simple formula for a pretty nice life is independence plus purpose.

Our desire to be independent, why we want it, what prevents us from achieving it, and why some people sabotage their ability to have it, is such a common story across cultures and generations.

If you’re used to being assisted, supervised, mandated, or dictated, and then suddenly you experience the glory of independence, the feeling is sensational. Doing something on your own terms can feel better than doing the exact same thing when someone else is peering over your shoulder, telling you what to do, guiding you along.

independence is more than just financial – moral, cultural, and intellectual independence – is one of the highest levels you can reach in life. “There is only one success,” says poet Christopher Morley, “to be able to spend your life in your own way.”

All misery comes from dependency. If you weren’t dependent on income, people, or technology, you would be truly free. The only way to be deeply happy is to break all dependencies.

Jeff [Bezos] said many times that if we wanted Amazon to be a place where builders can build, we needed to eliminate communication, not encourage it.

if you want to do something great, you cannot have a group of people constantly telling you what you’re doing wrong and why it doesn’t mesh with their own goals. That’s not because those other people might be wrong; it’s because they might be playing a different game than you are.

Ideas are dangerous, but the man to whom they are least dangerous is the man of ideas. He is acquainted with ideas, and moves among them like a lion-tamer. Ideas are dangerous, but the man to whom they are most dangerous is the man of no ideas. The man of no ideas will find the first idea fly to his head like wine to the head of a teetotaller.

it’s vital to constantly reflect on who you want to be, what kind of life you want to live, and ask if you’re on an independent path versus chasing someone else’s dream.

• Don’t sell something you wouldn’t buy.
• Work for people you admire.
• Partner with people you enjoy.

I once heard a good litmus test: If I can predict your views on one topic by hearing your views about another, unrelated topic, you are not thinking independently.

Investor Ed Thorp once said: “It is vastly less stressful to be independent—and one is never independent when involved in a large structure with powerful clients.”

taking an action to impress other people is a direct form of dependence.

The person who is desperate for attention and acceptance from a group of strangers is hardly different from the person begging for money on the street.

No one is thinking about you as much as you are. They are too busy thinking about themselves.

Independence does not mean you don’t care what anyone thinks of you. It means that you strategically decide whose attention you seek.

Being independent doesn’t mean you’re accountable to no one. You become accountable to yourself, which is often when you do your best work.

I think almost everyone is creative. But it’s often hard to dredge up creativity when you’re doing it for someone else. In my profession: Writing for yourself is fun, and it shows. Writing for other people is work, and it shows. You do your best work when you’re doing it on your own terms.