Subtract | Derek Sivers

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• The least successful people I know run in conflicting directions, are drawn to distractions, say yes to almost everything, and are chained to emotional obstacles.

• The most successful people I know have a narrow focus, protect themselves against time-wasters, say no to almost everything, and have let go of old limiting beliefs.

• Life can be improved by adding, or by subtracting. The world pushes us to add, because that benefits them. But the secret is to focus on subtracting.

• No amount of adding will get me to where I want to be. The adding mindset is deeply ingrained. It’s easy to think I need something else. It’s hard to look instead at what to remove.

• Subtracting reminds me that what I need to change is something already here, not out there.

• More people die from eating too much than from eating too little. Most of us have too much baggage, too many commitments, and too many priorities.