I was struck recently reading a new book realizing that really I am asking the same question every time I pick up a new title
“How do I have better or more…
- Health
- Sex
- Finances
- Success
- Relationships
- Career
The truth is that the answers are relatively the same from book-to-book.
The problem is that they are so damn hard to live by.
Check ’em out and see which one’s you’d take and which one’s you’d leave. I’m not claiming this is a complete list.
These 99 fell out of me into my journal on an airplane ride.
- Show up consistently and do the work.
- Work on what you love.
- Don’t do it to pursue fame.
- Don’t neglect your relationships.
- Don’t be an asshole.
- Duck tape fixes almost anything.
- Be generous.
- Don’t give up, but be ready to revise at any moment.
- Don’t hire someone that you wouldn’t want to be stuck with for a twelve-hour car ride through a snowstorm.
10. Don’t dip your quill in company ink.
11. Rest one day a week.
12. Don’t self promote.
13. Help others achieve their goals.
14. Spend less money than you make.
15. Be willing to do with less sleep in order to pursue your dreams.
16. If you want to feel good at 80, you better start doing something about it at age 40.
17. Enjoy the wife of your youth. Don’t upgrade her after she cranks out three kids and gains three dress sizes.
18. Write down your goals and stare at them everyday.
19. Don’t check your email 200 times a day.
20. Listen attentively to others.
21. Risk doing more work than is required or asked.
22. Professionalism is a choice, not a personality trait.
23. Self-respect and dignity are easy to ignore, but difficult to regain.
24. Don’t pursue a career in hopes of your family waiting for you to “succeed”. Your victory party may be pretty lonely.
25. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
26. Practice, practice, practice.
27. Ask advice of other’s who have done it before.
28. Surround yourself with people smarter than you.
29. Don’t take no for an answer, but know when to back off.
30. Don’t keep saying, “I don’t have time to do that.” Just do it.
31. Your checkbook and your calendar accurately reflect your priorities.
32. Don’t do crappy work and expect showmanship to make up for it.
33. The words that come out of your mouth reveal what you believe.
34. Assume the best in everyone until they prove you wrong.
35. Forgive and forget.
36. Don’t be a passive boss, husband, father, or friend.
37. Better is a patient man than a warrior who takes a city.
38. The best things in life are the hardest to grow and cultivate. Weeds creep in overnight.
39. Pursue adventure more than comfort.
40. Avoid negative people.
41. Ask for help, but don’t be needy.
42. Offer second chances to others.
43. Don’t eat fried food.
44. Pray daily.
45. Don’t assume that someone with a lot of money has fewer problems than you.
46. Courage is not the absence of fear, but action in spite of fear.
47. Don’t take credit for someone else’s work.
48. Do something that scares you.
49. There is a difference between persistence and annoyance. Figure it out.
50. Respect people’s personal space.
51. When you loose, congratulate the winner.
52. Don’t tattoo your face even if you are the former champion of the world.
53. Don’t name your children after a long night of partying.
54. Don’t worry about other people’s problems. Worry about your own.
55. Don’t use credit cards. Don’t live in debt.
56. Auto-draft your savings every month.
57. Watch less TV.
58. Don’t treat your life like a game.
59. Do work that matters.
60. Deal with your past so it does not consume your future.
61. Automate repeatable tasks and focus on producing value instead.
62. Don’t write an email when you are mad.
63. Don’t send bad news over email. Call instead.
64. We teach people how to treat us by what we invite and permit.
65. Pursue adventures and memories instead of buying more stuff.
66. Most of what we believe is impossible is only in our head.
67. Having your ass handed to you will teach you more than ten years of prosperity.
68. Humility is a choice.
69. Do what you’re good at and stop focusing on fixing your weaknesses.
70. Don’t watch the news if you want to remain an optimist.
71. Less is more.
72. Tell the truth the first time.
73. Your kids want your attention not another vacation.
74. Drive used cars.
75. Ask questions.
76. Stay curious.
77. Ask yourself, “What is my motive?”
78. Exercise for 20 minutes every day.
79. Floss.
80. Drink water.
81. Don’t tell someone who just lost his or her job, his or her marriage, his or her child, his or her house, his or her health, or his or her company that you know how they feel. You don’t.
82. Don’t borrow money.
83. Don’t flirt with your married former high school girlfriend over Facebook.
84. Seek first to understand.
85. Don’t put up with bullshit.
86. When you’re the boss, don’t underestimate your influence over your employees. They miss nothing.
87. Bless those who curse you.
88. No one will care about your idea as much as you do.
89. Invest regularly in friendships.
90. Get outside every day.
91. Ask “Why?”
92. Accept correction.
93. Apprentice for as long as possible. Once you’re in charge, you can’t ever go back.
94. Feed the hungry, shelter the cold, and care for single mothers.
95. Create space in your life for quiet.
96. Don’t believe everyone on Facebook is having more fun than you, skinnier than you, funnier than you, has more beautiful houses, children, cars, and vacations than you. It’s only some of the story.
97. Everyone’s lives make more sense in the rear view mirror than as it is happening.
98. Tell your wife, your children, your parents, and your friends that you love them. Don’t assume they know. It needs to be said. They need to hear it.
99. A fulfilling purpose is longer lasting than any amount of sex, fame, fortune, success, vacation, or adventure.
Download the PDF full list here:
