Kevin Kelly is the founding Editor of Wired Magazine. Many, including Tim Ferriss, call him The Most Interesting Man in the World. On his 70th birthday he released 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known. These were just a fraction of them that I enjoyed:
– About 99% of the time, the right time is right now.
– Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.
– Forgiveness is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves.
– If your opinions on one subject can be predicted from your opinions on another, you may be in the grip of an ideology. When you truly think for yourself your conclusions will not be predictable.
– Efficiency is highly overrated; Goofing off is highly underrated. Regularly scheduled sabbaths, sabbaticals, vacations, breaks, aimless walks and time off are essential for top performance of any kind. The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic.
– When you lead, your real job is to create more leaders, not more followers.
– Criticize in private, praise in public.
– Your growth as a conscious being is measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have.
– Speak confidently as if you are right, but listen carefully as if you are wrong.
– Denying or deflecting a compliment is rude. Accept it with thanks, even if you believe it is not deserved.
– The consistency of your endeavors (exercise, companionship, work) is more important than the quantity. Nothing beats small things done every day, which is way more important than what you do occasionally.
– When someone tells you about the peak year of human history, the period of time when things were good before things went downhill, it will always be the years of when they were 10 years old — which is the peak of any human’s existence.
– When speaking to an audience it’s better to fix your gaze on a few people than to “spray” your gaze across the room. Your eyes telegraph to others whether you really believe what you are saying.
– Habit is far more dependable than inspiration. Make progress by making habits. Dont focus on getting into shape. Focus on becoming the kind of person who never misses a workout.
– When you have some success, the feeling of being an imposter can be real. Who am I fooling? But when you create things that only you — with your unique talents and experience — can do, then you are absolutely not an imposter. You are the ordained. It is your duty to work on things that only you can do.
– When public speaking, pause frequently. Pause before you say something in a new way, pause after you have said something you believe is important, and pause as a relief to let listeners absorb details.
– Ask anyone you admire: Their lucky breaks happened on a detour from their main goal. So embrace detours. Life is not a straight line for anyone.
– The advantage of a ridiculously ambitious goal is that it sets the bar very high so even in failure it may be a success measured by the ordinary.
– When you don’t know how much to pay someone for a particular task, ask them “what would be fair” and their answer usually is.
– You will be judged on how well you treat those who can do nothing for you.
– You can’t reason someone out of a notion that they didn’t reason themselves into.
– Your best job will be one that you were unqualified for because it stretches you. In fact only apply to jobs you are unqualified for.
– The only productive way to answer “what should I do now?” is to first tackle the question of “who should I become?”
– Purchase the most recent tourist guidebook to your home town or region. You’ll learn a lot by playing the tourist once a year.
– If you repeated what you did today 365 more times will you be where you want to be next year?
– Your time and space are limited. Remove, give away, throw out things in your life that don’t spark joy any longer in order to make room for those that do.
– If you loan someone $20 and you never see them again because they are avoiding paying you back, that makes it worth $20.
– Aim to die broke. Give to your beneficiaries before you die; it’s more fun and useful. Spend it all. Your last check should go to the funeral home and it should bounce.