Today’s my 43rd birthday.
For the past several years I’ve marked each birthday with a post reflecting on things that matter to me and experiences I’ve had up to that point (you can read my previous birthday posts here).
This year, I’d like to share a bunch of things I’ve learned to do to make my life just a little bit easier.
Some relate to work and some to fun, but they’ve all helped me and I hope some of them can help you too.
“Your most important role as a mentor is to help the mentee find what’s missing.”
“Anyone can feel a burst of inspiration, head to the gym, and push themselves for a single workout. That’s maximum speed. We waste a lot of time obsessing over it. How hard was your workout? How motivated are you? How fast are you pushing it? But what if you were to average all of your days in the last month? How many of those days included a workout? How about the last three months? Or the last year? What has your average speed been?”
“The strategic North Star guiding every great startup is a story — not about its team or its products, but about its customer. If that sounds trite, remember that most of the stories leaders traditionally tell — like mission, vision, and positioning statements — are structured as self-centered narratives.”
“Now I am not just less anxious and less addicted to the news, I am more widely informed (though there are some blind spots). And I’m embarrassed about how much free time I have — in two months, I managed to read half a dozen books, took up pottery and (I think) became a more attentive husband and father.”
“No matter what your interests or goals are, you’ll find the podcasts here to help you live a healthier, wealthier, and wiser life.”
“Purchase brands focus on the ‘moments of truth’ that happen before the transaction, such as researching, shopping, and buying the product. By contrast, usage brands focus on the moments of truth that happen after the transaction, whether in delivery, service, education, or sharing.”
“Your road to success as an investor is less likely to hinge on whatever hot stock your friend thinks you should buy ASAP — and depends more on how smart a portfolio you put together today, as well as how you gradually tweak or rebalance it over time.”
“You may tell yourself that you don’t care about the statistics, but tech companies know that when you are forced to see them, it is impossible not to care.”
“Ask ‘What if…’ as often as possible. Ask it of yourself, your collaborators, customers, and audience. Use it to shape what you create, how you create it, and how you present it.”
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