Make friends. It is dangerous to go alone. You heal yourself by helping others. Be kind and serve others. We can do more together than we can do alone.

Find out how you are fucked up. “They fuck you up your mom and dad, they don’t mean to but they do…” You inherited all sorts of bullshit that you don’t even know.

Own your shit and fix it. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better than you were yesterday.

Introspect. If you don’t know what you want, your wants will be decided for you, by people and forces who don’t have your best interests at heart.

Seek to learn & understand everything. It can never be done, but it’s always worth trying.

Learn project management. Everything is a project.

Recognize that your mental models are flawed. Everybody inherits a flawed, imperfect system.

Confront your fears head-on. Most fears are outdated, obsolete, and can be dismantled with a little work.

Indulge your curiosity. Following your nose will lead you to interesting places, and in the process you will become an interesting person.

Develop your taste. Taste is the most precious and important thing in the world. People with great taste create a disproportionate amount of value in the world, but the world we live in disincentivizes the development of taste.

Take notes. Keeping a journal of your own thoughts, ideas and beliefs over time will teach you things about yourself you cannot learn any other way.

Be so prolific you don’t recognize yourself. This is the most effective way to develop your ability to gratify your own taste.

Beware assholes. Learn to identify assholes, and to lead people in coordinating effectively to diminish the costs of their actions. Be careful not to become an asshole yourself.

pagemelt

If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young