“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.” – Oscar Wilde

“All human expression – whether it is in music, art, or literature – can be judged according to the same four elements: depth, complexity, subtlety, and elegance. Its content must be deep and complex. And its articulation must be elegant and subtle.” – Michael Masterson

“The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it…. Life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with.” – Benjamin Franklin

“It’s become a Hallmark sentiment that if you find a career that you care for passionately, everything that is disagreeable about work – the drudgery, the disappointment, and the pain – will disappear and be replaced by complete emotional and intellectual enjoyment.

“This idea is dead wrong in two fundamental ways. First, it’s unrealistic to believe that what one finds to be exciting and fulfilling at the beginning of a career will continue to be so 10 or 20 years later. That’s because it’s nearly impossible to know what a career feels like in advance. You have to do it for a while to find out. Second, working on something you care about doesn’t eliminate drudgery, disappointment, and pain. Doing anything you care about requires the same amount of suffering as something you don’t care about. The goal is not to avoid suffering, but to do work that will make it worthwhile to suffer through it.”

– Michael Masterson

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” – Fran Lebowitz

“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.” – Jack Welch

“Speculation, they say, differs from gambling because the odds are not predetermined. If you really understand the market or if you have inside knowledge, you can participate like an insider. You can be a casino owner rather than a blackjack player.” – Michael Masterson

From James Clear:

Raise your ambitions. Lower your expectations.

The higher your ambitions, the bolder your actions.

The lower your expectations, the greater your satisfaction.

Achieve more and be happy along the way.

“Knowledge is a store of factual information. If you have enough knowledge you can make correct decisions. Instinct is a store of personal experiences. Instincts can help you make good decisions when you don’t have the knowledge you need. The accumulation of experience takes time and risk. Wisdom is the ability to collect whatever useful knowledge you can before making a decision and sometimes taking risks to expose yourself to experiences that can teach you more.” – Michael Masterson

“Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” – Henry Adams