On Travel
“I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag
“For the born traveler, traveling is a besetting vice. Like other vices, it is imperious, demanding it’s victim’s time, money, energy and the sacrifice of comfort.” – Aldous Huxley
“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” – Miriam Adeney
“Time is our most valuable asset. You can’t take back the time you spent in the office instead of on the beaches of Thailand. Happiness studies show that money spent on experiences (rather than things) will add more value to your life; the anticipation of the experience is meaningful.” – Man Overseas
On Life
“Make a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing in.” – Katherine Mansfield
“. . .time misspent and faculties mis-employed, and senses jaded by labor, or impaired by excess, cannot be recalled any more than that freshness of the heart, before it has become aware of the deceits of others, and of its own.” – John Randolph
“The essence of philosophy is that a man should live so that his happiness depends as little as possible from external causes.” – Epictetus
“Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms – you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.” – Seneca
“Pascal said that all of Man’s misfortunes come from his inability to sit quietly in a room. He did not claim to have found a way to enable him to do so, or suggest that this inability comes from anything other than his inherent nature.” – Theodore Dalrymple
“Examine the records of history, recollect what has happened within the circle of your own experience, consider with attention what has been the conduct of almost all the greatly unfortunate, either in private or public life, whom you may have either read of, or hear of, or remember, and you will find that the misfortunes of by far the greater part of them have arisen from their not knowing when they were well, when it was proper for them to set still and to be contented.” – Adam Smith
“Combine service to others with a healthy sense of not giving a f*ck what other people think about you. For it is only those willing to go balls deep in this life who can possibly know how far one can go.” – Man Overseas
“No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“A man who doesn’t keep his word should find something else to call himself.” – Man Overseas
“Opportunity meeting the prepared mind: that’s the game.” – Charlie Munger
“We pass through this world but once, so do now any good you can do, and show now any kindness you can show, for you shall not pass this way again.” – William Penn
“Do not believe that he who seeks to comfort you lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life has much difficulty and sadness and remains far behind yours. Were it otherwise he would never have been able to find those words.” – Rainer Maria Wilke
On Reading
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin
“The miseries of a vacant life were never known to a man whose hours were insufficient for the inexhaustible pleasures of study.” – Edward Gibbon
“When we read, we thereby save ourselves the greater part of the trouble of thinking. This explains our obvious sense of relief when we turn from our own thoughts to reading.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
On Politics
“Intellect is not wisdom. When the world fails to conform to their vision, then it is obvious to an ideologue the world is wrong.” – Authour unknown
“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” – Thomas Sowell
“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm — but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” – T. S. ELiot
“Nowhere at present is there such a measureless loathing of their country by educated people as in America.” – Eric Hoffer, 2013
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” – Winston Churchill
“Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms.” – Winston Churchill
On Financial Independence
“To become financially independent you must turn part of your income into capital; turn capital into enterprise; turn enterprise into profit; turn profit into investment; and turn investment into financial independence.” – Jim Rohn
“Choose your ‘lifestyle’ before each month begins. Then measure it against how many more months you want to work.” – Man Overseas
“Remember that the highest and best use is always measured by the next best use (opportunity cost).” – Charlie Munger
“Enjoy the process along with the proceeds, because the process is where you live.” – Charlie Munger
“Be willing to put a lot of work in during your 20s so you can reap the rewards in your later years. Take a second job and invest every dollar you earn from it. $1 invested in your 20s is better than $2 invested in your 40s. As Albert Einstein said, ‘Compound interest is the 8th Wonder of the World.’ Developing a superior work ethic will be a side benefit.” – Man Overseas