31 ideas that changed my life

1. Circle of Influence vs Circle of Concern

There are lots of things that concern us. The trick is to focus on things we can actually influence.

2. The Eisenhower Matrix

We’re all busy. But are we busy with tasks that matter? Are we scheduling our priorities, or are we caught up in the thick of thin things? The most effective people spend time on tasks that are important, but not urgent.

3. Parkinson’s Law

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

4. The law of averages

We are the average of the five people we associate with the most.

5. Hell yeah! Or no.

When we say no more often, we make room for more hell yeahs.

6. Low-information diets

I used to follow the news. I don’t anymore.

7. First sentence jobs vs. second sentence jobs

The first sentence answers “What do you do?” And the second answers “What is your contribution?” The second sentence is more important.

8. We’ll see

The Story of the Chinese Farmer - a Zen fable.

9. Strings of yes

Calm minds, fit bodies, and homes full of love require enduring commitment.

10. Postel’s Law

Be liberal in what we accept. Be conservative in what we send. Postel’s Law was written for software, but it’s bigger than software.

11. Quality Time vs. Quantity Time

At work, the quality of our time matters. But at home, the quantity of our time matters.

12. Listening to understand

We too often begin formulating a response while another person is still talking.

13. Everyone’s life is harder than it looks.

We shouldn’t compare our insides to other people’s outsides. Real life is meandering and messy.

14. Be interested. Not interesting.

We think we’ll be liked, maybe even loved, if we accomplish the right things. But it’s not that complicated. We don’t have to be interesting.

Just interested.

15. Work-life harmony

Balance is good. But harmony is better. We thrive when our job gives life to our other priorities.

16. Doubt as a tool

Doubt and belief are a package deal. And the deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure.

17. Emotional bank accounts

Teams that trust each other perform better. When our emotional bank account balance with someone else is high, trust rises. When it’s low, trust drops.

18. Retirement today

Retirement doesn’t have to be golf and 4:00pm dinners. It can be whenever we reach the point in our lives and careers where we stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow.

19. The Dunning-Kruger effect

We can assume we’re below average at a given skill. Because if we assume we’re below average, we listen more. Observe more. Value the opinions and observations of others more. We approach our interactions with more humility.

20. Good rules

If we’re in a position of authority, we should have rules. But we should remember the people we’re leading will more easily trust our rules if they lead to wins. And if we’re going to expect others to follow our rules, we must follow the rules ourselves.

21. Work that endures

We should do good work and create things. Just for the sake of creating them. Because we just might create something that endures and survives us… without ever knowing.

22. Authenticity as a virtue

Authenticity, the virtue, doesn’t mean letting our words and actions be controlled by our internal monologue and impulses. It means guarding our words and actions so they align with our values and principles.

23. The value of tradition

Science and logic and mathematics are powerful, unmatched, tools for advancing human knowledge. But they don’t effectively pass wisdom from one generation to the next. Honoring good traditions helps us reap the benefits of experiential intuition without the experience of falling.

24. Tackle the problem, not the person

People mess up sometimes. It’s the manager’s job to prevent messes from happening again. The best way to do that is to tackle the problem. Not the person.

25. Following through on small commitments

Following through on small commitments strengthens our commitment muscles. And our relationships. And makes us more likely to follow through on big commitments too.

26. Recent ≠ better

If we’re going to read anything that has withstood the test of time, we’re going to have to seek it out. It’s unlikely to show up on our social media feeds.

27. Idea doubt vs. self doubt

Any time we’re creating something new, it’s inevitable that doubt will creep in. Doubt is part of the creative process. But not all doubt is created equal. There’s idea doubt. And then there’s self doubt. The best original thinkers have lots of idea doubt. But avoid self doubt.

28. We are the stories we tell ourselves

Most of us aren’t aware it’s happening, but we’re constantly filtering external stimuli through the stories we tell ourselves. Our stories impact our decisions, habits, emotions and relationships. If we don’t like one of our stories, we can consider an alternative telling.

29. Kindness has unlimited upside

Paying someone a compliment costs next to nothing. Zero dollars. Almost no investment of time or energy. We sometimes think nice things about other people. When we think nice things, we should say them more often.

30. Big ideas

Ideas change the world. And in every generation, they’re born in the minds of people like us. But the people who come up with big ideas that change the world don’t know at first that they have a big idea that will change the world.

31. Excellence is the next 5 minutes

Excellence isn’t a far off destination. Excellence is the next 5 minutes. Or nothing at all.