Graduation

These stories we tell about ourselves — they're almost like our infrastructure, like railroads or highways. We can build them almost any way we want to. But once they're in place, this whole inner landscape grows up around them.

The world will tell you that it's time to grow up and leave those foolish, youthful diversions behind. But don't fall for that. I'm here to tell you those foolish diversions are the real nectar of life. Put up a fight. Be a fool.

When you try hard at everything you do, even if it feels utterly foolish to do so, you're opening up future doors and possibilities that you might not be seeing in the moment.

I wish there was a way to know you're in the good ol' days before you've actually left them. Good ol' days are marked by relatively high levels of foolishness. Case in point: college.

When you achieve your dreams, it's not so much what you get — it's who you become.

I couldn't have done it a fingernail faster. I didn't leave a fingernail in that pool.

What is it you're doing with this one wild and precious life of yours?

If you're the kind of person who finds the most interesting thing in the world to you is something you don't know, you're probably in the right place.

If you're the kind of person who is scared and courageous at the same time, you might end up doing big things.

Don't worry about the plot to take over the world. Just do what is in front of you, and do it well. Working on your grand plan is like shoveling snow that hasn't fallen yet.

You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing the things that will make you great. You cannot succeed without the risk of failure. You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism. You cannot love without the risk of loss. You must take these risks.

I have always had a half-baked philosophy that having a plan B can muddy up your plan A.