Sometimes I have to pause to make the distinction between Ben the teenager and Ben the businessman.

Long-term goals are dangerous. They limit you. They hinder you from reacting to new conditions.

If you really understand something, you can: 1) explain it using a clear metaphor and 2) explain the strongest counter-argument to the idea.

One theme that fascinates me is cognitive enhancement. It seems only a matter of time until we live in a world where steroids for the brain are readily available to all. And once we come to grips with that reality, I suspect the debate over the ethics will be much more heated than the debate over steroids in baseball or any other sport, where the use is limited to a select group of freakish athletes.

Expose yourself to as much randomness as possible.

Expose yourself to as much as possible. Attend conferences no one else is attending. Read books no one else is reading. Talk to people no one else is talking to.

I don't want to be normal. I want to be something else.