The Best Quotes of 2019

Dec. 27 , 2019

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It’s the end of the year.

If anything needs to be changed or a new perspective needs to be found, now’s a great time.

And what’s a great tool to create a new mindset? Quotes.

True, some quotes are just pie-in-the-sky things other people like to regurgitate to us to make them sound smart. And other quotes may not even be true (like “keep your eye on the ball!”).

But some quotes are, indeed, life-changing.

Like “Hell, yeah or no.” Putting that phrase to every big decision is an amazing tool. If someone asks you to do something and the answer is, “Hell, yeah!” then doing that thing will always be a good idea. Conversely, if the answer is, “Well, kind of” then that’s a no.

That quote has made lives better.

So, here are some quotes that really helped me this year. They weren’t necessarily said in 2019, but I found them (and used them) in 2019. Hope they help you.

Compliment others more. You’ll barely remember you did it, but the other person may never forget that you did. Kindness has unlimited upside. -James Clear

This doesn’t mean flatter people falsely. This means work hard to find something you love about someone else. The exercise helps them and creates a whole new mindset for you.

In short, the straightforward and good person should be like a smelly goat—you know when they are in the room with you.” —MARCUS AURELIUS 

We live in an age of remorseless lying. But that doesn’t mean everyone is a liar. And it also means that earnest people easily stand out–and are valuable.

“This man has conquered the world!” one of Alexander the Great’s men shouts. “What have you done?” The philosopher responds, with complete confidence, “I have conquered the need to conquer the world.”

It’s amazing how great it is to stop wanting to beat everyone. It’s amazing how performance improves, both for you and the people around you. Being #1 is kind of an awful thing to be obsessed with.

After twenty-five years of researching aging and having read thousands of scientific papers, if there is one piece of advice I can offer, one surefire way to stay healthy longer, one thing you can do to maximize your lifespan right now, it’s this: eat less. -David Sinclair and Matthew LaPlante, Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To

Being incredibly healthy is easy, according to the experts. Just don’t overeat. Eat less and everything improves.

Rather than a grand plan, find experiments that can be undertaken quickly. “Test-and-learn,” Ibarra told me, “not plan-and-implement.” -from Range by David Epstein

The most important part of being happy and wildly successful is to do something that matches up with what you like. That’s it. Not Strength-Finding tests or trying to find your passion. Try something, see if you like it, and keep going if you do. If you don’t like it, try something else. This is a surefire way to success.

Happy holidays!

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.