The follow thread popped up on my Twitter feed from Sahil Bloom… my favorites are copied below…
Luck:
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger luck surface area. Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike. It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning.
Optimists:
When choosing who to spend time with, prioritize spending more time with optimists. Pessimists see closed doors. Optimists see open doors—and probably kick down the closed doors along the way. Remember: Pessimists sound smart, optimists get rich.
Gratitude:
When in doubt, choose to show MORE gratitude to the people who have mentored or supported you. Say thank you more. Tell someone you appreciate them. Not just on special occasions—every single day. Lean into gratitude daily and your life will improve.
Invested or Spent:
Time is either invested or spent. Invested time—actions that compound: • Reading • Physical activity • Mindfulness • Relationship building Spent time—actions that don’t. When choosing what to do, prioritize investing time, not spending it..
Feynman:
Complexity and jargon are used to mask a lack of deep understanding. If you can’t explain it to a 5-year-old, you don’t really understand it. If someone uses a lot of complexity and jargon to explain something, they probably don’t understand it.
Young and Old:
Make decisions that your 80-year old self and 10-year-old self would be proud of. Your 80-year-old self cares about the long-term compounding of the decisions of today. Your 10-year-old self reminds you to stay foolish and have some fun along the way.
The Duck Test:
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. You can determine a lot about a person by observing their habitual actions and characteristics. When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time.
Hanlon’s Razor:
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. In assessing someone’s actions, we shouldn’t assume negative intent if there’s a viable alternative explanation—different beliefs, lack of intelligence, incompetence, or ignorance.
Munger’s Opinion Razor:
“I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.” – Charlie Munger Opinions are earned—not owed. If you can’t state state the opposition’s argument clearly, you haven’t earned an opinion..
The Writing Knife Block:
If you’re struggling to understand something, try writing it out. When you write, you expose the gaps that exist in your logic and thinking. Study to fill the gaps. Writing is the ultimate tool to sharpen thinking–use it as a “knife block” for life..
Braggarts:
Truly successful people rarely feel the need to brag about their success. If someone regularly brags about their wealth or success, it’s fair to assume the reality is likely a small fraction of what they claim.
