Ok, probably not, but you still may find one or two useful!
A cursed fact of the world is that the most important life lessons you learn are things “earned” from experience:
Think about what makes you ‘imbalanced’ as a personality, & do things where this gives you an edge.
Once you are ok with people telling you ‘no’, you can ask for whatever you want. (Make reality say no to you.)
Fun is underrated. The best and most creative work comes from a root of joy and excitement. You can feel this in your body. Those who reject this notion should be removed from your ecosystem.
Great people can do bad things. What makes them great is their ability and willingness to recognize, recalibrate, and realign their true north to never repeat such actions.
Environment matters a lot; move to where you flourish maximally. Put yourself in environments where you have to perform to your utmost; if you can get by being average, you probably will. (Greek saying: “A captain only shows during a storm.”)
Later, you’ll be nostalgic for right now.
Do things fast. Things don’t take much time (as measured by a stopwatch); resistance/procrastination does. “Slow is fake." If no urgency exists, impose some.
Moving fast forces you to strip things down to the bare bones.
Wealth can be created; there is not a fixed amount of it in the world. Somebody doing well doesn’t always come at someone else’s expense.
"The world is a museum of passion projects.”
Doing as much as you can every day is a form of life extension.
Always have high integrity, even when it costs you. The shortcuts aren’t worth it. I have learned the hard way many times.
Figure out what your primary focus is and make progress on that every day, first thing in the morning, with no exceptions. Days with 0 output are the killers.
Pay attention to your production/consumption balance. If you’re only consuming and not producing, fix that.
You don’t do anyone any favors by lurking; put yourself out there!
If you don’t “get” a classic book or movie, 90% of the time it’s your fault. (It might just not be the right time for you to appreciate that thing.)
If you find yourself dreading Mondays, quit.
Lean into the good kind of fear.
Stop waiting to have everything figured out to begin. The greatest quality of success is one’s ability to adjust, pivot, and be nimble of mind, endlessly curious and open to change.
Pick some kind of fitness/athletic activity to get addicted to, and get addicted to it for its own sake.
Learn how to meditate, even if you don’t end up doing it regularly. If you can’t sit still and quiet for at least 3 minutes, it’s a bigger issue than you think.
No matter how bad things seem, everything passes.
Read at least one book each quarter. I can recommend essentials, and please note there is not a badge of honor in proclaiming you don’t read books. Quite the opposite.
You are probably too risk-averse. Write out the worst things that can happen, realize they’re not that bad, and then take the leap.
Do a review of your year every year, write it out, figure out what was good and what was bad, and use this to make your goals for the next year.
Doing things is energizing; wasting time is depressing. You don’t need that much ‘rest’.
Being able to travel is one of the key ways the modern world is better than the old world. Learn to travel well.
Form opinions on things and then find the strongest critique of those opinions. Repeat.
If you really can’t disprove something, it has a chance of being right. However, exhaust your intelligence and resources first.
Memorize at least one old poem or text that means a lot to you.
Be careful about rationalizing something that does not feel right.
Know your ‘triggers’ / what makes you the worst version of yourself.
Figure out what creates enduring value.
Don’t let anyone make you feel small.
Working with people you really respect and are secretly worried are much better than you and will figure out how dumb you are is the best.
Reach out to people more often for no reason other than sharing and spreading joy and love
There are some people who, after you talk to them, you feel more energized and you want to conquer the world or climb a mountain or something. They’re rare, but they exist. Go find them and make friends with them. Slowly remove yourself from the opposite situation.
Move your energy to where the action is. Agglomeration effects are powerful.
Status is fake and transient. Just focus on substance.
Ask dumb questions. The people who matter won’t judge you for it, and you’ll learn things as a result.
Don’t over-index on trends. Just figure out your first-principles view of what’s actually important for the world, and go from there.
There is some wisdom in “fake it till you make it.”
Don’t “slow down” as you get older; speed up. Lean into changes; be curious about new things. Most people seem to go the other way.
Be specific.
Stop asking for approval and permission from others. Society structure, school and work train people to have this mindset. Instead, figure out what you want to do and plant the “this is happening” flag. People will come along for the ride or they fucking won’t. Who cares.
Almost no one that matters will be here in 50 years. Let alone 75 or 100. Embarrass yourself, put yourself out there, and ignore their nonsense and opinions. None of it actually matters.
Don’t network; make friends. Writing online is great for bringing interesting people your way. Having a wide network of friends makes a difference in the opportunities you get and how easy it is to launch your projects. Conversely, watch who you really call a friend; the sands of time shift often.
Figure out what gives you new ideas, and make sure you incorporate them into your routine.
Ponder your death daily. Not to be morbid but to embrace time and optimize efficiencies around it.
Incorporate one new habit every quarter. Spend one day every quarter completely turned off and doing something new. Strive for one big moment a year that will be life-changing and spend many hours leading up to it preparing mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Sounds like a pretty fulfilling year, right?
Once in a while, put away all concepts you read about online and reason “up” from the base of your experience and what you’ve seen and done. (e.g., What were some of the best decisions you made? The worst? Why? Can you apply those lessons now? etc.)
Luck isn’t a constant; it increases with surface area: be in the right places, have lots of conversations, put yourself out there, ask for what you want, and be optimistic and positive.
The most valuable feedback usually hurts a lot. See #53
Bonus: Live and love with reckless enthusiasm!
コメント