68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice - Alta Journal

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice · 1. Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or who even offend you. · 2. Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ ... Search TheCurrentIssue CaliforniaBookClub UpcomingSelections PastSelections Join Events Dispatches Culture Architecture Art&Design Cartoons Fiction&Poetry Food&Drink Screens Sounds Tools Books Nonfiction Fiction Poetry Art&Photography Newsletters Clubhouse Archive JoinUs MemberSupport MemberFAQ Store About MemberFAQ PressRoom Follow Facebook Twitter Instagram CALIFORNIABOOKCLUB ALTALIVE NEWSLETTERS BOOKS INTHECURRENTISSUE Subscribe SignIn MyAccount SignOut Typekeyword(s)tosearch KevinKellyathisstudioinPacifica. CHRISTIEHEMMKLOK It’smybirthday.I’m68.Ifeellikepullinguparockingchairanddispensingadvicetotheyoung’uns.Hereare68pithybitsofunsolicitedadvice,whichIofferasmybirthdaypresenttoallofyou. 1.Learnhowtolearnfromthoseyoudisagreewith,orwhoevenoffendyou.Seeifyoucanfindthetruthinwhattheybelieve. 2.Beingenthusiasticisworth25IQpoints. 3.Alwaysdemandadeadline.Adeadlineweedsouttheextraneousandtheordinary.Itpreventsyoufromtryingtomakeitperfect,soyouhavetomakeitdifferent.Differentisbetter. 4.Don’tbeafraidtoaskaquestionthatmaysoundstupid,because99percentofthetimeeveryoneelseisthinkingofthesamequestionandistooembarrassedtoaskit. 5.Beingabletolistenwellisasuperpower.Whilelisteningtosomeoneyoulove,keepaskingthem“Istheremore?”untilthereisnomore. 6.Aworthygoalforayearistolearnenoughaboutasubjectsothatyoucan’tbelievehowignorantyouwereayearearlier. 7.Gratitudewillunlockallothervirtuesandissomethingyoucangetbetterat. 8.Treatingapersontoamealneverfailsandissoeasytodo.It’spowerfulwitholdfriendsandagreatwaytomakenewfriends. 9.Don’ttrustall-purposeglue. 10.Readingtoyourchildrenregularlywillbondyoutogetherandkick-starttheirimaginations. 11.Neveruseacreditcardforcredit.Theonlykindofcredit,ordebt,thatisacceptableisdebttoacquiresomethingwhoseexchangevalueisextremelylikelytoincrease,likeahome.Theexchangevalueofmostthingsdiminishesorvanishesthemomentyoupurchasethem.Don’tbeindebttolosers. 12.Prosarejustamateurswhoknowhowtogracefullyrecoverfromtheirmistakes. 13.Extraordinaryclaimsshouldrequireextraordinaryevidencetobebelieved. 14.Don’tbethesmartestpersonintheroom.Hangoutwith,andlearnfrom,peoplesmarterthanyourself.Evenbetter,findsmartpeoplewhowilldisagreewithyou. 15.Ruleofthreeinconversation.Togettotherealreason,askapersontogodeeperthanwhattheyjustsaid.Thenagain,andoncemore.Thethirdtime’sanswerisclosetothetruth. 16.Don’tbethebest.Betheonly. 17.Everyoneisshy.Otherpeoplearewaitingforyoutointroduceyourselftothem;theyarewaitingforyoutosendthemanemail;theyarewaitingforyoutoaskthemonadate.Goahead. 18.Don’ttakeitpersonallywhensomeoneturnsyoudown.Assumetheyarelikeyou:busy,occupied,distracted.Tryagainlater.It’samazinghowoftenasecondtryworks. 19.Thepurposeofahabitistoremovethatactionfromself-negotiation.Younolongerexpendenergydecidingwhethertodoit.Youjustdoit.Goodhabitscanrangefromtellingthetruthtoflossing. 