Michael Phelps
United States swimmer, 2000–2016
One thing that I went through and I was able to understand is: It's OK to not be OK. Right? Like nobody's perfect.
In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?
Question
What is the book you have given most as a gift, and why?
Taste & recommendation
I just finished reading BJ Fogg's new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg explains that the best way to build a new habit is to start small and succeed, rather than starting too big and giving up. For example, rather than trying to exercise for 30 minutes a day, he recommends aspiring to do just one push-up, and doing it consistently. This approach may be helpful to those of you who want to spend more time studying. If you hold yourself accountable for watching, say, 10 seconds of an educational video every day — and you do so consistently — the habit of studying daily will grow naturally.
Ng's own newsletter, The Batch, DeepLearning.AI, 2020 source ↗
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Nithin Kamath
Co-founder and chief executive of Zerodha
Sleeping by 9 pm & getting a workout at 5 am has been helpful. Sleeping early reduces the chances of bingeing when we are drained and have low self-control at the end of the day. A workout in the morning also increases the odds of making healthier choices throughout the day.
Megan Rapinoe
United States international footballer, 2006–2023
I am kneeling because I have to do something. Anything. We all do.
Akio Toyoda
President of Toyota Motor Corporation, 2009–2023; chairman from 2023
Even I can't predict what kind of car we will be driving 20 years from now, but my time at Babson taught me to embrace change rather than run from it, and I urge all of you to do the same.
Recorded
Babson College Graduate Commencement, Babson College (Babson Thought & Action), 21 May 2019
source ↗
More from Andrew Ng
View profile →Over the years, I have found a few resources for developing personal productivity that I love. My top picks include Getting Things Done by David Allen, the classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, and Learning How to Learn Barbara Oakley (I recommend the Coursera course). I'm tempted to add Tiny Habits to this list.
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