Advice for your younger self?
Anyone that knows me knows that I have a very curious mind. A friend and mentor of mine recently had a Birthday. He is almost a decade older than me. I value his opinion greatly so I asked him what advice would he give to his younger self. Some of the responses spoke right to my heart. My hope is that maybe you can take something away from this list as well.
- Establish a meditation practice
- Journal
- Study stoicism and try to incorporate it into your daily life. Live it.
- Figure out the purpose in your life other than work (or at least start working on figuring it out)
- Love your wife for everything that she is. That’s it.
- Be truly present for your wife and kids. Too many times you don’t listen intently to what they’re saying.
- Honor the absent. Gossip is poison for the soul.
- Be more concerned with being kind than being right.
- Just let it go. You can’t control everything and that’s ok. It’s also ok to not be “productive” at times. Just be.
- Be positive. Smile. Even on tough days, you can’t let your frustrations bleed through. Your people will see it, sense it, and draw negative energy from it.
- Stay humble. None of us do this alone. There is no “successful” person that didn’t get help along the way. People follow humble leaders and end up resenting those that aren’t.
- Learn to be a really good listener. Seriously. Quit worrying about what you’re going to say next.
- Be more vulnerable.
- Be very selective in the extracurricular activities you take on. Everything is not an opportunity. Being super busy is not a badge.
- Get rid of possessions. Get debt free as soon as possible. Live in a modest home w/ a small yard.
- Spend more time with your kids and wife.
- Don’t interrupt people when they’re talking. It’s rude and a bad habit. (It drives me nuts when I do this and I still do it!)
- Oh yeah, start running sooner.