For the last 40 years, I’ve been running experiments. The data set includes 1 person and 40 conclusions*.
1. Every day when you wake up in the morning you have two options – you are either better than who you were yesterday or not. It’s up to you to decide.
2. Find reasons why it will work. If you look for reasons why it won’t, you will ALWAYS find them.
3. Those who criticize the most, are those who do the least. Ignore the naysayers (they are just noise) and get out there and do what you want to do.
4. Spread FIRGUN everywhere you go. It’s fun and generous. Plus it’s free. Wikipedia translates FIRGUN as “genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person”.
5. Share the knowledge. The sun can shine for everyone and believe me when I say no one is stealing your billion dollar start-up idea.
6. Execution is everything. Keep yourself busy with making things a reality.
7. Learn how to ask. You’d be surprised how many people can and want to help you. Besides, resentment/regret are your other options, and these are not good ones.
8. Working out is the best gift you can give to yourself. It’s the cheapest, fastest and healthiest way to feel better instantly as well as for your long term.
9. Don’t listen to stuck ups. Self humor is wonderful, fun and makes us more human.
10. Perseverance is key to success. Everyone wants to be rich, successful and famous, but only a fraction of people are. Those who shine are those who are willing to do the work.
11. No one is going to do the work for you.
12. Gratitude is one of the most important-happiness-encouraging things you should practice. Not only in November.
13. The world is full of talkers. Be a doer, life is harder but also much better this way.
14. Discipline will take you far beyond your imagination.
15. Long-term thinking should lead you in everything you do. Short-term will be satisfying momentarily but won’t take you to the highest peaks.
16. Curiosity is fun. In times where you have the world’s knowledge in the palm of your hand, you should be a constant learner.
17. Kindness is not overrated. Be kind and respectful, even when it’s hard. Especially then.
18. Understand numbers, don’t think of numbers on their own, always put them in perspective. It will help you see the bigger picture with more clarity.
19. Educate yourself thoroughly about the things you talk about.
20. Teaching others makes you better at what you do.
21. Care about the details. It’s god who’s in the details, not the devil.
22. This one goes in particularly for women (because we’re not taught we can and should) – take more risks. It’s scary, but it’s worth it.
23. No regrets, you are who you are today because of everything that happened to you so far. And there are things you will understand only in hindsight.
24. Do things with all of you. Head and heart. The latter is the one people truly feel when they interact with you and they call it passion.
25. Being generous is fulfilling. Ask anyone who ever volunteered in their lives – they will tell you that they received more than they gave.
26. Saying your goals out loud (to others and to as many people as possible) can help you achieve them.
27. The only constant in our world is change. Learn to embrace it.
28. Making resolutions is a habit you should have all year round. Not only in January (also, most people drop them a few weeks after New Year anyhow).
29. Live abroad at least once in your life. It’s one of the most eye, heart and mind opening experiences you will ever have.
30. There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. When it is too good to be true, IT IS too good to be true. Read that again. Especially if you’re young.
31. You’ll make mistakes, it’s painful but inevitable. HOWEVER if you don’t learn the lessons, it was a waste.
32. Trust your intuition as well. Sometimes your head shouts “you can’t give up on this” but the truth is you can and should.
33. Dig, there’s always more than what you see on the surface – in people, in stories, in situations.
34. Concur your ego. You will evolve much faster.
35. Success means sacrifices, at times these will be some of the most important things in your life.
36. There’s never a good time to start. Start now and set deadlines if you want to achieve your goals.
37. You can’t save people from themselves.
38. You might die tomorrow, it’s not a catchphrase, anyone who experienced a sudden loss can tell you – life is too precious to waste it on things like gossip, negativity and excuses.
39. Someone who I deeply love and left the world far too early has told me this when I was a teenager – don’t burn bridges, you have no idea how many more times you will need to cross that same bridge.
40. You are work in progress. I’m writing these words and reflecting on them far better than 5 years ago and far worse than 5 years from now.
The next set of conclusions will be published in 10 years 😊
*For both your personal and professional life; in no particular order;
@chen_hindi I completed 40 trips around the sun on the 4th of March 2023 and during these, I’ve been running experiments. My data set includes one person and forty conclusions, for both personal and professional life, that I wish I’d known when I was in my 20s or 30s. Here they are, in no particular order.