People feel superior to the person whose actions they can predict.

If you show them who is in control by playing against their expectations, you both gain their respect and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention.

When your own reputation is solid, use subtler tactics, such as satire and ridicule to weaken your opponent while making you out as a charming rogue.

Either dampen your brilliance occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends.

Never underestimate the power of envy.

Only a minority can succeed at the game of life, and that minority inevitably arouses the envy of those around them.

Once success happens your way, however, the people to fear the most are those in your own circle, the friends and acquaintances you have left behind.

To some people the notion of consciously playing power games — no matter how indirect — seems evil, asocial, a relic of the past.

They believe they can opt out of the game by behaving in ways that have nothing to do with power.

Finally, since power is a human creation, it is inevitably increased by contact with other people.

Investing in stocks, startups, crypto, real estate, and whatever else can create a lot of wealth.

That's great.

But truly achieving happiness and success in life starts with one thing:

Investing in yourself 🧵

Our lives often get more hectic the more successful we become.

And it gets more difficult to justify taking the time and energy to invest in ourselves.

Instead we just focus on short term gains in our careers, often at the expense of ourselves.

This is a mistake.

I attribute a lot of my success to continuously making sure I am my best self.

But to do that well, you need to focus.

These are the categories I invest in:
1. Education
2. Physical Health
3. Mental Health
4. Relationships

If I get these things right, I know I am doing well.

1/ Education

For me, learning is about doing. That's why I prioritize having strong mentors.

Investing in your education means paying for experiences, trying new things or skills.

This investment should be in something that will have an impact, not just in knowing more stuff.

2/ Health

Health is finding a way to stay fit as your life style changes over time.

I don't do the same workouts I did in college or even the same ones I did before I had my boys.

If you don't invest in a health routine that matches your lifestyle, it's doomed to fail.

Difference between wealth and money.

(a short 🧵 thread)

1/ As the oxygen crisis during 2nd covid wave in India has reiterated,

wealth = *stuff* we want
money = *numbers* in our bank

2/ Being wealthy is a matter of priorities, while being rich is a matter of luck and hard work.

3/ Our happiness and well being depends on the wealth we have, not the money.

One can have all the money in the world and still be miserable.

However if one has sufficient wealth, happiness is guaranteed (partly because that’s how wealth is defined).

4/ Here’s how to be wealthy without spending a dime:

- Exercise regularly
- Develop deep relationships
- Help other people
- Eat healthy
- Meditate
- Learn and develop skills
- Laugh

Once you have a solid base of respect, ridiculing your opponent both puts him on the defensive and draws more attention to you, enhancing your own reputation.

"You won’t have inner peace until you give up your war against the world."

@naval