My Life's Operating Principles in 800 Words

Why do we trust other people's voices over our own?

I realized this in 2017 after I caught myself reading another new self-development book. Why not just listen to your own advice I asked myself?

So I did. In an hour sitting, I jotted everything I felt was important that I would want my daughters to consider applying in their own lives. Kind of like my life's operating principles.

I wanted to keep this as simple for my kids and myself. Something I can go back on and read myself. I quickly realized I only needed 800 words. Not a book.

So here is the unedited version from 2017.

I haven't read a self-development book since and life has been pretty damn good.

My lasting message: trust your own voice.

Intro

Life is incredibly short. Let this itself be your only motivation.

Life

Structure your day around three pillars:

1. Being generous. Give.
2. Being better. Grow.
3. Being grateful. Gratitude.

Give. Grow. Gratitude. Do all three in a day; you had a good day.

—

Control your thoughts, control your life.

A mall map taught me everything about life. It shows 3 things.

1. These are all your options.

2. This is the location of all your options.

3. This is where you are.

You need to know all three to make efficient progress. Fill your life with as many stores as you want. What is your life’s mall map?

Don’t strive for comfort, strive for content. To be content you need friction. To climb a mountain, you need an incline. To move a sailboat, you need wind. A sailboat without wind is purposeless. In life, you need perseverance. Grit. Others avoid the wind. Search for the wind (content). Let the friction drive you forward. Don’t settle for comfort.

Prioritize experiences over things.

The three most common obstacles that paralyze action:

1. Not getting clear on what you really want
2. Not loving/believing yourself enough
3. Not experimenting (dabbling) enough

Smile. It’s a powerful tool for happiness. Smile at a stranger. They will smile back. It is an easy tool to remind yourself that you are in control and have an impact on others.

Action is greater than planning. Both are important. Action is where the magic happens. This goes for all aspects in life. Action should dictate planning. Be the one that takes action.

Have strong integrity. Not morals or ethics. But structural integrity. As in, this table in my house is sturdy and has strong integrity. To build strong integrity in yourself it’s simple: keep your word.

Go dabble. Go experience new experiences. People don’t know what they like until they try it. Too many people get paralyzed in finding their passion. Fuck passion. Go dabble. If there is something that you think interests you, go do it this week. Make your mall map as large as you can. Find the location for all the stores you want to go to. Before picking a life destination, go dabble.

Health

Your health is foundational. Prioritize this over everything else. Mental and physical. You can break down all health and fitness books into 7 items:

1. Drink more water than you think
2. Get 7+ hours of sleep every night
3. Sweat 30+ minutes per day
4. Do strength training 3x week
5. Eat a high protein, high fiber, low carb diet
6. Consistency over intensity
7. Meditate 10 minutes per day

Career & Financial

Teach the power of compounding as early as possible. It’s the secret to financial freedom. All financial books can be broken down as:

1. Save early and often
2. Know how much you spend every year
3. Prioritize low-cost index funds
4. Diversify
5. Make as much wealth as you can

Focus your career on what you are good at (skills), what you enjoy (interest), and what is needed (market). If you don’t know what interests you, go dabble.

In your career, just doing your job well is table stakes. Make an impact. Make yourself, team, and your company materially better. This is what a leader does. A leader is someone who prioritizes other people's success over theirs. Be a leader.

There are only 3 ways to make money for any business: sell a product for a higher price, sell a product more frequently, and sell more products. Don’t overcomplicate this.

Fall in love with the problem; not the solution. It’s a flawless business principle that will make you successful. Focus more on your customer's problems; not your company's. It’s amazing how many business leaders miss this in daily action.

A company will be successful if it: solves a compelling problem, for a large market and a management team with the right skills & mindset to make it happen.

Picking a good boss to work for is more important than picking a good company to work for.

Making your immediate boss look great should be your north-star focus when you are beginning your career. It’s a reason this is chapter 1 in Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power.

If you had to build or restructure a business from scratch here is the hierarchy of needs to focus on, in order:

1. Strategic direction - What island are we conquering?
2. Structure - What type of boat do we need?
3. Processes - What do we need to do to run this boat?
4. Team skills - Who do we need to get to this island and operate this boat?

In any form of business communication (email, presentation, keynote presentation, meeting) follow this recipe to be successful:

1. Tell them what you are going to say
2. Say it
3. Tell them what you said

Hire for curiosity and grit. Skills are secondary and will come naturally. Three skills that you need to master in this new world to take your career to the next level:

1. Storytelling
2. Project / change management
3. How to learn

Closing

Life is short. Go dabble.