%% ID: 12371542 Updated: 2021-12-20 %% ![](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article3.5c705a01b476.png) # About Title: [[Other/Obsidian Starter Vault(Second Brain)/Readwise 1/Articles/Winston Churchill Success- 7 Secrets You Need To Know]] Author: [[dansilvestre.com]] Category: #articles Number of Highlights: ==25== Last Highlighted: *2021-11-24* Readwise URL: https://readwise.io/bookreview/12371542 Source URL: https://dansilvestre.com/winston-churchill-success/ # Highlights Churchill was capable of tremendous physical and intellectual efforts, of high intensity over long periods, often with little sleep. But he had corresponding powers of relaxation, filled with a variety of pleasurable occupations, and he also had the gift of taking short naps when time permitted. Again, when possible, he spent his mornings in bed, telephoning, dictating, and receiving visitors. ^260478452 --- More often than not, we fill our lives with meaningless projects, discussions, and occupations. It makes us feel busy. But busy doesn’t necessarily mean productive ^260478453 --- There’s only a limited amount of energy, time, and focus to spend on our lives and as such we should apply it to the biggest priorities and change-maker actions ^260478454 --- yourself “What Can I Remove?” to simplify your life. This will allow you to set priorities and focus on doing and owning what you truly love, conserving energy on anything that is not criti ^260478455 --- He was totally organized, almost like a clock. His routine was absolutely dictatorial. He set himself a ruthless timetable every day and would get very agitated, even cross, if it was broken ^260478456 --- His daily routine kept him sane and focused during one of the most trying periods of leadership in Great Britain ^260478457 --- Churchill’s daily routine was structured around the hours that he was most productive: after waking up, after lunch, and after dinner. ^260478458 --- chedule the highest leveraging activities (also known as Deep Work) for those periods and the leave the rest to perform shallow work, such as email or low-energy activities ^260478459 --- The periods which I am least productive is before and after lunch (about one hour each). I reserve that time to either rest or deal with low-energy tasks, like reading and replying to email, reading content online, or outsource specific tasks. By working around my energy levels, I work smarter, instead of harder. ^260478460 --- Find the location that you are most comfortable doing specific types of work. For reading, this is probably going to be a quieter area or a room. Move around when taking phone calls so you are more dynamic. For critical thinking and brainstorming, a whiteboard in a quiet room can be the ideal solution. ^260478461 --- The simple act of changing the environment immediately signals my brain to change its “working mode”. Working where I feel most comfortable helps me be more productive. ^260478462 --- To ensure we didn’t spend time choosing what to wear, he even had a uniform customized for him during the war ^260478463 --- Too often we make the mistake of building complex management systems. We copy someone else’s system and apply it to our lives. Later we find out it’s too complicated and incredibly hard to maintain. ^260478464 --- What works for me might not work for you. What you need to do it take the best parts of many systems and build your own productivity system. The simpler, the better. In productivity, as in life, less is more. ^260478465 --- The secret to genius is not complexity, it’s simplicity ^260478466 --- Nature has not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without that refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts twenty minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.” ^260478467 --- Taking a 20-minute nap in the afternoon can restore your energy levels for the afternoon. It’s like plugging your phone to charge, moving it from 50% to 80–90% in about 20 minutes. To fall asleep faster, try meditating for a couple of minutes. ^260478468 --- Churchill was not concerned about the popular opinion, only the truth. In his words: “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks ^260478469 --- persistence and perseverance ^260478470 --- If you’re going through hell, keep going.” ^260478471 --- Too often we make the mistake of giving up too early. Our minds develop a reasonable timeframe for success. Fail to achieve our goals within that timeframe and we consider it a failure. ^260478472 --- To succeed, train your brain to look at failures and struggles as progress, as getting closer to the solution. ^260478473 --- constant expansion of knowledge. He was one of history’s most impressive on-the-job learners. ^260478474 --- He really believed that in order to achieve his ambition of being prime minister he had to learn things ^260478475 --- Life-long learning is necessary for personal growth. Knowledge compounds over time and your brain starts making connections between all the things you know ^260478476