- #1 : Asking >>> Waiting
- There are no extra points for learning to do something on my own in twice the time
- Collaborate with others to find answers when you are stuck , the fear of not learning fast enough should be greater than the fear of looking like a fool
- #2 : The key to building wealth
- Building wealth is not a zero sum game where you lose if I win. There is infinite money in the world for those who pick up new skills quickly and solve the hard problems
- Doing useful things for other people is how you build wealth.
- Try to think in terms of what is the highest impact task you can do to improve other people’s lives
- This can be done in two ways
- Go from 1 to infinity , which means you repeat something that already exists , and scale it out.
- Go from zero to one , which means you find a unique solution to a problem , a solution that did not exist before
- The highest rewards favor those who take the highest asymmetric risks. The more I can take asymmetric risks – i.e risks with limited downside but a much higher upside , the better off my luck surface area for success
- Use the awesome power of the internet for leverage
- Imagine being able to only talk to people in your village all your life
- Then imagine , being able to communicate with everyone in the world using this magical thing called the Internet ! This technology exists for me and you , use it !
- #3: Be relentless in your pursuit of a growth mindset
- We all have a limited mindset when it comes to certain things – it’s like we are in a self created box that prevents us from experiencing the beauty of the world outside that box.
- A good exercise is to ask myself – what box am I currently in ? How do I navigate outside of this box ? If done successfully , this will lead me to a larger box where I learn more about myself and the world , and then I can start all over again exploring the edges of the new box !
- People I admire are portals to what exist outside of my box. My martial arts trainer is a portal to an elevated level of discipline and grit and mental fortitude. Find the people in your life that are portals to what exists outside of your current box. Talk to them , find ways to spend time with them, emulate them and be coached by them.
- When I can’t do something the first time , it’s important to say “I can’t do it yet”.. The “yet” makes all the difference
- Think of life and learning as playing a video game – when you make a mistake and die in Super Mario , do you feel like a failure and vow to never play the stupid game again ? Or do you just continue from the point where you made the mistake and figure a way to go past it , and level up ? Thinking of life as one mega video game is a good way to approach learning things.
- #4: Level up
- Hell is meeting the best version of yourself in the afterlife , the person you always had the potential to become. The aim is to close the gap between where you are now and that best version of yourself that you are chasing. To paraphrase Matthew McConaughey – my hero ought to be myself 10 years from now
- Consistency is more important than motivation
- Anyone can do that workout when motivated. The measure of how far one goes in life is in their ability to do the hard things when they least want to. You are only as good as your worst day. Anyone can steer a ship when the sea is calm , and smooth seas don’t make a skilled sailor. True test of character is what you do when everything goes against you
- Always make a choice to let your higher self win over your lower self. Stay classy , avoid fights by saying “You are probably right” because odds are the other person is probably right at-least 50% of the time, and you will learn more this way than by arguing that you are right. Win-win.
- Be aggressively open-minded. Don’t discount interesting things – go down the rabbit holes , chase black swans !
- Be a chef , not a cook. Go from zero to one , not from one to infinity
- My view of myself and how often I challenge it determines how far I will go in life. Musk wants to die on Mars , that’s how far he will go. The size of the fishbowl will eventually determine the size of the fish. Dream big, then dream a little bigger. What’s your moonshot ?
- Go to bed thinking about a hard problem , don’t try to solve it right then and there , trust your mind to find a creative solution to it overnight. Repeat this process for days or weeks or months in a row till the answer comes to you !
- When you reach a fork in the road, take the harder one – because if you keep doing that you will eventually be unbeatable. When chased by a bully , run up the stairway , not down it. Instill in yourself a high pain threshold.
- Make reversible decisions quickly . You can always revert back if things don’t work as planned , but you will only learn once you make the decision. Move quick , be relentless.
- Measure your daily success not by measuring the gap but measuring the gain
- Gap is the difference between where you are now and where you want to be. This keeps you in constant dis-satisfaction.
- Gain is the difference between where you are now and where you were at a past reference point. This keeps you both grateful and motivated.
- #5: Life is short , make it count
- There is only a fixed amount of sunsets or sunrises you will get to see with your partner , your parents , your siblings and your kids. Life is fleeting , make it count
- You are never too busy to be kind
- #6 : Empower others
- Empower the people in your life by allowing them to make decisions for themselves
- You don’t have to master something to teach it to your loved ones. Experts usually are bad teachers because they can’t relate to a beginner , if you know the first five steps of a good skill worth learning , teaching that would add value for beginners.
