Rules for Life

  1. Do hard things. Train yourself to become more resilient.
  2. Don’t procrastinate. Learn 80% of what you need, then take action on what you learned. Having knowledge but not acting on it is just as bad as not having the knowledge in the first place (being ignorant). If anything, it’s worse than being ignorant. Because now you have you knowledge, but haven’t done anything with it.
  3. Build a strong body so that you can have a stronger mind. They go hand-in-hand. Work out or move daily and it will improve your mental capacity.
  4. Treat others with respect, even if you disagree with them. It says a lot about who you are if you are able to treat others right, despite your differing viewpoints.
  5. Don’t boo…whoever you are booing is a person too. And whatever you’re booing them for, they probably already are beating themselves up for it. It’s not like they are trying to mess up.
  6. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. If you feel bad about something, find the root cause of this feeling and find a way to make a correction.
  7. Be curious. You’ll go much further in life if you are a lifelong learner.
  8. Forgive others. Life is too short to hold grudges.
  9. Do not judge others. You have no idea what they’ve experienced or what is currently going on in their lives.
  10. Seek to understand others, but don’t be afraid to challenge them if something doesn’t make sense to you.
  11. Pick your battles. Don’t challenge others for challenge’s sake…you will make enemies quickly if you do that.
  12. Understand that everything that you choose to do in life comes with a trade off…want to skip that workout? That’s fine, but don’t be upset if someone else is stronger than you or in better shape. Want to go out to eat? Cool. But don’t complain about not having enough money or having an expanding wasteline. Want to take that student loan? Great. Higher education is a wonderful thing. But don’t complain about the payments…someone let you borrow money for something that you couldn’t afford. Don’t be mad when they ask you to pay it back.
  13. Take extreme ownership of your decisions. It’s nobody else’s fault but your own.
  14. Do not have false idols. Money, fame, sex, politics, religion, or anything else should not be put on a pedestal.
  15. Honor your mother and father (and respect your elders).
  16. Tell the truth. Don’t obscure the truth through facts.
  17. Don’t be envious or greedy. They are ugly character traits.
  18. Be proactive, not reactive. Try to think of all possible outcomes (good or bad) and influence the outcome to be in your favor.
  19. Begin with the end in mind. If you don’t have a goal, do you think that you’ll get there? How can you get somewhere if you don’t know where you’re going? Make sure that you are setting S.M.A.R.T. goals.
  20. Put first things first. Refer to the Eisenhower Matrix. There are four quadrants…Quadrant 1 – Important and urgent. Do these things first. Quadrant 2 – Important and not urgent. Put a plan in place to tackle these. Quadrant 3 – Urgent but not important. Delegate these. Spend your time focusing on the bigger items (quadrants 1 and 2), and delegate these urgent items to an assistant. Quadrant 4 – Not urgent and not important. Eliminate these. Don’t waste your time or your assistant’s time with these. You have bigger fish to fry.
  21. Sharpen the saw…if you try to saw down a tree with a dull blade, it will take a long time, a lot of effort, and a lot of frustration. But if you take the time to sharpen the saw, it will cut down the tree much easier. The same can be said with skills and activities in your life. You need to work on improving yourself (reading, writing, exercising, eating the right foods, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and surrounding yourself with positive people). Get 1% better (or incrementally better) every day.
  22. Praise in public, criticize in private. Pick and choose when and what to criticize…do not be critical of someone in front of others, as this tears down their self esteem. Pick what you are critical of too. Let the trivial things go. If you nitpick every little detail, your words will eventually fall on deaf ears. But if you only are critical about things that matter, you will be heard more often.
  23. If coaching others, be sure to bring up your past and how you’ve made similar mistakes as well. This will help that person be more receptive to what you’re saying. It will also show them that they aren’t “dumb,” but that this (just like everything else in life) has a learning curve.
  24. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Be grateful. Tell those who are doing a great job that they are doing so, and give specific examples of what they are doing well so it doesn’t seem fake.
  25. Smile. Life is good. Happiness is not a state on the map, it’s a state of mind. You have the power to be happy by changing your attitude.
  26. Be a good listener. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen twice as much as you talk and when you do speak, do not waste words. Be clear and concise.
