I think it’s absolutely important to live life governed by principles that I set on my own. And after a few years, I’ve boiled them down to 3 simple rules to live my life.
- Know what you want
- Have high standards
- Never settle for anything less than 1 & 2
Rulebook
Life is pretty simple when you are playing by your own rulebook. I’ve been thinking about my own set of rules for ages. And after years of trial and error, it boils down to these 3 simple rules. And honestly, following it has made my life easier and incredibly more fun.
Know What You Want
Always know what you want. If you don’t know, FIGURE IT OUT. The thing is no one else will ever know what you want. You have to figure it out for yourself. It is as simple as it is.
You have to be willing to try, to fail, to reassess what you want. This post how how Elon Musk figures out what he wants is similar to how my mind works.
High Standards
Always have high standards, because you have nothing to lose. There’s only a limited amount of time per person. As an economist, there is an opportunity cost to everything. Especially when something is scarce (time), every variable becomes more significant.
You see, there is only one life. And the end goal is simply just death. And if my optimisation answer is death and my constrain is time and opportunities, I will maximise the best of each factor.
Hence, have high standards. Not just those around me, but especially me and my life. I only have quality friends, quality relationships, quality clients and quality family.
Never Settle
Which brings me to the last point of never settling. Look, there are 7+ billion people in the world, countless opportunities, endless possibilities. Never settle for anything that is less than what you deserve.
The downside: it’s easy to be distracted by the “next better thing”. It took me a while, but I have balanced between appreciating the current moment and understanding that I am not settling. Compromises are needed. But when compromises start to change what I stand for, that is where things end.
Never. Ever. Settle.
Know your worth. Always expect the best from yourself. Change the environment around you to bring you higher. You’ll find people who will rise up to meet you.
One life. Three rules.
Love,
L