A big, big thanks to Ryan Waggoner for recommending this excellent, short book.
Here's what Ryan has to say about it:
The title would have you believe it’s about time management, and it is, partly. But it’s also about living deliberately, and about why you should manage your time in the first place. It’s a very quick read, no more than an hour or so, but the principles in the book are incredibly valuable. - http://ryanwaggoner.com/2010/09/how-to-live-on-24-hours-a-day/
I'm a fan of Ryan's work and writing on productivity and habits, so I went and checked the book out. First, yup, it's easy to read in one sitting. Second, yes, there's a lot of good insights into why you should take control over your time.
Now, I'm a person does try to live my time, so you'd think I already have plenty of reasons. And I do. But the author of How to Live 24 Hours Per Day does a really good job of getting you into thinking about things the right way. Also, the book has some really funny English humor in there.
It's not quite an axiom, but it seems like people unused to money who come to have a lot of it, shortly thereafter have no money again.
It's easy to understand why someone who wins the lottery and fritters it away goes down that path, but cash is just as dangerous in the hands of someone who is legitimately disciplined and working hard for their money, putting together good transactions, and building up a base of cash.
Money does all sorts of strange things to your psychology. Here are three big ones:
*It makes you think you're smarter than you are: when you've earned well, you tend to think it's because you're brilliant. You systematically underestimate the effects of market conditions and being in the right place at the right time, both of which can be tricky to replicate without large amounts of experience (and, even then).
*It makes you think you've reached a new level permanently: once you've gotten good at earning money, it's therefore permanently easier. This may or may not actually be true, and almost never to the extent you think with the first successes you have.
