I have a $100,000 business degree.

But I've learned 10x more by reading books.

10 business books that will change your life:

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher

Lessons:
• You can negotiate anything you want.
• The best negotiation tactic is to first offer the other side something they want.

Drive by Daniel Pink

Lessons:
• Money alone isn't enough to motivate us.
• We are most motivated when we can also achieve control and freedom.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Lessons:
• The most effective way to get rich is to learn how to build and sell a product.
• The only real test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Lessons:
• Habits compound to produce huge results.
• The best way to build habits is to make them easy, attractive and rewarding.

Mental models can save your life.

But psychological biases can ruin it.

Here are 10 psychological biases to help you avoid a life of pain and suffering:

1. Doubt-avoidance:

Doubt and uncertainty make us feel uncomfortable.

And when we don't have clarity, we start rushing decisions to avoid that feeling of uncertainty.

When in doubt, take a deep breath and sleep on it before making a decision.

2. Overoptimism bias:

When we want something badly, we start overestimating our odds of success.

It's why so many people bet on their sports team to win.

It's also why millions buy lottery tickets.

Don't let what you want cloud your judgment of what you should do.

3. Reciprocation:

The tendency to treat others as they've treated us.

When treated well: "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

When treated badly: "An eye for an eye."

Sometimes this tendency can lead to endless conflict.

Resist the urge to reciprocate bad behaviour.

4. Social Proof:

We copy other people's behaviour when making decisions.

Especially when we're feeling uncertain.

This is why so many ads have celebrity endorsements and user testimonials.

Next time you make a decision, be mindful of other people's influence.

11 of the wisest things ever said: 🧵

“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.”

― René Descartes

"The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life"

― Confucius

"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing."

― Margaret Thatcher

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

― The Buddha

7 powerful concepts everyone should teach their children:

Compound interest:

Large outcomes are often the result of small gains in performance compounding over the course of years and decades.

Small improvements may look tiny in isolation, but they result in gigantic outcomes when you zoom out.

Evolution by natural selection:

People and culture evolve through a process of generational iteration.

In every generation, the fittest organisms reproduce to create the next generation - while the unfittest die away.

Most things in our world are the result of this process.

Evolution-environment disconnect:

We evolved in the scarcity of jungles but find ourselves in the abundance of cities with unlimited food and pleasures.

Our biology isn't equipped to deal with this abundance - which often leads to addiction and obesity.

Many things around us are designed to exploit this evolutionary disconnect:

• Added sugar to exploit your taste buds
• Pornography to exploit your sex drive
• Social media to exploit your social instincts

Recognizing and limiting these things is critical for a healthy life.

10 free websites that are so valuable they feel illegal to know:

1. TinyWOW:

Get free versions of tools you usually pay for. Includes free versions of:

• Adobe Acrobat Pro (PDF editor)
• Photoshop (image editor)

2. Jenni AI:

An AI auto-writing tool that automatically writes your essays and emails for you.

All you have to do is give it a title and a couple of sentences.

3. Temp-mail

Temp-mail gives you a temporary email and inbox to help you sign up to a website and avoid all the spam down the line.

4. Quillbot:

Quillbot is a paraphrasing website that rewrites everything as plagiarism free text.

Super handy if you're in college.

Hard skills get you hired.

But soft skills get you promoted.

11 soft skills to accelerate your career:

1. Communication:

• Listen without interrupting.
• Speak with a positive tone.
• Pay attention to your body language.

2. Persuasion:

• Identify what other people care about.
• Create stories that resonate with them.
• Communicate those stories with brevity and emotion.

3. Negotiation:

• Listen carefully.
• Understand what the other side wants.
• Know your worth.
• Then propose solutions that benefit both sides.

4. Relationship building:

• Help others unconditionally.
• Look for common interests.
• Always add value before asking for something in return.

Things I know at 28

I wish I understood when I was 18:

Hard work is overrated. Consistency is underrated.

It's not about how hard you swing your bat.

It's about swinging over and over again till you learn to hit it out of the park.

Consistency gets you places hard work doesn't.

You gain confidence after doing something hard ― not before.

Too many people never try hard things because they think confidence is a precondition when, in reality, it's a reward.

Goals are bullshit.

Successful and unsuccessful people have the same goals.

You never rise to the level of your goals. You always fall to the level of your habits.

Goals are just dreams. Habits make them a reality.

h/t @JamesClear

Your need to fit in is your biggest barrier to personal growth.

Let's face it ― most of us would rather be wrong with the crowd than be right alone.

Learning to overcome your constant need for social approval is the first step to growth.