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RyanHoliday.net - Meditations on strategy and life
Blog

Random Notes

[*] I started taking Flaxseed oil (pills) everyday and a Vitamin Water. I feel more energetic and waking up in the morning hasn’t been the awful–I wish I was dead–experience that it always used to be.

[*]This Free Rice game is amazing. It’s like Puppy War but with an academic rationalization.

[*]Got this quote from someone.

“The first step — especially for young people with energy and drive and talent,

but not money — the first step to controlling your world is to control your

culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To

write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.” Chuck Palahniuk

[*]Have a TON of books I want to get into. This is the list.

[*] I mentioned the word “viral” in my in this post about marketing. I will never use the word again. I just heard someone use it to describe the paid distribution of fliers outside a concert. Officially, done.

October 26, 2007by Ryan Holiday
Blog

Honesty as a Strategy

People are liars. They just fucking lie all the time. “This is how much traffic I do.” “I’m actually went to high school with [insert celebrity]“ “I got in to this college, this college and this college, but I inexplicably decided to go to [lesser college]“ “I’ve been with [this many] chicks” Most of the time, when people tell me anything about themselves, I just assume they are exaggerating–if not flat-out lying.

John Boyd forced all his acolytes to underestimate numbers when they were in their favor and be generous when they weren’t. And then when they were challenged, the real math only proved them more correct and made the bluff-caller look like an idiot. I figure that’s not a bad way to live your life. It’s certainly more moral to be honest. For instance, I don’t count any book as read if I didn’t go from cover to cover. I can’t say I run 5 miles a day anymore because I’ve reduced it to about 4 and started eating better–so you won’t see me say 5 unless that’s what the number is again. And as a added benefit, it pushes you to match your actions with the standing declarations you have made.

I assume most of the people who matter as as skeptical as I am. Because really, it’s just not probable that every single athlete I’ve ever talked to “won State.” [Really? What was the score of the New Hampshire Bowl?] So by being totally honest, you’re already being underestimated. And being overestimated is a short-term, ego-driven strategy.

October 26, 2007by Ryan Holiday

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” - Murakami

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