The most powerful paradoxes of life:
The Productivity Paradox Work longer, get less done. Parkinson's Law says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it. Work like a lion instead—sprint, rest, repeat.
The Advice Paradox Taking more advice can leave you less well-prepared. Most advice sucks. It's well-intentioned, but it's dangerous to use someone else's map of reality to navigate yours. Winners develop filters and selectively implement advice—take signal, skip noise.
The Wisdom Paradox The more you learn, the less you know. More knowledge creates more exposure to the immense unknown. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” — Albert Einstein This is empowering, not frightening. Embrace lifelong learning.
The Opportunity Paradox Take on less, accomplish more. Success doesn’t come from taking on everything that comes your way. It comes from focus—deep focus on the tasks that really matter. Say yes to what matters, say no to what doesn’t. Your time is an asset to be cherished.
The Social Media Paradox More connectedness, less connected. Social media has created more connectedness than ever before—a constant dopamine drip. We have more connectedness, but we feel less connected to those around us. Schedule time to disconnect, feel the connection.
The Failure Paradox You have to fail more to succeed more. Our transformative moments of growth often stem directly from our toughest moments of failure. Don’t fear failure. Learn to fail smart and fast—never fail the same way twice. Always put yourself in the arena.
The Talking Paradox Talk less, say more. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus If you want your words and ideas to be heard, start by talking less and listening more. You’ll find more power in your words.
The Boredom Paradox The most creative, captivating ideas stem directly from periods of intense boredom. You’re bored, your mind wanders, your thoughts mingle—creative insight strikes. Boredom sparks creativity. Schedule boredom into your weeks.
The Speed Paradox Strong, reliable brakes allow you to go fast. What unlocks a Formula 1 driver to fly around the track? It's not the engine, the tires, or the suspension. It's the brakes. Build brakes into your life that allow you to accelerate and hit turns without fear.
The Looking Paradox Stop looking in order to find what you're looking for. Ever notice that when you're looking for something, you rarely find it? Stop looking—what you’re looking for may just find you. Applies to love, business, happiness, & life.
The Control Paradox More controlling, less control. We have all seen or experienced this as children, partners, or parents. The most controlling often end up with the least control. Humans are wired for independence—any attempts to counter this will be met with resistance.
The Persuasion Paradox Argue less, persuade more. Ever notice that the most argumentative people rarely persuade anyone of anything? Persuasive people don’t argue—they observe, listen, and ask questions. Persuasion is an art that requires a paintbrush, not a sledgehammer.
The Effort Paradox You have to put in more effort to make something appear effortless. Effortless, elegant performances are simply the result of a large volume of effortful, gritty practice. Small things become big things. Simple is not simple.
The Fear Paradox The thing we fear the most is often the thing we most need to do. Fears—when avoided—become limiters on our growth and progress. Make a habit of getting closer to your fears. Treat them as magnets for your energy. You'll find growth on the other side.
The Shrinking Paradox Sometimes you need to shrink before you can grow. Growth is never linear. Shedding deadweight may feel like a step back, but it is a necessity for long-term growth. One step back, two steps forward is a recipe for consistent, long-term success.
The Money Paradox You have to lose money to make money. Every successful investor and builder has stories of the invaluable lessons learned from a terrible loss in their career. Sometimes you have to pay to learn. Put skin in the game. Scared money don't make money.
The News Paradox The more news you consume, the less well-informed you are. The @nntaleb noise bottleneck says more data leads to a higher noise-to-signal ratio, so you end up knowing less about what is actually going on. Want to know more about the world? Turn off the news.
The Intelligence Paradox Intelligence leads to stupidity. Intelligent people are more likely to fall victim to stupidity by convincing themselves they are smarter than the system. They create complexity vs. doing the boring, easy thing that works. Don't outsmart yourself.
The Death Paradox Know your death to truly live your life. Memento Mori is a Stoic reminder of the certainty and inescapability of death. It is not intended to be morbid—but to clarify, illuminate, and inspire. By accepting our time as finite, we are able to live.
The Growth Paradox Growth takes a much longer time coming than you think, but then happens much faster than you ever would have thought. Growth happens gradually, then suddenly. The best things in life come from allowing compounding to work its magic. Let it work for you.
Those are 20 of the most powerful paradoxes of life—once you see them, you can't unsee them. Follow me @SahilBloom for more writing on living a healthy, wealthy life. I'll write more about this in my newsletter. Join 150K others!
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Special thanks to my thread co-author for today. Now that we’re done with our writing, it’s time for a long walk for the boys! Happy weekend and much love! ❤️
