Summary:

Reading through the book I marked some parts that really caught my attention, and I'd like to share them with all of you alongside with my own interpretation at the end. Enjoy.

Body:

  • There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done, There are thousands to prophesy failure; There are thousands to point out to you one by one, The dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle in with a bit of grin, Just take off your coat and go to it; Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing That "cannot be done", and you'll do it.

  • Your own reputation may not be intimidating; after all, we all have to fit in, play politics, seem nice and accommodating. Most often this works fine, but in moments of danger and difficulty being seen as so nice will work against you: it says that you can be pushed around, discouraged, and obstructed. If you have never been willing to fight back before, no threatening gesture you make will be credible. Understand: there is great value in letting people know that when necessary you can let go of your niceness and be downright difficult and nasty. A few clear, violent demonstrations will suffice. Once people see you as a fighter, they will approach you with a little fear in their hearts. And as Machiavelli said, it is more useful to be feared than to be loved.

  • In reality, beginning the minute you are born, time is all you have. It is your only true commodity. People can take away your possessions, but - short of murder - not even the most powerful aggressors can take time away from you unless you let them. Even in prison your time is your own, if you use it for your own purposes. To waste your time in battles not of your choosing is more than just a mistake, it is stupidity of the highest order. Time lost can never be regained.

  • Instead of reacting emotionally to people, you take control, and make your actions more dimensional, subtle, and effective. Let others get caught up in the twists and turns of the battle, relishing their little victories. Grand strategy will bring you the ultimate reward: the last laugh.

  • In grand strategy you look beyond the moment, beyond your immediate battles and concerns. You concentrate instead on what you what want to achieve down the line. Controlling the temptation to react to events as they happen, you determine each of your actions according to your ultimate goals. You think in terms not of individual battles but of a campaign.

  • As Aristotle advised, work to master your emotions and train yourself to think ahead: "This action will advance me toward my goal, this one will lead me nowhere." Guided by these standards, you will be able to stay on track.

  • Ignore the conventional wisdom about what you should or should not be doing. It may make sense for some, but that does not mean it bears any relation to your own goals and destiny. You need to be patient enough to plot several steps ahead - to wage a campaign instead of fighting battles. The path to your goal may indirect, your actions may be strange to other people, but so much the better: the less they understand you, the easier they are to deceive, manipulate, and seduce. Following this path, you will gain the calm, Olympian perspective that will separate you from other mortals, whether dreamers who get nothing done or prosaic, practical people who accomplish only small things.

  • We use cleverness and strategy to grab for what we want, but we do not stop to think about whether what we want is necessary, or what the consequences of getting it will be.

  • The unexpected is to be expected in war.

  • Plot against the difficult while it remains easy.

Conclusion:

  • Most often people discourage you to chase your goals, they don't want to see you succeed, as they are too lazy, too coward to try it themselves. They feel bad about themselves as you live your life to the fullest while they spend another afternoon on their couch, after slaving their life away earning their bosses a fortune. Fuck those people, fuck the naysayers, fuck that noise, prove that they are wrong through your actions and success.

  • Reputation is everything. Generally, you are friendly to everyone. But from time to time, you get people who want to test your limits, who want to undermine you. At these times, you keep your cool, you don't burst out of anger. You make calculated moves that hurt, that get under other peoples skin. Keep in mind that these depend on the concrete situation; you don't throw a punch at work or try to reason with drunks at bars. You get the picture.

  • Time is all you have. Value your time. Finding yourself surfing TRP for hours? You don't value your time. Watching Series on Netflix for hours? You don't value your time. Chasing that girl for weeks that doesn't show the same interest you show her? You don't value your time. Now keep in mind that you can't take this too literally, from time to time you should enjoy your life, after a productive day, it is fine to meet up with friends, spend time with them, play video games or watch movies. You have to keep a balance to not burn yourself out.

  • Being emotional is like a horse running around with it's eyes blindfolded. People that can inspire certain emotions in others essentially have the power to control their actions. Imagine a marionette, the strings are the emotions that determine the movements the marionette does. Either you pull them yourself, or other people pull them for you. Meditate, the ability to distance yourself from yourself is necessary to keep a cool head at all times.

  • Eliminate instant gratification. This is tied closely to the point above. Does the need you experience now really benefit you in the long run? Do the cravings for that cookie, that chocolate bar help you achieve your fitness goals? Are you really too tired to work on your side project or to study, or are you just looking for excuses to watch Netflix? Ask yourself: "Will the future me thank me for what I've done today? What will the future me want me to do right now?" Eyes on the price, keep the big picture in mind.

  • Like mentioned above, don't give a crap about what other people think, what other people do. Don't listen to their advice, they are unsuccessful for a reason: "Oh you can eat this pizza, don't be so hard on yourself. Oh you should take a break from work, you are working way too much. Oh you should stop studying, you nerd." Follow the behavior patterns of successful people. (Brian Tracy has some good videos on this) Which more than often is simply putting in the hours, working hard and valuing their time.

  • In daily life there is only so much that you have absolute control of(i.e. yourself). Everything else is not predictable. So what you do is you plan before head. Having a job interview? Leave the house an hour earlier as you would normally do, by doing this, you will still be on time if you get stuck in traffic or if public transportation is late, like always. Save some money on the side for bad times. This will keep you above the water till you are able to gather cashflow again.

  • Eliminate small problems before they become real problems. Pay your bills, credit card debt or whatnot on time. The problems will not disappear by themselves, they will only get more serious and add unnecessary stress.

Note: Discussions and suggestions are welcome, pardon my grammar mistakes and writing, english is not my native language.