Transitions inspire reflection. On the eve of my 30th birthday, I've been reminiscing on some of the life lessons learned over the past three decades. Hopefully these help you as much as they've helped me. <br> 1. Write a lot. Writing is thinking. 2. Freedom without purpose is torture. Find a sense of purpose. If it's not religion, find something as spiritually potent. 3. The smaller the pie, the sharper the knives. Work to create a bigger pie and you will help everyone avoid unnecessary strife. This should be inscribed upon the irises of the elite. 4. To love, without knowing how to love, wounds the person you love. Love is about service, not selfishness. Make sure your relationship serves as a platform for flourishing. And remember, feelings are fleeting, while commitments can last a lifetime. 5. Don't be the best at what you do, be the only one by combining unique gifts. There is power in being a bridge between worlds. And the probability of being the best in a combinatorial domain is significantly higher than in a narrowly defined skill. 6. Desire is destiny. Where we direct our desires, determines the course of our lives. Seek to desire only what is most noble and worthy. Even better, remove desires. 7. Stop preparing for your life, and start living it. You're never going to be "ready". There is no point of arrival. Learn to relish the messiness of life. 8. Take radical responsibility for your own happiness, never outsource it. 9. Work with the door open, not closed; high-quality conversations sharpen your thinking & point you in the right direction. As Hamming astutely observed, those who work with the door closed are more productive today, but in ten years, find themselves working on the wrong thing. 10. Tight-knit groups of high-performers accomplish massive things in this world; build your tribe. And don't be afraid to ask them for help. 11. Choose your life, before it's chosen for you by society. Over time, keeping your options open withers your options. As C.S. Lewis said, "we must hatch or go bad." 12. Your ego is your prison – don't let it stand between you and what really matters. 13. Allocate your time and attention wisely. Time is a non-renewable resource; don't waste it. But remember that there is also wisdom in the sweetness of doing nothing... "Il dolce far niente". 14. The quality of your relationships is the most important determinant of health, happiness, and success. Invest in your most cherished relationships for the long-term, and watch them compound. 15. Faith is spiritual fuel. Have faith in humanity and actively fight cynicism. 16. There is an inverse relationship between safety and expression. If you overvalue safety you will fail to express your potential. Find the balance. 17. The "great man theory" of history is mostly a myth. Extraordinary individuals exist, but true civilizational progress is networked across communities. The "great man" is a narrative API – a convenient character for telling stories about a complex evolutionary process. 18. Wisdom is the ability to hold a tension of opposites in one's mind, and still retain the ability to function. 19. Have the courage to think independent thoughts; following the herd is the path to mediocrity. Free thinkers explore and expand truth territory. 20. Humanity will never agree on the fundamental questions. Help society create a canvas upon which individuals may paint unique lives. Make sure this is especially true in cyberspace. The internet is humanity's collective nervous system. 21. Every position is a position, even doing nothing. Our character is the sum total of all our actions. 22. Prioritize your health. You only get one body for your entire journey. Take care of both your mental and physical health because mind and body are intimately intertwined. 23. Belief > Economics > Politics. Belief in a collective narrative creates reality; words and ideas have power. The narratives we buy into shape how we live our lives, what we buy, and how we politic. Capitalism is the arena in which we vote amongst competing narratives. 24. Career goals should bend to a way of life that allows your abilities to operate at maximum capacity toward the gratification of meaningful desires. 25. Build a worldview. Acquire skills and capital. Then sculpt the world around you by allocating resources against that philosophy. The world is clay, molded by people no smarter than you, and if you have a diverse perspective you have a moral imperative to actualize it. 26. Leadership is the skill that powers big dreams. 27. Don't make the world worse. Recognize and overcome the darkness in your own character. Know your natural drives, and sublimate them toward positive ends. Villains are often heroes in their own minds, so don't be naive. 28. Predicting the future is impossible, so build resilient systems. Risk analysis requires three assessments: the odds of getting hit, the average consequences, and the tail-end consequences. Find a way to remove existential risk, and then maximize shots on goal. 29. Art attempts to capture the unattainable sublime – it is nourishment for the soul. Bathe yourself in art as often as you can, and create your own, in whatever form that comes in. 30. Love your fate, even the suffering. Amor Fati. *Thanks to Avery, Matt, Ursula, and Katie for reading drafts.* %% ##### Scraps 1. Write a lot. Writing is thinking. 2. Freedom without purpose is torture. Find a sense of purpose. If it's not religion, find something as spiritually potent. [[The psyche is a chaos of competing instincts organized by a heroic, meaningful goal]] 3. Build a worldview. Acquire skills and money. Then sculpt the world around you by allocating capital and labor against that philosophy. The world is clay, molded by people no smarter than you – and if you have a diverse perspective, you have a moral imperative to actualize it. [[Sculpt the world around you by giving form to the infinity of aeon]] 4. To love, without knowing how to love, wounds the person you love. Love is about service, not selfishness. Make sure your relationship serves a platform for flourishing. And remember, feelings are fleeting, while commitments can last a lifetime. [[Love is the sole spiritual fuel; commit to serving something larger than yourself]] 5. The "great man theory" of history is a myth. Extraordinary individuals exist, but true civilizational progress is networked across many individuals. The "great man" is simply a narrative API – a convenient character for telling stories about a complex evolutionary process. [[The "great man" is a narrative API used to abstract complexity]] 6. Desire is destiny. Where we direct our desires, determines the course of our lives. Seek to desire only what is most noble and worthy. Even better, remove desires. [[Desire is destiny; pursue better loves]] 7. Stop preparing for your life, and start living it. You're never going to be "ready". There is no point of arrival. Learn to relish the messiness of life. [[Time is finite and our most precious resource -- prioritize wisely, focus your attention, and act with urgency]] 8. Take radical responsibility for your own happiness, never outsource it. [[Take radical responsibility for your own life, and self-actualize]] 9. Work with the door open, not closed; high-quality conversations sharpen your thinking and point you in the right direction. As Richard Hamming so astutely observed, those who work with the door closed are more productive today and tomorrow, but in ten years, find themselves working on the wrong thing. [[Work with the door open, not closed; high-quality conversations sharpen your thinking and point you in the right direction]] 10. Tight-knit groups of high-performers accomplish massive things in this world; build your tribe. And don't be afraid to ask them for help. [[Where do the modern day Parisian intellectuals live?