notes: Principles by Ray Dalio

*first half of personal story went fast, the second half of principles and lists was a hard slog.

• ref. Campbell's Hero's Journey -- "returning the boon" -- Once the boon is returned, the hero is free to live and then free to die. 
• Lessons of History, 104pg W. Durant and River Out of Eden, R. Dawkins about evolution

• Life Principles -- Radical open-mindedness, requires you to replace your attachment to always being right with the joy of learning what's true.
• Self-interest or collective interest ... which of these forces wins out is a function of the organization's culture
• amygdala hijacking -- emotional 
• 18 months for behavior to stick /
•  Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

• Radical truth and radical transparency fundamental to having a real idea meritocracy
• integrity - whole, one way inside and out. 
• i choose to live out my values around excellence, meaningful work and meaningful relationships
• expect people to behave in a manner that is consistent with how people in high-quality, long-term relationships behave -- high level of mutual consideration for each other's interests and clear understanding of who is responsible for what.
• Fairness v Generousity -- don't make mistake of thinking act of generosity for some is same as entitlement for all.
• Generosity is good and entitlement is bad / 
• Be on the far side of fair -- more consideration to others than you demand for yourself. Each party says you deserve more. 

• Okay to make mistakes / unacceptable not to learn from them. Pain is a message that something is wrong. 
• If you don't mind being wrong on the way to being right you'll learn a lot and increase your effectiveness. 
• You must not let your need to be right be more important than your need to find out what's true. 
• Pain + Reflection = Progress
• Thoughtful disagreement is not a battle; its goal is not to convince the other party that they are wrong and you are right, but to find out what is true and what to do about it. 
• Most people have problems being assertive and open-minded at the same time. 

Getting in sync -- start by assuming you're either not communicating or listening well instead of blaming the other party. 

• Their bad behavior doesn't justify yours.

Believe opinions

• more likely come from people who have successfully done it three times / and can explain cause-effect relationships that led them to their conclusions
• Think about whether you're playing role of Teacher, Student or Peer

People

• need people with excellent character and excellent capabilities
• assess people based on both their reasoning and their outcomes
• people's performance: learning and ability

Every case

• moving closer goal? and to train and test your machine (people and design)

as Manager

• perceive and not tolerate problems
• "Taste the Soup"

to Diagnose Problems - all outcomes come from people and designs

• is outcome good or bad?
• if bad, is Resp. Person incapable or Design bad?
• How should have machine worked? 
• keep asking why?
• Goal - get at the best answers, not to make most people happy

Goals

• focused on goals you're excited about
• 
  

notes: How to Write a Autobiographical Novel

by A. Chee. a mixed Korean-American. so now i have two people on my Korean-Am Hall of Fame.

1.  John Cho
2. Alexander Chee

onto the notes:

• querent - one having Tarot reading done, seeker. [so i learned a new word]
• while training to be yoga teacher, learned about the siddhis, the gifts. undue power over others, but also a obstacle to enlightenment. 
• i learned the first three pages of a draft are usually where you clear your throat, that most times, the place your draft begins is around page four. That if the beginning isn't there, sometimes it's at the end, that you've spent the whole time getting to your beginning, and that if you switch the first and last pages you might have a better result than if you leave them where they were. 
• Remember adverbs are a sign that you've used the wrong verb. 
• Frank Conroy to him: "You succeed, you celebrate, you stop writing. You don't succeed, you despair, you stop writing. Just keep writing. Don't let success or failure stop you. Just keep writing."
• the only things you must have to become a writer are the stamina to continue and a wily, cagey heart in the face of extremity, failure, and success. 
• cat's eye, m. atwood. different povs
• you don't know who will make it and who will not, and students' previous work may or may not be an indicator of what they can do, good or bad.
• Most of what Annie Dillard taught me was about habits of mind and habits of work. 
• Dying, what stories would you tell?