86Thousand400: Great Quotes 4, Tim Ferriss - 4 Hour Work Week

It's only when we deeply and emotionally connect to the fact that our lives are short and our hours are limited that we can fully live, and give every bit of ourselves to our waking moments. If you had only one year left to live, I bet you'd live very differently than you do right now. You'd make certain that you lived without regrets; you'd take chances; you'd risk opening your heart for love; and you'd live with total passion, great gusto, and a lovely focus on the worthy.

To enjoy life, you don't need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren't as serious as you make them out to be. Don't save it all for the end. There is every reason not to.

What we fear doing is usually what we most need to do. A person's life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have. Resolve to do one thing everyday that you fear. Following this. Don't only evaluate the potential downside of action. It is equally important to measure the atrocious cost of inaction. If you don't pursue those things that excite you, where will you be in one year, five years, and ten years?

It is easier to pick up the one perfect 10 in the bar than the five 8s. If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think. Unreasonable and unrealistic goals are easier to achieve for another reason. Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion which provides the endurance to overcome the inevitable trials and tribulations that go along with any goal. Realistic goals, goals restricted to the average ambition level, are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first or second problem, at which point you throw in the towel. If the potential payoff is mediorce or average, so is your fort.

The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collectively insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.

The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom. Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your "passions" or your "bliss", I propose that they are in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement. This brings us full circle.The question you should be asking isn't, "What do I want" or "What are my goals?" but "What would excite me?"