things that you want to learn about or improve upon is one of the best superpowers you can have. Not only does focus enable you to utilize more of your brain in order to better encode memories and comprehend new information, but it also allows you to follow things through to completion—a skill that is vital and oftentimes lacking in our world. I used to teach drums and the skill I would most instill upon my students…

Don’t Make an Excuse to Do Something Wrong There are a million excuses we could make for our character flaws: our sloth, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, wrath, pride, and all the other (deadly) sins that aren’t enumerated.  Of course I’m lazy: I have a bum knee. I’m not going to do any more than I have to. Am I greedy? Don’t I deserve more because of how hard I’ve worked and how much time I’ve put in? God forbid I want a little extra indulgence. I have reason to be envious: He has way more than I do and he has never worked nearly…

There’s a Disparity That Is Not Talked About Enough Something has been on my mind for a long time now. This something is the reality that is reflected in one principle and one law. One is a sociological principle contrived by an Italian polymath named Vilfredo Pareto called the Pareto Distribution. The other is a law that governs productivity in any creatively-productive domain. This law was furnished by a British scientist and historian named Derek de Solla Price. His law is called Price’s Law. I will return to this principle and law shortly, as I will define, contextualize, explain, and relate them….

In only the last century, choice was severely restricted compared to now. You had one choice for many things: telephone, internet, TV, school, career, and countless others. People typically didn’t leave the place in which they grew up unless there was a very serious reason to do so. In a lot of ways, life was simpler. Few people were paralyzed by the overabundance of choice. The path for many people’s lives was relatively clear, as their options were limited. Now, we live in a world that is rife with choice. With each passing day, an uncountable multitude of choices are added…

Make a habit of devoting time towards concerted thinking. Generally, intentional and mindful critical thinking is a very under-utilized undertaking. It’s true that some great things have arisen extemporaneously. However, most amazing creations are contrived in exacting detail as a result of many hours of intentional thought. You’re not an inventor—what do you care? Well, you’re more of an inventor than you think. You create your world. If you don’t think deeply about yourself, the people around you, your past, and your future, what lessons will you learn? What useful information will you retain and utilize to better your future? It’s…