A curated collection of things that have resonated with me.

When I'm fortunate enough to find something that moves me, that makes me reconsider how I'm living or that I deeply connect to — I save it. Here I keep a curated collection of quotes which I've thought about for a long time.

  • Struggling to achieve dreams and goals

    It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are, Lal. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own results. — Lt Commander Data, Star Trek The Next Generation S3E16.

    For some reason it hurts more to finish near the top than it does to finish in the middle. What gives you true fulfillment in your career is to recognize all of the good work you've done, and to live by your values. — Steve Huynh

    The impediment to action advances action, what stands in the way becomes the way. — Marcus Aurelius

    If I do something new, I might disappoint others.
    If I don't, I'll certainly disappoint myself. — Cammi Pham

  • On exercise

    We treat the body rigorously so that it will not be disobedient to the mind. — Seneca

  • On being the idiot in the room

    And so, no matter the setting, I try to be the idiot in the room. Because if you can't explain it to this idiot, you may not be expressing your ideas as well as you could be. — Steve Huynh

  • Are we always in full control of ourselves?

    No man is free who is not master of himself — Epictetus

    We are dangerous when we are not conscious of our responsibility for how we behave, think, and feel. — Marshall B. Rosenberg

  • Why anger is almost never the right answer

    Somebody cuts you off in traffic. And worse, they flip you off. What does anger do about any of this? Who does it punish but you? Anger is not the right response. Not because these things aren't upsetting, but because they are bad remedies to the problem. When the community is at risk, with justice at stake, we need our wits about us. It's here that we need to be most controlled, most in command of all our faculties. We can be angered at what is happening, but we cannot afford to respond in anger. We need to be rational, strategic, patient, courageous, creative (as well as forgiving, empathetic, and nurturing). We need to bring our best to fight the worst. — Ryan Holliday

  • On the importance of history

    History is a compendium of all of the most incredible human mistakes ever made. It's a compendium of human stupidity. There's so much to learn from that. And to ignore that incredible wealth that's sitting before you is, to me, kind of tragic. — Robert Greene