20.Promptnessisasignofrespect. 21.Whenyouareyoung,spendatleastsixmonthstooneyearlivingaspoorasyoucan,owningaslittleasyoupossiblycan,eatingbeansandriceinatinyroomortent,toexperiencewhatyour“worst”lifestylemightbe.Thatway,anytimeyouhavetorisksomethinginthefuture,youwon’tbeafraidoftheworst-casescenario. 22.Trustme:thereisno“them.” 23.Themoreyouareinterestedinothers,themoreinterestingtheyfindyou.Tobeinteresting,beinterested. 24.Optimizeyourgenerosity.Nooneontheirdeathbedhaseverregrettedgivingtoomuchaway. 25.Tomakesomethinggood,justdoit.Tomakesomethinggreat,justredoit,redoit,redoit.Thesecrettomakingfinethingsisinremakingthem. 26.TheGoldenRulewillneverfailyou.Itisthefoundationofallothervirtues. 27.Ifyouarelookingforsomethinginyourhouse,andyoufinallyfindit,whenyou’redonewithit,don’tputitbackwhereyoufoundit.Putitbackwhereyoufirstlookedforit. 28.Savingmoneyandinvestingmoneyarebothgoodhabits.Smallamountsofmoneyinvestedregularlyformanydecadeswithoutdeliberationisonepathtowealth. 29.Tomakemistakesishuman.Toownyourmistakesisdivine.Nothingelevatesapersonhigherthanquicklyadmittingandtakingpersonalresponsibilityforthemistakesyoumakeandthenfixingthemfairly.Ifyoumessup,fessup.It’sastoundinghowpowerfulthisownershipis. 30.NevergetinvolvedinalandwarinAsia. 31.Youcanobsessaboutservingyourcustomers/audience/clients,oryoucanobsessaboutbeatingthecompetition.Bothwork,butofthetwo,obsessingaboutyourcustomerswilltakeyoufurther. 32.Showup.Keepshowingup.Somebodysuccessfulsaid:99percentofsuccessisjustshowingup. 33.Separatetheprocessesofcreationfromimproving.Youcan’twriteandedit,orsculptandpolish,ormakeandanalyzeatthesametime.Ifyoudo,theeditorstopsthecreator.Whileyouinvent,don’tselect.Whileyousketch,don’tinspect.Whileyouwritethefirstdraft,don’treflect.Atthestart,thecreatormindmustbeunleashedfromjudgment. 34.Ifyouarenotfallingdownoccasionally,youarejustcoasting. 35.Perhapsthemostcounterintuitivetruthoftheuniverseisthatthemoreyougivetoothers,themoreyou’llget.Understandingthisisthebeginningofwisdom. 36.Friendsarebetterthanmoney.Almostanythingmoneycando,friendscandobetter.Insomanyways,afriendwithaboatisbetterthanowningaboat. 37.Thisistrue:it’shardtocheatanhonestman. 38.Whenanobjectislost,95percentofthetimeitishidingwithinarm’sreachofwhereitwaslastseen.Searchinallpossiblelocationsinthatradiusandyou’llfindit. 39.Youarewhatyoudo.Notwhatyousay,notwhatyoubelieve,nothowyouvote,butwhatyouspendyourtimeon. 40.Ifyouloseorforgettobringacable,adapter,orcharger,checkwithyourhotel.Mosthotelsnowhaveadrawerfullofcables,adapters,andchargersothershaveleftbehind,andprobablyhavetheoneyouaremissing.Youcanoftenclaimitafterborrowingit. 41.Hatredisacursethatdoesnotaffectthehated.Itonlypoisonsthehater.Releaseagrudgeasifitwasapoison. 42.Thereisnolimitonbetter.Talentisdistributedunfairly,butthereisnolimitonhowmuchwecanimprovewhatwestartwith. 43.Beprepared:whenyouare90percentdonewithanylargeproject(ahouse,afilm,anevent,anapp),therestofthemyriaddetailswilltakeasecond90percenttocomplete. 44.Whenyoudie,youtakeabsolutelynothingwithyouexceptyourreputation. 