30 Axioms By Age 30.

So turned 30 yesterday. Here are 30 axioms I have adopted over the years.

1. It’s not always about you. The minute you stop thinking about your own well-being, and start understanding how people around you think, the more impact you can have on life.

2. Have Peace.  But if you must fight, fight battles with maximum leverage. More money does not equal more success, better connections does not lead to better opportunities. It certainly helps; everyone is an underdog at some point in their life; creative leverage is the way to win.

3. Losses and mistakes are good if we learn from them. Self compassion, reflection, and concerted changes are the most effective ways to progress.

4. Words are powerful, more powerful than money. Deals are done with verbal agreements, God created the world with his word, words can raise someone up, it can cut someone down. Refine your words and use them sparingly.

5. Integrity of thoughts, words, actions. All social interaction is binded by trust. When you have integrity; there are less roadblocks against relationships. Sometimes it means you have to sacrifice your own position; but integrity will regain what is lost plus more.

6. Competition and resistance are both there to test your character more than to award the best breed. If you compete purely to win, you will be a soulless warrior. Strategically, taking a loss, to gain a strategic edge in later encounters is an important play.

7. Listen, Learn, Read, Practice, Teach, Preach. Ever wonder why people are so boring when you meet them at parties and events? There’s no independent self development before the social meetings. Interesting people have two way interactions – they are quick to grasp the interests of others and enlightening others in new areas that interest others.

8. Give everyone and every idea a chance, but not for too long. Intellectual honesty requires that you take a sympathetic stance in all conversation and try to consider another view in all different contexts.

9. Wheat and Chaff grow together. There will be plenty that are out there to deceive you. There will be pretenders. Be aware of scammers and smooth talkers. Continuing on from the last point, listen to everyone; but call them out on their bullshit.

10. Cycles, seasonals. Understand them, act, invest, plant in accordance to them.

11. Models of the world exist – polymaths – take a multi-dimensional perspective, and apply many tools to a problem. More heuristics and diverse people matter.

12. There is a 4th dimension. Act in faith. Listen to the layer below your own intuition. That is your spirit.

13. It is better to give than to receive; it is better to die a man, than to live a chump.

14. There is a certain order to things, accept it until you can disrupt it.

15. Help those below you, less fortunate that you, challenge those who are higher in society, who oppress and exploit the weak.

16. Challenge your own views and beliefs. As looney as it sounds, have your own boardroom that reflects on your own decisions and actions regularly.

17. Take some risks, calculated risks. The world operates around imperfect information. There’s never an easy play on the road to liberty.

18. There are going to be people better than you, and worse than you, wherever, whatever stage you are in.

19. The first shall be last, the last shall be first. Don’t be in such a hurry. Don’t feel so embarrassed. Have humility to all people, new endeavors. Never give up before the race is over. It’s much less stressful when people expect you to fail and you prove them wrong. Much more powerful when your competition is not aware that you even exist.

20. Trust everyone, but confirm everything. People make both selfish mistakes, and non-intentional mistakes.

21. Have a one strike policy against strangers, life is too short. If someone betrays you, bless them, forgive them, and forget about them. Completely.

22. People will say shit about you, slander, gossip; low class high class doesn’t matter, it will happen.

23. Own your own income stream, own your own wealth. Don’t be a slave to the world; no matter what the incentive.

24. Don’t be greedy.

25. Avoid wasteful thoughts, actions, purchases. Don’t spend when you feel down.

26. Possessions are baggage, social statuses are farce. There’s a greater sense of being beyond filling your stomach and vanity.

27. Love, is the most powerful state.

28. Smile, be happy, enjoy life, but know when to be serious, killer serious.

29. Stay loyal. Loyal to your family, friends, beliefs, passion. Things get hard, when loyalty to the different things that matter are in conflict.

30. Don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s just life, shit happens.