Principles to live by

Don’t be afraid to ask questions; not asking questions results only in your loss.

Walk away; every battle is not worth fighting and you won’t win the war.

Identify and cut off hazardous relationships. You are better off.

Read. Read. Read. Read all the time. 

Take a risk: Start a company; take a risk; don’t be afraid (like me).

Learn how not to give a f***. You’ll be way better off in the long run.

Live under your means; things wont give you any happiness. Learn the art of compounding.

Invest in yourself; expect no one else to and don’t be pissed off when they don’t.

Know your close friends; and its likely no more than 3-5. Your close friends are those who’ll ask you how you are and help you selflessly with no questions asked when things are bad.

Be happy with the things you have rather than unhappy with the things you don’t; tangentially don’t buy things to impress other people buy them for yourself.

Karma will get you so whatever you do to others remember it will come back to you.

When someone tells you that “you can’t” politely tell them to f*** off. 

Learn how to handle your emotions. Don’t take the anger you have on one person out on another person.

Let what you eat be your medicine. Nature may not have the cure but it sure does have the prevention.

Try to piece together second and third order consequences and use principles such as this list.

Do what you say you’re going to do. 

Don’t take other people’s time for granted.

Seek long-term games with long-term people (Naval Ravikant) .

If you do choose to do something, put your heart into it with no expectations.

Assume ignorance, not malice – give people the benefit of the doubt. Envy, hatred, jealousy, anger are simply acids that eat away at the container they’re kept in.

The only things that matter are health, family, friends, work, community service, spiritual development, personal development,

Be very aware of who/what brings or detracts energy.

Quality > Quantity – whether in things, thoughts, relationships, etc.  (minus buffets) 

Long, uninterrupted periods of time are key to make progress in challenging pursuits. Find a way to focus on things that will help you progress.

Richard Hamming’s Trifecta – what are the most important problems in your field? Are you working on them? If not, why not? What can you do about it?

Simply doing the hard work upfront is actually less work than trying to find ways around it. In the same vein, face your problems head on.

Sharing knowledge compounds it and teaching helps you learn it even better.

Writing clearly = thinking clearly (Paul Graham). Try to write more.

You never know what someone is battling – let this thought lead you by the hand towards patience and empathy .

Find and pursue your IKIGAI like your life depends on it. Your life does depend on it.

Problems are easy to find; solutions are harder. It’s easy to find flaws in someone’s solution but hard to come up with a better solution.

Intelligence is not knowing everything. Its knowing that you don’t know everything , acknowledging it, and learning.

Most people don’t give a sh*t what you do. So do what you need to do.

Not everything that can be measured matters, and not everything that matters can be measured"

Goodhart’s Law: ‘When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.' Giant systems will always ‘juke the stats. The internet will not only transform school, it also for all intents and purposes renders it moot.

Be careful while choosing a job; consider EVERYTHING about the job. Yes its easy to leave but complacence can set it and make you feel miserable a whole 3rd of your life

Now and then, break out the fancy china and drink the good wine for no reason at all.

Dance at weddings until your feet are sore.

Tell your partner you love them every night before falling asleep. Someday you’ll find the other side of the bed empty and wish you could.

Don’t fear sadness, as it tends to sit right next to love.

Treat your body like a house you have to live in for another 70 years.

Never raise your voice, except for at a ballgame.

Do one good deed every single day, but never tell anyone about it.

Time doesn't heal anything when it comes to relationships. Don't delay difficult conversations.

Find the things that make your eyes light up. Do more of those.

Always remind yourself that your track record for making it through your bad days is perfect.

If something has a minor issue, repair it. Minor issues become major issues over time. Applies equally to love, friendships, health, and home.

The most damning lie you can tell is the lie you tell to yourself.

No one has ever argued their way to happiness.

If you’re going to lose a fight, make sure the other person thinks twice before fighting you again.

Getting old is no picnic, but it's much better than the alternative.

You may occasionally disappoint others, but make sure to never disappoint yourself.

Never let a good friendship atrophy. Send the text, make the call, plan the trip. Good friendships must be treasured.

When you meet someone, look them in the eye, give a firm handshake, and call them by their name.

Give everybody a second chance, but never a third.

The "good old days" are always happening right now.

Whenever you hug someone, make sure they are the one to let go first.

If it's raining on a warm summer evening, go outside and dance in it.

Taking no risk is the biggest risk you can take. Regret from inaction is always more painful than regret from action.

It doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be wonderful.

Stop trying to change people who don’t want to be changed.

Looking presentable is a matter of self-respect.

When you’re feeling down, smile at yourself in the mirror for a full minute.

Travel as much as you can. Collect one token from every trip to remember it by.

If there's something bothering you, ask yourself whether it will matter in one month. If not, let it go right now.

When in doubt, love. We can always use more love.

Whatever the problem, its always much smaller than it appears to be in that very moment (with the exception of a serious disease)