There is a famous Iraqi idiom which states that if you think your opponents can eat you for dinner, then you'd better eat them for lunch. If your opponent is too big and powerful to eat you right-now, you'd better eat them for lunch before they eat you. Commitment problems from our opponents lead us to act, and that's another reason why rational man can go to war.
— Christopher BlattmanAdversity, I believe, is vital. It's the crucible where strength is forged. Without struggle, without battles to face, we remain static, unable to grow.
When you think you're at 100% of your physical or mental capacity, you're not. We have enormous reserves within us (which we don't tap into for good reason), but we are all capable of pushing ourselves a lot further than we think.
I wish I had known that Football is the most important part of the least important parts of my life. A bad result or losing in a final of the champions League is hard to take, but there are worse things to endure in life.
When you first go to war as a young guy, it's almost like you want to get into combat. Quickly though, you realise that these are real people! You have to bring the human element to the fore. At first it was let's go to war… then it was let's do the right thing… and then it was why are we even doing this?
If I could change only one thing about public understanding of the meritocratic structures in our world, it would be to give more recognition to our hidden heroes. These are often people just below the levels we would consider as being 'the elite.' They don't even realise themselves that they are heroes because of the confidential nature of the work.
Our model is very much investing in media cash-flows. We don't take positions in quoted media stocks, as that introduces too much exposure to volatile equity markets- and media tends to get hammered more than other sectors when the markets have any degree of turbulence in them.
I have always thought that if you are abducted for a week, 2 weeks, even a month- you don't know what abduction is. It's only after a certain time that you understand the weight of abduction.
It shocks me that our society has not caught up with the fact that mental illnesses should be treated like any other disease, and not relegated to the justice system. We have so many different therapies and medicines, and people can make significant recoveries.
As a collective, we tend to look at progress as being linear, especially where it concerns women's rights. This is a huge mistake and breeds complacency because we risk losing the hard-won gains.
Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes...
Fundamentally, we must slow-down the process of change. We should recognise that most change is not progress- and therefore, it is in our interests to slow down without interfering too much with actual solution making.
Many of the pioneer influencers were not intent on carving a career path or generating income through their online activities. They were merely portraying their everyday lives on the digital platform, and managed to stumble upon their niche one way or another.