The more you understand what somebody wants, needs, and fears, the more you can figure out how to add value.

If you don't make a conscious effort to control your focus-and decide in advance which things you're going to focus on-you'll be so pulled by the demands of the world that you will soon find yourself living in reaction rather than living a life plan you've designed for yourself.

When you hit a plateau you have to be willing to get a little bit worse before you get massively better.

The third element of success is your state: You must replace a default state of pessimism or anger with one of determination, of will, of generosity, of curiosity, of gratitude. The more we can put ourselves in such beautiful states rather than suffering states, the more they become habits of being and we end up making better decisions.

If you want to change your life in the fastest way possible, trade your expectations of others for appreciation.

To help other people, you've got to be able to help yourself. You go to a psychiatrist, and they're on this Prozac, Effexor, and antidepressants, you may have picked the wrong person. If you go to somebody who's broke who's selling you financial services, that might not be a good thing. You go to somebody who's fat to help you lose weight... And a lot of people ironically do these types of things.

My philosophy is to "kill the monster while it's little." The best time to handle a "negative" emotion is when you first begin to feel it. It's much more difficult to interrupt an emotional pattern once it's full-blown.