Principles

Prīncipium. From the Latin prīncipium, “beginning, foundation.” A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the basis for a belief system, behavior or chain of reasoning.

Unmitigated daily discipline in all things. It’s the one thing that will make or break your life.
In life, there is only an example to set.
Your habits make you. Stick to simple rules. Days with 0 output are the killers.
Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.
Never give up. Never ever. Stay in the game.
All the real benefits in life come from compound interest. Understand compounding.
Knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity.
Be endlessly curious. Hang out on the edges.
Conduct yourself with quiet confidence.
Be an infinite learner. Reading (learning) is the ultimate meta-skill. Think about spending on books as an investment.
Understand 80/20 rule.
Over-prepare. Never be late. If you are on time, you are late.
Underpromise, overdeliver.
Everything has been done before. The scenes change, but the behaviors and outcomes don’t.
Understand multi-discipline learning.
Small details build the big picture. Think in first principles.
Love and focus on family.
Make room for error. Be comfortable being wrong.
“The best view comes after the hardest climb.”
Encourage intellectual debate.
Have strong opinions, loosely held. Train yourself in mental models.
Experiment and tinker — take lots of small risks.
Surround yourself with the best (few) people. Discard people that don’t make you better.
Fear bias & arrogance.
Be prepared to fight for your life. Learn how to fight and survive.
If you can’t be safe, be deadly.
Explore and try new things (the 60/30 minute rule).
Always give more than you take.
Earn with your mind, not your time.
You never know what struggles people are hiding.
Inside of every struggle is the seed of some of the happiest moments of your life.
Train your mind, guts (nutrition), and body. Lift weights.
Life is only 70-80 winters at best. Make it count.
Do not do things that you despise.
Build-in redundancy and layers (no single point of failure).
Stupid people double down on stupidity. Then they triple down.
Always make your bed.
Dress like the person you want to be. Present yourself well. Dress “classically” to age. Beware of style trends.
Be precise in your speech and body language.
Always stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Don’t burn bridges with others. Burn your boats.
Say “thank you” a lot!
Learn to write and speak well. Think in writing.
Learn a foreign language. At least one.
Travel around the world.
Don’t criticize someone in front of others.
Don’t forget to praise a job well done (but don’t praise a poor job).
Read philosophy specifically and ignore news/pop culture.
Mathematics is the language of the universe.
Try to be the most successful version of who you are.
There is always a way out.
Remember that what you do not yet know is more important than what you already know.
Keep your standards very high in all you do.
Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient.
Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.
Always demand a deadline.
Don’t be afraid to ask a question.
Listening > speaking.
Don’t be the smartest person in the room.
Show up. Keep showing up.
There is no limit on better.
No problems, no progress.
Know more than you say.
Cautiously Optimistic (yes, before no).
Pain in inevitable, but suffering is optional. Pain is what the world does to you; suffering is what you do to yourself.
Do not complain.
Do not let the expectations of others drive your actions.
Write down everything you would like to achieve.
Create value from scarcity.
Don’t waste this day.
Seek ground truth and poke reality.
Risks are less risky than you think.
Put yourself in environments where you have to perform to your utmost.
High integrity. The shortcuts aren’t worth it.
Know your triggers.
Be specific.
“The world is a museum of passion projects.”

…. (life in progress)