Success makes many people go crazy. Your ego can make or break you. Stay humble as you win. Remember: this can all end overnight. So act as if you’ll fail, or still can, to keep your humility.
Rudeness is a sign of ego. It’s also a sign of an a-hole. Stay away from people who disrespect service workers. Cooks, cleaners, waiters, etc., are doing the best they can (and even if they aren’t), shouting at them as if they’re slaves still makes you the lowest form of human on the planet.
Assume everyone is imperfect to not be disappointed. Stop getting outraged by celebrities or the people you put on pedestals. People in high places are no better than the rest of us. They face the same temptations as us, and they’re guaranteed to screw up. It’s what a person does when they screw up and how they bounce back that counts.
Taking things for granted is a slow demise into madness. Be grateful. If you’re grateful for nothing, you have nothing in life. Nine times out of ten, you have more than you realize. Once that reality hits, then you can share what you’re grateful for with others. That’s where next-level growth is found.
Life is you versus who you were 12 months ago. All other competition is bull***t. Stop comparing yourself to others. You’re not them, and they’re definitely not you. Measure progress in life-based on who you were 12 months ago versus now.
Stay learning and self-educating. If how you think today is how you thought two years ago, you should be embarrassed. You haven’t grown enough. I occasionally read some of my very first posts. The stuff from 2017 makes me flinch. That’s a sign of research and learning. What you know now will look stupid in a year if you self-educate.
When tragedy strikes, and you go quiet, the people who reach out are your true friends. I can count on two hands the people that showed up when I faced the biggest loss of my life, lost loads of money, or faced dark mental illness. See who picks up the phone to call on your darkest days. Take note. They’re your real friends. Invest in those friendships and understand the rest are acquaintances.
Real relationships are built with small talk. Don’t network or seek to “do business.” Start conversations and embrace small talk. It’s the personal conversations that lead to business conversations. Not the other way around. Trust me, I landed this interview with a Forbes30under30 founder by starting with small talk…
Every conversation in a DM is a potential opportunity that’s not obvious. Don’t send “hi” messages like you’re in high school. Direct messages on platforms such as LinkedIn & Twitter can change the trajectory of your life.
Talk to people like the serious, intelligent, thoughtful person you are, and eventually, a few of those conversations will produce opportunities you can’t apply for via a job ad.
The person we lie to the most is ourselves. Good lies remove imposter syndrome. Bad lies make us take dumb risks.
A risk that can’t bankrupt you is a good one. Make your life a series of small bets. One might work. Take enough well-calculated risks and a handful of investments will pay off.
When you stop having big dreams, that’s when you’ve died, despite not being buried yet. There are alive people and dead people that walk this earth.
Last but not least, your life can completely change in a year.
