Learnings at 25

June 18, 2024

Professional

Bet your career on an industry or technology.
If you get your career on the once in generational technology, it's possible to fail upwards.
Most people are mimetic, including me. Recognise this and bet where you believe true contrarian thinkers to be right.
Interesting people don't speak the most. They typically exist in non-conformist parts of the internet or academia. They will likely not be at mixers or "events". If they are, they are usually quiet and not the centre of social groups.
Discipline is a competitive advantage directionally. Being disciplined at non values-accretive tasks is useless. Discipline needs to be applied directionally.
Timeframes are a competitive advantage. Most people over-estimate what happens in a year and underestimate what happens in 10 years. Thinking in longer timeframes changes your decision making frameworks and allows you to make better long terms bets.
Momentum matters. That doesn't mean it needs to be easy but you need to believe there is a route out of hardship and towards growth.
Being an entrepreneur is the most sure way to make life changing amounts of money.
Ideas are abundant, not scarce. As a result, don't be overly protective of ideas. Develop a framework of stress testing to quickly understand their quality.
Action speaks louder than words. Don't tell people you are great, show them.
Chips on shoulders lead to chips in pockets. Don't loose your trauma but equally dont let it control you. Develop the ability to harness it.
Be competitive. Winning matters and you need to want it.
Hard work is overrated. Most people aren't honest with themselves about how productive they are in a day, spending time and energy in non-important tasks. Most people aren't elon musk. Recognise this and design your day accordingly.
Work in sprints. High intensity directed at one thing.
Emotion matters. Human beings feel. Building something that changes an industry or the world requires you to make people feel something.
Failure is overrated and fetishised. Get up, go again and avoid it at all costs.
Play games where you have a competitive advantage. The bet big.
Loosing and starting again is not as bad as you think it is.
When investing early stage, back people over ideas.
Saying no is usually more important than saying yes. No is a function of honing focus. Focus is very important when building a company.
Maximise your surface area for luck.

Personal

Exercise and diet is a way to hone discipline.
Most illness can be cured or prevented by your lifestyle. Most people think they are an improbable victim of disease or illness so don't act accordingly.
Choose your friends. Most peoples friendships come from geographical or situational proximity. This can mean you have low quality friends. High quality friendships is a strong forward indicator of a fulfilled and happy life.
It is likely the case that you should do what you are most scared of.
Having coaches and mentors are a functions for accountability.
Social media destroys your ability to think clearly and follow a train of thought.
Think in logic, speak in stories.
Develop a willingness or desire to be bad at something publically. So many people don't get started because they don't have the courage to be bad at something.
Most stress is downstream of an unknown outcome. The second the outcome is defined or observed to be not that bad, stress goes.
You can manifest the life you want into existence. People underestimate just believing in something.
Self-assurance is at the centre of stillness, humility and worth. Stillness because being unflappable shows knowledge of self. Humility because acknowledging your imperfections shows your aren't hiding anything. Worthiness because there is nothing to be assured of without it.
People consistently underestimate the amount of agency they have over the world and their lives.
Be of service. This means to deliver value to other humans to your own detriment. Fulfilment is down stream of this.