It’s the people we hardly know, and not our closest friends, who will improve our lives most dramatically

Doing something later is not automatically the same as doing something better

Ian pretended that not knowing what to do was the hard part when, somewhere inside, I think he knew that making a choice about something is when the real uncertainty begins. The more terrifying uncertainty is wanting something and not knowing how to get it. It is working toward something even though there is no sure thing. When we make choices, we open ourselves up to hard work and failure and heartbreak, so sometimes it feels easier not to know, not to choose, and not to do.

The lottery question might get you thinking about what you would do if talent and money didn't matter. But they do. The question twentysomethings need to ask themselves is what they would do with their lives if they didn't win the lottery.

I think part of making any decision in your twenties is realizing there is no twenty-four flavor table. It's a myth.

For the most part, "naturals" are myths. People who are especially good at something may have some innate inclination or some particular talent, but they have also spent about ten thousands hours practicins or doing that thing.

I wish I'd been more.. I don't know... intentional.

Weak ties, on the other hand, force us to communicate from a place of difference, to use what is called elaborated speech (...) True interconnectedness rests not on texting best friends at one a.m., but on reaching out to weak ties that make a difference in our lives (...) Everything can change in a day. Especially if you put yourself out there.

What would an A in your twenties even mean?" I wondered out aloud. "I don't know. That's the problem. I just feel like I shouldn't be less-than.