Ego is the enemy

Canvas strategy: help yourself by helping others

  1. dont after short term goal (getting credit, earn respect), focus on the long goal
  2. say little, do much
  3. dispose entitlement & feeling of superiority
  4. Example: introduce people who need each other, come up with idea and hand it over personally, do what no one else want to do

Restrain yourself

  1. Our own path, whatever we aspire to, will in some ways be defined by the amount of nonsense we’re willing to deal with
  2. no need to react to each insult/undermine comments/critics
  3. it doesnt matter if the person who say it is incompetent, or if you know better
  4. It doesnt degrade you when others treat you poorly, it degrades them

Get out of your own head

  1. Our thought can convince us that we’re special and deserve to have more so we prefer to stay in it than participating in the actual world. Stop listening to these
  2. Being self conscious in fear of who others might judge you based on your appearance/action is pointless. Everyone is too busy looking after themselves to care much about others.
  3. Don’t live in the haze of the abstract, live with the tangible and real, even if—especially if—it’s uncomfortable. Be part of what’s going on around you. Feast on it, adjust for it.
  4. There’s no one to perform for. There is just work to be done and lessons to be learned, in all that is around us.

make you happier

Hedonic treadmill: no matter what materialistic material you add to your life (bigger house, nicer car, nicer clothes) it doesnt make you happier because as you earn more expectation increased.

  1. Work to minimalize or eliminate things you dont like. For example if you hate being in a traffic, leave earlier.
  2. Exercise. Move. Do activities you prefer (biking/hiking/rock climbing etc)
  3. spare time to explore / play/ do something you want
  4. take vacation -> give yourself mental reset. Doenst have to be big, just to get you out of your normal routine
  5. dont chase vanity metrics (numbers) on social media. Focus on face to face interaction.

Things to remember

1 TAKE OWNERSHIP – Take responsibility for your life – blame noone but yourself.

2 ACCEPT FAILURE – Making mistakes is a key part of success.

3 WHAT YOU DO AT 8PM MATTERS – Time to plan your future – make sure what you do (till midnight) aligns with the goals that you have.

4 SUCCESS IS A LONELY ROAD, WHILE FAILURE IS A CROWDED HIGHWAY – Some of your greatest accomplishments will be done alone.

5 THE LAST 10% IS THE HARDEST. FINISH IT. – It’s the last 10% that brings a project home, that gets you the impact.

6 KNOW WHY YOU WANT IT. – You need to understand for yourself why you need to do something – that is going to help you do your best work.

7 CONTINUOUS LEARN. – Investing in your own learning is one of the best investments that you can make.