Rule 9: Get Rid of the Crappy Stuff

"Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff." ~ Steve Jobs

Many people spend their time on the wrong stuff and the wrong people, waste precious moments and then complain about their lives. 

Where do you spend your time?  

Is it on things and with people you love?  Is it on things that bring you a short term high (consumable pursuits)?

Or things that bring you perhaps less immediate gratification, but build a life of long-term fulfillment (regenerative pursuits.)

We help executives do this with their time and they're always astonished at how much time they spend on crappy stuff.  It's the biggest reason people don't get ahead in life or in work.  The same is true for companies.  Famously, upon his return to a floudering Apple, Steve Jobs cut 70% of Apple's products, including the above Newton. Jobs later said that that cutting the Newton allowed Apple to do the IPhone.  What's your Newton and what's your IPhone?

"Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do" ~ Steve Jobs

For both companies and people, the trick is to understand the tradeoffs you're making right now and make them explicit so that you can sacrifice the crappy stuff, focus on the good stuff and not get distracted by every shiny object that seems offer a better deal.  This process is not about sacrificing what you’re giving up, but sacrificing the shackles of indulgence and short-term thinking to get more from what’s important in life.  

“Heaven… is about sacrifice.... It's about giving up the things that basically keep you from feeling.” - Jim Carrey

For instance, it's easy to get a short term high of internet surfing, but would you be better off in the long-term committing to an group activity that brings you less pleasure right off the bat, but fulfills goals and builds your community?

Everything good in life involves tradeoffs.  True dignity and happiness are found in choice and self-control.

"In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves." ~ Harry S Truman

(first time  Steve Jobs, Harry Truman, Jim Carrey and Louis C.K. have all been mentioned in the same article?)

A life lived for continuous instant gratification is an unfulfilled life.  The inability to say no to yourself is an acknowledgement that you’re uncomfortable in your own skin and a symptom of self-loathing.  

"I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal isn't over when I'm full. It's over when I hate myself." - Louis C. K.

The reality is that you can’t enjoy experience every thing in the world in a fulfilling way.  You must be willing to sacrifice your "short term fixes"  and unhealthy relationships for a greater purpose and fulfillment.  

The Ten Rules: Rule 1| Rule 2| Rule 3| Rule 4 | Rule 5 | Rule 6| Rule 7| Rule 8| Rule 9| Rule 10

 10 years ago I finished a small book (14,000 words small) The Ten Secrets: A Father's Last Gift  where I tried to distill collected wisdom from multiple sources into a parable of 10 secrets or rules. These rules were taken from those ideas.

 10 years ago I finished a small book The Ten Secrets: A Father's Last Gift  where I tried to distill collected wisdom from multiple sources into a parable of 10 secrets or rules. These rules were taken from those ideas.