45.Beforeyouareold,attendasmanyfuneralsasyoucanbear,andlisten.Nobodytalksaboutthedeparted’sachievements.Theonlythingpeoplewillrememberiswhatkindofpersonyouwerewhileyouwereachieving. 46.Foreverydollaryouspendpurchasingsomethingsubstantial,expecttopayadollarinrepairs,maintenance,ordisposalbytheendofitslife. 47.Anythingrealbeginswiththefictionofwhatcouldbe.Imaginationisthereforethemostpotentforceintheuniverse,andaskillyoucangetbetterat.It’stheoneskillinlifethatbenefitsfromignoringwhateveryoneelseknows. 48.Whencrisisanddisasterstrike,don’twastethem.Noproblems,noprogress. 49.Onvacation,gotothemostremoteplaceonyouritineraryfirst,bypassingthecities.You’llmaximizetheshockofothernessintheremote,andthenlateryou’llwelcomethefamiliarcomfortsofacityonthewayback. 50.Whenyougetaninvitationtodosomethinginthefuture,askyourself:Wouldyouacceptthisifitwasscheduledfortomorrow?Nottoomanypromiseswillpassthatimmediacyfilter. 51.Don’tsayanythingaboutsomeoneinemailyouwouldnotbecomfortablesayingtothemdirectly,becauseeventuallytheywillreadit. 52.Ifyoudesperatelyneedajob,youarejustanotherproblemforaboss;ifyoucansolvemanyoftheproblemsthebosshasrightnow,youarehired.Tobehired,thinklikeyourboss. 53.Artisinwhatyouleaveout. 54.Acquiringthingswillrarelybringyoudeepsatisfaction.Butacquiringexperienceswill. 55.Ruleofseveninresearch.Youcanfindoutanythingifyouarewillingtogosevenlevels.Ifthefirstsourceyouaskdoesn’tknow,askthemwhomyoushouldasknext,andsoondowntheline.Ifyouarewillingtogototheseventhsource,you’llalmostalwaysgetyouranswer. 56.Howtoapologize:quickly,specifically,sincerely. 57.Don’teverrespondtoasolicitationoraproposalonthephone.Theurgencyisadisguise. 58.Whensomeoneisnasty,rude,hateful,ormeanwithyou,pretendtheyhaveadisease.Thatmakesiteasiertohaveempathytowardthem,whichcansoftentheconflict. 59.Eliminatingcluttermakesroomforyourtruetreasures. 60.Youreallydon’twanttobefamous.Readthebiographyofanyfamousperson. 61.Experienceisoverrated.Whenhiring,hireforaptitude,trainforskills.Mostreallyamazingorgreatthingsaredonebypeopledoingthemforthefirsttime. 62.Avacation+adisaster=anadventure. 63.Buyingtools:Startbybuyingtheabsolutecheapesttoolsyoucanfind.Upgradetheonesyouusealot.Ifyouwindupusingsometoolforajob,buytheverybestyoucanafford. 64.Learnhowtotakea20-minutepowernapwithoutembarrassment. 65.Followingyourblissisarecipeforparalysisifyoudon’tknowwhatyouarepassionateabout.Abettermottoformostyouthis“Mastersomething,anything.”Throughmasteryofonething,youcandrifttowardextensionsofthatmasterythatbringyoumorejoyandeventuallydiscoverwhereyourblissis. 66.I’mpositivethatin100yearsmuchofwhatItaketobetruetodaywillbeprovedwrong,maybeevenembarrassinglywrong,andItryreallyhardtoidentifywhatitisthatIamwrongabouttoday. 67.Overthelongterm,thefutureisdecidedbyoptimists.Tobeanoptimist,youdon’thavetoignoreallthemanyproblemswecreate;youjusthavetoimagineimprovingourcapacitytosolveproblems. 68.Theuniverseisconspiringbehindyourbacktomakeyouasuccess.Thiswillbemucheasiertodoifyouembracethispronoia. 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