Farnam Street
Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out
Christmas, as a festival, has changed a lot throughout history, with many of its core modern traditions being more recent than we think or of surprising origin. Historically, Christmas was often a …
In her acceptance speech for the National Book Foundation’s 2014 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, Ursula K. Le Guin offered this soul-touching look at humanity. I think hard …
The most powerful skill we’re never taught is deciding what to ignore. Someone who can concentrate on what truly matters will achieve more than someone who can’t. When everything seems …
“The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away it can only be forgotten.” That Sounds like something Victor Frankel would say. However, it’s Greg McKeown in …
Tidying and organizing our homes can make a huge difference to our happiness and productivity. The Japanese art of decluttering focuses on the philosophical side of decluttering, while also offering …
The Patagonia video below is a reminder that things can be built to last, that we don’t need to buy more than we need, and that we can celebrate the old. It’s also a great reminder that …
Not every time you lose, are you beaten. And not every time you win, did you win. There is a difference between losing and being beaten, and it comes down to you. From Essentialism: The Disciplined …
One question Tim Ferriss, the author of The Four Hour Workweek, asks people on his podcast is “What book have you gifted most often to others, and why?” This is one of my favorite parts of the show. …
“Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.” — William Archer Joan Didion famously remarked that “We tell ourselves stories to live.” She was right. The business has become a story …
Relationships are a major component of our health and happiness, so it’s worth paying attention to how we can improve them. In this post, we cover one of the most significant predictors of …
In a world of more requests than we can possibly fulfill, learning how to say no with grace and style is a skill we all need. We should be saying no more than we say yes, although the opposite is …
Building the perfect business is about finding the balance between what you have to offer and what the world wants. In this post, we hear from Sebastian Thrun, co-founder of Udacity, about some of the …
In isolation, good ideas alone are not enough to produce something great. The right people are what make ideas work. Read on to learn about how Pixar used that principle as the basis of its amazing …
Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, is often praised for his brilliance, bold vision, and problem-solving approach. After meeting him, people often say, “He’s the smartest …
In his pseudo-memoir, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), which is more a collection of his thoughts on various subjects, Andy Warhol writes about the paradox of getting what …
On March 11, 2010, a new writer took over “Dear Sugar,” an advice column on the Web site the Rumpus. Things would never be the same. Slowly over the next two years, we learned a little more about her …