|Find your tribe]] 11. Choose your life, before it's chosen for you by society. Over time, keeping your options open withers your options. As C.S. Lewis said, "we must hatch or go bad." [[Keeping your options open, withers your options; we must hatch or go bad]] 12. Your ego is your prison – don't let it stand between you and what really matters. [[Your ego is your prison - what are antidotes?]] 13. Allocate your time and attention wisely. Time is a non-renewable resource; don't waste it. But remember that there is also wisdom in the sweetness of doing nothing... "Il dolce far niente". [[Time is finite and our most precious resource -- prioritize wisely, focus your attention, and act with urgency]] 14. The quality of your relationships is the most important determinant of health, happiness, and success. Invest in your most cherished relationships for the long-term, and watch them compound. [[The quality of one's relationships is the the most important determinant of health, happiness, and success; build strong ones]] 15. Faith is spiritual fuel. Have faith in humanity and actively fight cynicism. [[Actively fight cynicism]] 16. There is an inverse relationship between safety and expression. If you overvalue safety you will fail to express your potential. Find the balance. [[The virtue of expression]] 17. Don't be the best at what you do, be the only one by combining unique gifts. There is power in being a bridge between worlds. And the probability of being the best in a combinatorial domain is significantly higher than in a narrowly defined skill. [[There's power in being a bridge between worlds]] 18. Wisdom is the ability to hold a tension of opposites in one's mind, and still retain the ability to function. [[Wisdom is the ability to hold a tension of opposites in one's mind, and still retain the ability to function]] 19. Have the courage to think independent thoughts; following the herd is the path to mediocrity. Free thinkers explore and expand truth territory. [[Be independent - of mind, spirit, wealth, emotions, but carry others]] 20. The smaller the pie, the sharper the knives. Work to create a bigger pie and you will help everyone avoid unnecessary strife. This should be inscribed upon the irises of the elite. [[The smaller the pie, the sharper the knives]] 21. Every position is a position, even doing nothing. Our character is the sum total of all our actions. [[We are the sum total of our actions]] 22. Prioritize your health. You only get one body for your entire journey. Take care of both your mental and physical health because mind and body are intimately intertwined. [[Health is wealth]] 23. Humanity will never agree on the fundamental questions. Help society create a canvas upon which individuals may paint unique lives. Make sure this is especially true in cyberspace. The internet is humanity's collective nervous system. [[Humanity will never agree on the fundamental questions and values; create a system in which individuals may paint unique lives]], [[The internet is humanity's collective nervous system]] 24. Career goals should bend to a way of life that allows your abilities to operate at maximum capacity toward the gratification of meaningful desires. [[Career goals should bend to a way of life that allows your abilities to operate at maximum capacity toward the gratification of meaningful desires]] 25. Leadership is the skill that powers big dreams. It requires high character, vision, sensemaking, rapid data-driven decision making, superb communication, and understanding, serving, and motivating people. [[Leadership]] 26. Don't make the world worse. Recognize and overcome the darkness in your own character. Know your natural drives, and sublimate them toward positive ends. Villains are often heroes in their own minds, so don't be naive. [[Recognize and overcome the darkness in your character]] 27. Predicting the future is impossible, so build resilient systems. Risk analysis requires three assessments: the odds of getting hit, the average consequences, and the tail-end consequences. Find a way to remove existential risk, and then maximize shots on goal. [[In a chaotic system, prioritize resilience over efficiency]], [[Investing]], [[Effective risk management]] 28. Belief > Economics > Politics. Belief in a collective narrative creates reality. In this way, words and ideas have power; language is our fundamental technology. The narratives we buy into shape what we buy, how we politic, and how we live our lives. Capitalism is the arena in which we vote amongst competing narratives. [[Culture is upstream of economics and politics]] 29. Art attempts to capture the unattainable sublime – it is nourishment for the soul. Bathe yourself in art as often as you can, and create your own, in whatever form that comes in. [[Art attempts, but never succeeds, in capturing the unattainable sublime]] 30. Love your fate, even the suffering. Amor Fati. [[Radical acceptance; love your fate, even the suffering|Amor Fati]] [[A relationship should serve as a platform for two people to grow and become who they really are]] [[Actively fight cynicism]] [[Humanity will never agree on the fundamental questions and values; create a system in which individuals may paint unique lives]] [[Know your natural drives, and sublimate them toward positive ends]] [[Radical acceptance; love your fate, even the suffering]] [[Art attempts, but never succeeds, in capturing the unattainable sublime]] [[Art is food for the soul; express what is true in your heart]] [[Culture is upstream of economics and politics]] [[Recognize and overcome the darkness in your character]] [[Leadership is about sensemaking, focus, rapid data-driven decision-making despite incomplete information, superb communication, understanding and motivating people, and possessing high character and vision]] [[Humanity will never agree on the fundamental questions and values; create a system in which individuals may paint unique lives]] [[Business is a controlled, rigorous, chess-game of people]] %% ^41a70y