Book Summary - 100 Truths You Will Learn Too Late
Rule 1 - YOU CAN CHOOSE WHICH GAMES TO PLAY, BUT NOT THEIR RULES
- most frustration and unhappiness in life will come from not properly playing the rules of the “game” – whichever game you are playing (business, health, love, social life)
- failures are feedback from life to help “teach” you the rules
- below you will find 100 rules for life in general, learned through author’s experience.
Rule 2 to 8 - PRIORITIZE YOUR GROWTH
early and continuous speed-up will create momentum and make things easier long-term.
Rule 2 - THE VERY IMPORTANT NEVER FEELS URGENT
- most common regret on deathbed is life spent chasing urgents, neglecting the importants.
- important activities examples: family meals, learning, taking care of health. we neglect them because these don’t have deadlines.
- most what feels urgent is driven by someone else, so it’s important to them, not you.
ACTION: Make the very important urgent, now. put them within your schedule, and be inflexible about them.
Rule 3 - PROBLEMS GROW TO THE SIZE THEY NEED FOR YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM
- it’s feedback loop / inertia. things will move in the same direction until the condition changes. whether by environment or our own action.
- acknowledging problems is the frist step toward solving them and regaining mental peace.
- simply thinking about it is not enough – do write about it. the mind needs material proof of acknowledgment.
ACTION: Write about your current problems. Do it right now.
Rule 4 - PROBLEMS ARE NOT SOLVED BY ADDRESSING THEIR SYMPTOMS, BUT BY ADDRESSING THEIR ROOT CAUSE
- a man in a sinking ship. unless he fixes the hole, the water he throws away will be replaced by more water coming in.
- Solving a problem without solving its root cause is just like dancing in place.
ACTION: Write down, NOW, what you will do to ensure that your current problems will never show up again.
Rule 5 - MAKE A NOT-TO-DO LIST
The enemy of productivity isn’t laziness but busywork. Not-to-do lists are your solution to it.
You are not allowed to work on your not-t-do list until the to-do list is completed.
ACTION: Implement a not-to-do list for yourself:
- Make a list of top 25 actions you should take during the next months
- Order the list items from the most impactful to the least impactful.
- Select the top 5 items –> these are your to-do list.
- Select the bottom 20 items –> these are your not-to-do list.
Pin both lists to somewhere you can regularly check them.
Rule 6 - DO YOUR ACTIVITIES MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER?
Ask yourself, whatever you do right now – does it make your life better short/long term?
If not, replace it with something that does.
Rule 7 - MOST MISTAKES ARE FORMS OF CLINGING TO THE PAST
Cling to who I was, what I know, what made me feel good and safe.
You do not have to be your past. You can become someone else right now, without waiting for permission.
ACTION: What would you do if you didn’t feel obligated to act like the person you’ve been?
Rule 8 - THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
If you keep doing what your are currently doing, how will your life be in 10 years?
**ACTION: Answer the above question and make Adjustments.
Chapter Conclusion
Prioritize your personal growth will make yourself more valuable, in the world’s rules and systems. It will bring you happiness and long-lasting positive changes.
Rule 9 to 13 - MOVE FORWARD
Rule 9 - WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON’T GET YOU THERE
individual contributor –> work long hours –> got promoted to senior –> work long hours –> stuck, cannot get to management or Founding engineer level.
Life is made of stages. What works in one stage often doesn’t work in the next one.
Like an electron circling atomic nucleus, it needs a energy bump to go to the next level.