68 life tips from a 68-year-old futurist writer

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Sharp observations and witty remarks that will inspire you, make you think or just smile.

I'm 68. I feel it's time to sit in a rocking chair and give advice to young people. Therefore, here are my 68 short unsolicited instructions as a gift to you.

1. Learn to learn from those with whom you disagree, or even from those who offend you in some way. See if you can find the truth in what they believe.

2. Enthusiasm is equivalent to 25 IQ points.

3. Always ask for a deadline. It helps to weed out the unnecessary and ordinary. And it protects against trying to do everything perfectly, so you have to do everything differently. And this is better.

4. Don't be afraid to ask a question that might sound silly. 99% of the time, everyone else thinks about it, but is too shy to say it.

5. The ability to listen well is a superpower. When listening to someone you love, keep asking, "Can you tell me more?" - until the details end.

6. A worthy goal for a year is to learn so much about a subject that you can't even believe how ignorant you were a year ago.

7. Gratitude is the key to all other virtues and can be trained.

8. Treat people, it always works, and it's very easy to do. Doing so helps keep in touch with old friends and is great for making new ones.

9. Don't trust all-purpose glue.

10. Reading aloud to children regularly will strengthen the bond between you and give them a boost to develop their imaginations.

11. Never use a credit card to take out a loan. The only valid case is the purchase of something whose exchange value is likely to increase, such as a house. The exchange value of most things decreases or disappears completely as soon as you buy them.

12. Professionals are amateurs who know how to recover from their mistakes with dignity.

13. To be believed, extraordinary claims must have extraordinary evidence.

14. Don't be the smartest person in the room. Chat with those who are smarter than you and learn from them. Better yet, find smart people who disagree with you.

15. Use the rule of three in your conversation. To get to the bottom of it, ask the other person to explain in more depth what they said. And so twice more. The third answer will be close to the truth.

16. Don't be the best. Be the only one.

17. We are all shy. People around you are waiting for you to introduce yourself, send a message, ask you out on a date. Take action.

18. When someone turns you down, don't take it personally. Assume that other people are just like you: busy and overwhelmed. Please try again later. You will be surprised how often the second attempt works.

19. The purpose of a habit is to exclude negotiations with oneself before any action. This eliminates the need to waste energy deciding whether to accomplish something or not. You just do. Good habits range from "flossing" to "telling the truth."

20. Promptness is a sign of respect.

21. While young, live half a year or a year as poorly as possible, owning as few things as possible, eating beans and rice in a small room to experience what your worst lifestyle could be. Then you will no longer be afraid of him if you have to take risks in the future.

22. Believe me, there are no “them” opposite to “us”.

23. The more you are interested in others, the more interesting you are to them. So be interested.

24. Be generous. Hardly anyone on their deathbed regretted giving too much.

25. To do something well, just do it. To do something great, rework, rework, rework.

26. The golden rule of morality: not to cause others what you do not want for yourself, and to act as you would like to be treated with you, will never fail. This is the foundation of all other virtues.

27. When you have been looking for something at home for a long time and finally found it, do not put it after use in the place where you found it. Put it where you looked first.

28. Saving and investing money are good habits. If you regularly invest small amounts for decades, you can come to prosperity.

29. People tend to make mistakes, but we are in no hurry to admit it. But nothing elevates a person more than the ability to quickly understand a mistake and take responsibility for it, and then honestly correct it. This gives amazing power.

30. Never get involved in something that you can not afford.

31. You can focus on how to best serve your customers or audience, or you can focus on how to beat the competition. Both approaches work, but the first will take you further.

32. Come and be reminded of yourself. Keep going over and over. As someone successful said, 99% of success depends on it.

33. Separate the creation and improvement processes. You can't write and edit, sculpt and polish, create and analyze at the same time. First, you need to release the mind of the creator at will, without evaluating, otherwise the editor will slow him down.

34. If you periodically do not fail, it means that you are not particularly trying to succeed and are following the knurled path.

35. Perhaps the most contradicting common sense is the truth that the more you give to others, the more you yourself will receive. Understanding this is the beginning of wisdom.

36. Friends are better than money. Almost everything money can do, friends can do better. In many ways, having a friend with a boat is cooler than owning a boat yourself.

37. It's hard to cheat an honest person.

38. The lost thing in 95% of cases is within arm's length from the place where it was last seen. Check all possible points in this radius - and you will find missing.

39. You are what you do. Not what you say, not what you believe in, not how you vote. And what you invest your time in.

40. If you have lost or forgot to take a cable or charger with you on a trip, do not buy it, but ask the hotel. Most of them have whole boxes of such things left by other guests.

41. Hate is a curse that does not affect those who are hated. It only poisons the one who hates himself. Treat grievances as poison and let them go.

42. Not everyone is gifted with talent, but you can endlessly improve what you started with.

43. Be prepared: when you are 90% completed a large project (house, movie, event), it will take the same amount of time to figure out the remaining little things.

44. When you die, you take nothing with you except your reputation.

45. Before you get old, attend as many funerals as possible and listen. Usually those present are not talking about the achievements of the deceased. People remember more how a person behaved while walking towards his successes.

46. When buying something substantial, be prepared to spend another dollar for every dollar spent on repairs, maintenance and disposal.

47. Any real object and phenomenon began with an invention. Therefore, imagination is the most powerful force in the universe, and also a skill that can be developed. And the only one for whom it is useful to ignore the knowledge of other people.

48. When a crisis or grief hits you, don't waste that experience. There is no progress without problems.

49. When traveling, first go to the most distant point of the route, bypassing large cities. You will get a sharper experience in an unfamiliar place, and on the way back you will already enjoy the city comfort.

50. When you are asked to do something in the future, consider whether you would agree if it happened tomorrow. Few suggestions will pass this test.

51. Don't write about a person in an email that you wouldn't say personally. Sooner or later he will read it.

52. If you are desperate for a job, you are just another problem for the boss. But if you are able to solve the problems that the manager currently has, you will be hired. Therefore, to get a job, think like a leader.

53. The art is in what you don't take into account.

54. Buying things is rarely deeply satisfying. As opposed to acquiring experiences.

55. Use the rule of seven in your research. If the first source you turn to doesn't know the answer, find out who you should ask next. If you're ready to get to the seventh source, you're almost guaranteed to get the information you need.

56. How to apologize: quickly, specifically, sincerely.

57. Never respond to a request or offer made over the phone. This urgency of addressing is a disguise.

58. When someone is rude or mean to you, pretend they are sick. This will make it easier to treat him empathetically, and it will help mitigate the conflict.

59. By getting rid of the trash, you will make room for what you truly value.

60. There is no point in wanting to be famous. Read the biography of any famous person to be sure.

61. Experience is overrated. When looking for someone for a job, assess their ability to get the job done, and then develop skills. Most of the really cool things are created by the people who did them the first time.

62. Vacation + failure = adventure.

63. When buying tools, choose the cheapest first. Then you will change the ones that you often use for better ones.

64. Learn to sleep 20 minutes a day.

65. If you don't know what fascinates you, the advice to follow inspiration can lead to complete paralysis. In youth it is much better to master one thing - anything. Then you can direct your energies to hone your skills in the business that gives you the most pleasure. Gradually, you will discover where your inspiration and happiness are.

66. I am sure that in 100 years much of what I believe to be true will be refuted. Therefore, I am trying very hard today to reveal what I am mistaken about.

67. In the long term, the future is determined by optimists. To be so, it is not necessary to ignore all the problems that a person creates. You just need to imagine how to improve our ability to solve problems.

68. The universe conspires behind your back to make you successful. If you accept this thought, it will be much easier to succeed.