Mark Manson

“The reason we fall in love with certain music and writing is we connect with it on a very personal level.”

“I believe productivity is a deeply personal thing. We all have different brains and, therefore, different preferences, perspectives, and situations where we feel most effective.”

“When the standard of success becomes merely acting - when any result is regarded as progress and important, when inspiration is seen as a reward rather than a prerequisite - we propel oursel...”

“Real happiness comes from discovering a sense of importance in one's actions and in one's life.”

“If everybody just stops caring about politics, we're going to lose the reins on our government.”

“We usually think of improving our life by adding stuff - like more things, more success, more friends. I think the starting place should be removing stuff - try a month without Instagram; tr...”

“I'm your typical highly educated, progressive white dude. I've lived my life resisting racism both within myself and in the society around me.”

“Generally, our first idea of what our business is going to be is not the right one. It takes a few iterations; to get there, you have to be able to let go.”

“What's interesting about emotions is that the more you try to control them or to bottle them up, the stronger they get. So, the more I try to stop being sad, the sadder I'm going to get.”

“Death is important for a couple reasons. The first is that death creates scarcity in our life, which therefore gives our decisions meaning and value. From a practical point of view, it there...”

“I had to decide that, you know what, I don't know who the hell I am or what I'm doing, but I do know that historically and scientifically and anecdotally, and anyone who is not an idiot know...”

“I can't really stand self-help stuff myself.”

“There's a paradox with self-improvement, and it is this: the ultimate goal of all self-improvement is to reach the point where you no longer feel the need to improve yourself.”

“I started my blog back in 2009 because every Internet business and marketing seminar I watched at the time told me I had to. I had been trying to get a business started selling dating and li...”

“Here's a pro-tip: there's no such thing as a 'gym person.' There are just people who go to the gym. Similarly, there's no such thing as a 'productive person.' There are just people who do pr...”

“Happiness is not something you achieve. It's not something you do or someplace you get to. Happiness is something you inhabit.”

“I think my approach to a creative career was very entrepreneurial. Even though I'm a writer, I've always viewed my work much in the same way as a startup or marketer might view their work.”

“In a strange way, I feel like we need to cultivate more boredom in our lives: like, boredom needs to be okay again. It needs to be seen as a good thing, and I think it's definitely a good th...”

“Long-term, perpetual travel is the dream of many. But surprisingly, for such a popular desire, few people realize how accessible it is.”

“Approaching people looking for something in return isn't a relationship, it's a transaction.”