10 rules to live by

humans have a weird obsession with giving ourselves rules to follow.

i won’t pretend to know why that is.

but what i do know is that choosing which rules you follow can be the most important decision you ever make.

over the last several years, i’ve built my own set of rules that i try to live by.

here are 10 of my favourites:

rule 1: never lie, especially not to yourself

we live in this thing called reality.
that means our decisions are judged by ‘the real world.’
if we want to make good (i.e. accurate) decisions, it’s better to have a clear picture of reality as it is — not as we want it to be.
the only way to do this reliably is to operate on a truth-first basis.
lying trains you to do the opposite.
to fix this, start by aligning what you think with what you do & say.

rule 2: never complain, just fix it or let it go

every problem you encounter falls into 1 of 2 categories:
(1) you can do something about it
(2) you can’t do something about it
in both cases, complaining does not serve you.
do something to solve the problem, or accept it for what it is.
‘self-pity feels like medicine & works like poison.’
~ Shane Parrish

rule 3: always reject anger

every emotion serves a purpose.
the purpose of anger is to communicate to yourself & others that a boundary has been crossed.
before civilized society, anger was probably useful.
but now that we have things like ‘language’ & ‘laws,’ anger doesn’t help much.
instead, try to understand what boundary has been crossed, why it was crossed, & what you can do about it.
‘anger is a hot coal you hold in your hand while waiting to throw it at someone.’
~ Buddha

rule 4: set your own boundaries, or someone will set them for you

the more bullshit you tolerate — rude people, a shitty job, etc. — the more bullshit you’ll have to tolerate.
this sounds obvious, but most people let their boundaries get walked on every day.
the solution is to ruthlessly make sure everything & everyone in your life deserves its place in it.
if you struggle with this, see rules 1 & 2.

rule 5: leave it better than you found it

look at the world around you — the device you’re reading this on, the clothes you’re wearing, the food you’re eating, etc.
none of those things just appeared one day.
everything we benefit from today exists because a stranger decided to make something (or someone) a little better than it was before.
it feels right that we pay it forward.
‘society grows when old men plant trees whose shade they know they’ll never sit in.’
~ Greek proverb

rule 6: be the person who breaks the ice

we all crave social connection, but we’re so scared of initiating it.
this makes sense, because we’re wired to fear rejection.
but the real risk is way smaller than you think.
i talk to strangers every single time i leave the house, & it always ends up being one of the best parts of my day.

rule 7: avoid relying on anyone else but yourself

you are the only person who has to wake up in your body, feel the way you do, live the life you have, & lay in bed with your thoughts every night.
this means that you must care about you more than anyone else does.
i operate under the assumption that no one is going to ‘save’ me.
if i get support, i’m pleasantly surprised.
but if it doesn’t happen, i can still win.
‘nothing helps; i must help myself, or i am finished.’
~ Nietzsche

rule 8: anything worth doing is worth doing well

your time is too valuable to spend on shit that doesn’t matter.
if something matters, treat it like it does.
if it doesn’t matter, don’t waste your time with it.
the middle is where dreams go to die.
‘do or do not, there is no try.’
~ Yoda

rule 9: anything worth doing well is worth starting badly

whatever you do, it’s probably gonna be shit the first time you do it.
this contradicts rule 8, which is why i used to struggle with procrastination.
but there’s 1 key thing to consider:
when you haven’t done anything yet, starting is the perfect outcome.
‘perfectionism is just procrastination masquerading as quality control.’
~ Steven Barnes

rule 10: be a good person, but don’t waste your time proving it

it’s way easier to look like a good person than it is to be a good person.
sometimes you get rewarded for doing the right thing.
sometimes you get ignored.
& sometimes you get punished for it.
i would rather live in a world full of people who do good things no matter who is watching.
so to create that world, i will be that type of person.

BONUS: the rule of all rules!

‘for whatever true thing you believe, the opposite is also likely to be true.’
~ Derek Sivers

some things i learned

1. i like this

   

2. how to (actually) feel grateful on demand
   step 1: think about something you have

   step 2: imagine not having it, in detail. live that day in your mind.

   step 3: remember that you still have it

3. life hack: call your friends out of the blue
   have you ever been mad about getting a random phone call from a friend? in my experience, nobody has. check in, see how they’re doing, just say hello — it’s an easy way to brighten both of your days.

cool stuff i found

1. a nice rock framed by another nice rock

   

2. what tigers look like to humans vs other animals
   humans have 3 colour ‘sensors’ in the eye (trichromatic), but the animals that tigers hunt only have 2 of them (dichromatic). take a look:

   

3. an iconic dad joke
   none of the bridges on Euro banknotes were real, because they didn’t want to show favouritism to any country… until a Dutch guy decided to build all 7 of them in his hometown, just for a laugh i guess.
   
   what a legend lol.

   

that’s all for now!

summer is busy. i want to make more stuff. i also want a social life. boo hoo lol.

my rough plan for August is:

• this week: camping, disconnect fully (for once)

• next week: finish 0to1.club upgrades, then start promoting it with YT videos

go make yourself proud this week.

~ liam (:

PS - i’ll explain everything happening behind-the-scenes later. these are the good old days, but man are they tough sometimes.