When you grow up with immigrant parents who never got the chance to get a good education, who earned the minimum salary working with their hands, whilst never going on vacation or buying anything for themselves, and who never complained about it because they were happy to be able to feed their kids, you naturally have less empathy for people who grew up in a country full of opportunities and who were fluent in the local language, and yet, who somehow put themselves in a terrible financial situation just because they didn't feel like working most jobs that were "below them" or because they couldn't handle the "humiliation" of downgrading their lifestyle after learning about what "success" looks like on social media. #orangebook #ImmigrantParents #WorkEthic #Privilege

A lot of people with little talent choose careers where they can maximize their financial gains, then they feel better about themselves as they look down on people who struggle financially, but it's obvious that true success is when you feel no need to judge the lives of others, because you are having fun every day developing your own talents and becoming who you want to be, and people who are on such a path don't think much about money at all, although many "accidentally" become wealthy during the process, and not just in the financial sense. #orangebook #Talent #Success #Fulfillment

When you go to school, you think you are busy, until you become an adult and have to take responsibility for where you are in life. When you are an adult, you think you are busy, until you become a parent and have to take responsibility for where your kids are in life. When you are finally old and full of free time, you think you can finally do everything you want, until you realize that most of your life is now behind you, and that was it. A successful life is the art of enjoying what happens during all those moments when you think you are "too busy" to appreciate them. #orangebook #LifeLessons #Parenting #TimeManagement

Most mental issues are actually physical health issues, but the problem of a confused mind is that it usually gets defensive when you suggest a few changes of daily habits. #orangebook #MentalHealth #PhysicalHealth #DailyHabits

It’s not a coincidence that most wealthy and successful people have a supportive family; people love to think that having no responsibility and a lot of free time would lead to incredible productivity, but the reality is often that they often end up wasting many years or even decades on pet projects that are completely disconnected from real needs, instead of focusing on ambitious goals that actually matter to everybody. #orangebook #FamilySupport #Productivity #AmbitiousGoals

Most people don’t lack conviction, you just need to look around to see tons of people riding their investments down to zero; what they lack is good judgment and the humility to question their judgment; at some point in life, if you don’t have the family, the friends, the wealth, the achievements you think you deserve, you need to fix the direction of your efforts. #orangebook #Judgment #Conviction #Investments

People don’t struggle to build the life they want, they struggle to not be arrogant. They think results will come with a bit of occasional hard work. They think relationships will thrive with a bit of occasional thoughtfulness. They think most talent is innate and daily training is optional. They think they could get much richer anytime because they’ve had a few winning trades over the years. They think they deserve to be married to a wonderful person and have a loving circle of family and friends without ever having to question their own behavior. They think the world owes them something because they exist and are henceforth special. Most of what people call “luck” is actually applied humility: people who genuinely believe they still have a long way to go regardless of where they currently are, people who never blame others and always strive to get better, people who understand that beliefs shape actions, and actions define destiny. #orangebook #Humility #Mindset #Growth

You don’t understand the value of jobs until you create them. You don’t understand how much your parents did for you until you become one. You don’t understand how much of an advantage it is to grow up wealthy until you have financial freedom. Gratitude comes from experience. #orangebook #Gratitude #Experience #Perspective

As an adult, your potential is exactly what you have achieved, nothing less, nothing more. So many people still haven't unlearned the mindset of "I could have done better if I had studied harder." In real life, no one cares about your external circumstances, your private life, or that the games you chose to play are unfair. You find a way to get results and you move forward, or you don't and you stay where you are. Life goes by awfully fast for people who don't nurture the mental strength to take the pain and question themselves when they stagnate. #orangebook #PersonalGrowth #Accountability #Mindset

People who can genuinely compliment others are very rare because it requires true self-confidence; whilst people who can criticize everything are omnipresent because when you are still insecure, that's the default behavior that makes you feel better about yourself. #orangebook #SelfConfidence #Criticism #Insecurity

Face the reality head-on, there is no other path. If it’s scary, grow some courage. If it’s painful, grow some mental strength. If it’s hard, grow some patience. If it’s confusing, grow some clarity. Life will always be challenging, you just need to have faith in your own growth. #orangebook #GrowthMindset #Resilience #SelfImprovement

Relationships are actually quite simple when you have your physical and mental health in order, are financially responsible, have a clear idea of how you want to live your life, and respect yourself sufficiently to hang out with people who have the same standards for themselves. #orangebook #Relationships #Self-care #PersonalGrowth

If you marry someone who will set up the right example for your kids and who has the intelligence to understand that the success of a marriage is mostly about mutual trust, thoughtful teamwork, and clear communication toward a common vision, you've already won the lottery. #orangebook #Marriage #Family #Communication

Worrying about all the things that can go wrong is a common symptom of too much free time. #orangebook #Worry #FreeTime #Mindset

I was once a big advocate of "helping people when no one else believes in them," but experience taught me that the kind of people who get back on track and take responsibility for where they are in life after getting some unexpected help once are extremely rare; in most cases, when people start believing that they are special, and that someone will help them no matter what, and they double down on their irresponsible decisions, and as time passes, you realize that you haven't been helping them at all, quite the opposite. I still hope to look back many years from now, realize that my help was actually a catalyst for greater positive change, and be proven wrong. #orangebook #HelpingOthers #PersonalGrowth #Responsibility

A lot of people are setting low expectations for themselves because they can't handle the pressure, but life becomes so much more fun once you decide instead to grow more mental strength and "talent," by investing in yourself until you can fearlessly tackle the challenging problems that the confident version of yourself would choose to tackle without hesitation. #orangebook #MentalStrength #SelfInvestment #ChallengeYourself

The smarter you are, the more you need to grow the courage to be wrong, or you're gonna spend your whole life overthinking every decision instead of acting or speaking up when it matters, and end up missing out on life itself. #orangebook #Courage #Growth #DecisionMaking

One of the saddest things in life is people who grew up without experiencing what it was like to have a loving family or a real friend, and who ended up living their adult years in very dysfunctional relationships that they deemed "normal." #orangebook #FamilyRelationships #Friendship #MentalHealth

If your work environment is transforming you into someone you don't like, and yet you choose to stay, you don't get to complain about the family and friends you won't have many years from now; life is quite simple, you choose who you want to be, you pay the price to get there, and you attract the people you deserve. #orangebook #WorkEnvironment #PersonalGrowth #LifeChoices

It's actually not surprising that a lot of smart people who are successful in their career are struggling with their relationships; genuine bonds often require the very opposite of what you need to succeed professionally, it's not about efficiency, it's not about making calculated long-term moves, it's not about being transactional and capturing value, it's about being emotionally present in a world that teaches you to be emotionally detached, it's about giving without worrying about what's in it for you, it's about not having an agenda and genuinely loving and caring about the other person. #orangebook #Relationships #Career #EmotionalIntelligence