  27. Encourage others to talk about themselves and always remember to use their name.
  28. Think big picture about how this can be a “win-win” situation for you and whomever you’re dealing with. It should not be an adversarial interaction. You can shear a sheep many times, but can only skin it once.
  29. Avoid arguments, unless needed. Sometimes a healthy argument is needed. But when arguing, stick to the facts and the situation at hand. Do not bring up actions from the past or name-calling. Do not argue over trivial matters, but only on things that actually mean something to you.
  30. If you’re wrong (and everyone will be wrong from time to time), admit it quickly and directly. Don’t beat around the bush. It will garner you more respect if you own up to your mistakes (something which is done less and less these days). And make sure you actually give a real apology when necessary.
  31. Be empathetic, not sympathetic. Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Try to understand where they’re coming from. Don’t just show them pity (sympathy).
  32. Ask questions instead of giving orders. If you can ask someone a question and get them to give you the answer you want, it is far more likely to be done than if you just tell them what to do. If it is coming from them, they often will feel better about doing that particular task.
  33. Have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. You may have certain qualities right now, but that doesn’t mean that you’re “stuck” there. Everyone has to start somewhere.
  34. Default aggressive. Don’t sit around and be passive. Have a goal, figure out how to get there, and take action.
  35. The 1% rule (Kaizen Method). Put in the work…you have to practice everyday. Grow or die slowly. You’re either getting better or getting worse. There is no equilibrium.
  36. Pareto’s principle (80/20 rule)…80% of your problems come from 20% of your customers. 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers.
  37. Be the hero of your own life/your own story. Do what is right, always. Be proud of the actions you take (especially in difficult times).
  38. Be a man (or woman) of your word. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Treat it as a contract. If you do not fulfill your contract/keep your promise, you tarnish your reputation.
  39. Stand up against bullies. Even if you are not the one being bullied, fight for those who are.
  40. Adapt and overcome. Persist. When others are showing weakness, show your strength. Smile when you are tired. If someone is throwing insults your way, do not show that they affect you. Remain calm in the face of danger. You are playing a mind game…One with yourself and one with others.
  41. Be the “glue guy (or girl)” for your team. Put the team first. Do the things that others don’t want to, or can’t, do. Sure, being a great scorer gets all the attention, but if you can be a shutdown defender, you’ll always have a spot on the team. Be so good that they can’t ignore you.
  42. Failure is a part of life. Press on. Move forward. How can you improve on your efforts to help increase your chances of success next time?
  43. Just because you disagree with someone on a subject doesn’t mean that they’re a bad person or that you can’t be friends. It just means that you feel a different way than them. That’s ok. Don’t get bent out of shape about it.
  44. Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. The world is limited on space and resources. Don’t waste them and don’t pollute our planet.
  45. Callous your mind. Build an unbreakable mind and you can do anything. Your mind is your strongest tool. Don’t let defeat get you down.
  46. Speak clearly. Speak loudly. Speak confidently.
  47. Don’t get complacent. If you’ve worked hard to get to where you’re at, don’t coast. Realize that there is always going to be someone hungrier than you, willing to do things that you used to do, but grew tired of. Always have a goal in mind.
  48. Never think “I can’t.” Think “how can I?”
  49. Practice patience. This is true in all areas of life, but especially if you want to be a good leader/teacher. Not everyone learns by the same medium or at the same rate. You must use a blend of tactics to be the best leader that you can be. There is a balance of encouraging them and of providing them with constructive criticism. You must give them the freedom to make reversible mistakes on their own, not micromanaging their every decision. At the same time, step in before a situation gets out of control. If you are frustrated with them, you must find the balance of letting them know what is frustrating you, but doing so in a way that doesn’t paralyze them or make them fearful of making the wrong decision. As a leader/teacher, you should be respected, not feared. To build respect, you must treat others right, say the right things, and do the right things.
  50. Seek progress, not perfection. Nothing will ever be perfect. If you hold everything to the standard of perfection, you will always be disappointed. Strive to get better – that’s all you can ask for.
  51. Minimize negative self talk. What you tell yourself is what you come to believe. Take ownership/accountability of what happens in your life, but don’t beat yourself up about it.