18 Bite-Sized Lessons to Improve Your Life in 90 Seconds

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[1/18] Life is not fair. No one gets to choose their parents, country, first language, genetics, etc. You can wish this wasn’t true and be an idealist, or you can be a realist and work with it. You don’t choose where you come from but you can choose where you end up.

[2/18] The moment you become an adult is when you take full responsibility for yourself and realize no one is coming to save you. Age is irrelevant. The rare teenager finds this out the hard way, and an unfortunate amount of “adults” haven’t learned it. Carry your weight.

[3/18] This is mostly a single-player game. Friends, family, partners, community - all important. A shared life is best and no one is an island. But you will be alone with your own thoughts a lot. Be careful what you say to yourself because you are always listening.

[4/18] If you're not where you want to be, you’re probably failing the marshmallow test. Constant dopamine and pleasure-seeking will mess up your brain’s reward system. Focus, delayed gratification and consistency are what wins long-term. This will never change.

[5/18] If you can control your emotions, self-motivate, and don’t seek approval or need external validation, you're a dangerous 1% unicorn, and the world will bend for you. Self-reliance is a superpower.

[6/18] There are probably less than 5 people on the planet that truly, deeply, and altruistically want to see you succeed. I think I’m being generous here. If you find them, keep them around. In their absence, clap for yourself.

[7/18] Don’t depend on luck, but do increase your surface area towards opportunity. Spend 90% of your time doing your thing, and 10% of your time outside your box - networking, exploring, learning obscure things, talking to strangers. These things can pay dividends later.

[8/18] If you’re evolving, you will regularly feel like an impostor. As you move into new territory, you’re moving previous unknown-unknowns into the realm of known-unknowns. It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect and you’re probably underestimating yourself.

[9/18] If your ego can stomach it, the absolute fastest way to level up is to get around people who are as far ahead of you as possible.

[10/18] While I don’t wish these upon anyone, if you have experienced suffering in any flavor: bankruptcy, divorce, anxiety, depression, illness, addiction, abuse, etc. - that chip on your shoulder can be one of your biggest assets. Use it and be thankful for the fuel.

[11/18] Despite the seriousness of this rant - don’t forget to play. Joke, troll, poke fun at things, laugh at how absurd some things are. If you can find a way to laugh when you’re down and out, you’re still winning.

[12/18] If you can’t explain something simply in 1-2 sentences, you probably don’t understand it. And when you don’t understand something, say “I don’t know.” This honesty is appreciated far more than you think. Few people do this. Again, ego.

[13/18] Everyone loves to give advice but few are qualified. In today’s age, the problem isn’t lack of info but the inverse. A lot will depend on your ability to find, sift and sort sources - both people and digital. Vague, but strengthen your intuition. It’s a muscle.

[14/18] On the topic of information, learning is important but it has diminishing returns on results. After a certain threshold, it is info-addiction and fear of failure masqueraded as productivity. Don’t get a PhD in doing. Just do it. Action alleviates anxiety.

[15/18] “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” Charlie Munger nailed this. In conjunction with general human behavior, this quote will help you understand a lot of seemingly bizarre and illogical actions, events, and outcomes.

[16/18] Conversely, not everything needs to be understood. Human beings have an insatiable need to make sense of everything and close all open loops. Give yourself permission on occasion to mentally shrug and just move on. Gamechanger.

[17/18] You’re gonna die. Take risks and shoot shots. There’s risk in everything, even in playing it safe. Nothing is certain so you might as well just go for it. No one is going to judge you more harshly than yourself. You’re not that important.

[18/18] All ceilings are made of glass. You’re capable of way more than you think you are. 1 year can change everything.

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