I expect my guiding principles will continue to change over time with new experiences. Thus, I will update this page periodically. 🫡
Last updated: July 2024
Life is hard.
We make 35,0001 decisions every day that ultimately decide the outcomes of our lives. That’s a decision every two and a half seconds(!). Rather than let our subconscious mind make those decisions and run our lives, it is important that we deliberately decide how we make decisions. In doing so, we can live more coherently, and ultimately reach the outcomes we want. Guiding principles are the guardrails that make decision making more coherent, and life less-hard.
My guiding principles
Let the truth guide you
Do the thing that scares you
Exude love
Optimize for the long-term
Let the truth guide you
Rationale
You can’t see the world clearly until you see yourself clearly
Truth leads to coherence leads to fulfillment. Repressing the truth leads to incoherences leads to feeling stuck or incomplete
Sincerity builds trust - you don't actually trust someone who is always painting rosy pictures
Authenticity is the north star
Examples
Impose your true self on the world courageously, even at personal cost
Hiding your true self is taking out a debt that will be repaid in the future one way or another
Connect spiritually, with yourself and a higher power
Find the truth within
Figure out what you must do in life - the hard conversation, the hard decision - and then have the courage to execute on it
Bring awareness to your feelings. Do NOT let things simmer
Understand the things that affect you
Understand why they affect you
Re-teach yourself new beliefs to overcome the negative belief
Lead with honesty, vulnerability, and sincerity. Be radically candid.
Maniacally focus on what you can control. Surrender to all else.
Have the difficult Level 32 conversations early and often
Share feedback compassionately and directly
Say the thing you think cannot be said
Embrace reality and then figure out the best path forward
Remember all the solutions are within you, which is extremely empowering
Avoid victim thinking
Do the thing that scares you
Rationale
Fear is a powerful guiding light
Anything worthwhile is on the other side of fear or difficulty (if it wasn’t hard, you would already have done it!)
Nothing great happens in the comfort zone
The only way out is through
Examples
Take a leap of faith into fear
Feeling fear and going forward anyway is the ultimate form of self love - the reward is discovery of who you are and what you are capable of
Remember there is light on the other side of the darkness
Don’t just be reactive to opportunities, make opportunities happen
Decide what you want, understand the world is malleable, and then impose yourself until you get it
Have the courage to trust your internal compass, your gut instincts
Choose your races wisely. Do less, but better
Exude love
Rationale
You never know the battles someone else is facing, but they are facing them
See sonder: The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own
Humans are social creates and are meant to do good to one another
We are all connected by a higher power. What benefits the individual benefits the whole
Compassion does not come at the cost of fairness. Often the most compassionate thing to do, is helping others see their blindspots
Fairness prioritizes the truth, which is the only way to healthily navigate a world of distraction
Examples
Share compassion to self and others as much as you can
Treat people fairly in all situations
Even when someone wrongs you, be compassionate. Their misstep is not about you but something they are dealing with
Keep a high bar for yourself and others
Win and help others win
Lead with kindness. It is often the most courageous thing you can do
Do right upon family, friends, and everyone beyond. Remember what injures the hive injures the bee
Take in inputs, make decisions rationally
Optimize for the long-term
Rationale
Everything worthwhile in life compounds
Consistency is the most underrated superpower. Ordinary people achieve extraordinary results with consistency
Examples
Be inpatient with input, patient with output
Set clear direction (mission, guiding principles, okrs). Then make progress every day
Be excellent morally and civically everyday
Avoid autopilot, reflect constantly on direction and iterate as needed
Prioritize relationships
Prioritize personal health