Here we go for a first edition of a What I Learned Doing week, where I sample some of the things I learned and applied this week.

-1-

A simple but effective question to evaluate your day is to ask:

What have I learned today?

-2-

Insulting someone, even jokingly isn’t worth it. Avoid it at all costs.

-3-

Exposing yourself to randomness and uncertainty is very valuable. Practically this means staying in a closed room all day, that is “safe” and “predictable” offers no significant chance to improve your life. Whereas going out and exposing yourself to randomness and uncertainty lets you take advantage of serendipitous opportunities and creates a very palpable excitement to life. You simply can’t wait to see what happens next. Saying yes to weird opportunities, and being a bit more spontaneous, has potentially very high upside and very little downside. Who knows who you might meet next?

-4-

“We’re all going to have the ‘I want to quit days’, but you cannot quit on those days.” 

(Nastia Liukin, c.f Impact Theory interview)

-5-

When you really think about everything that had to happen for you to exist at this very moment, you become unbelievably grateful to be alive. It’s nice to remind yourself of this one, since we so rapidly take life for granted.

-6-

“Don’t run after trains. […] Running after a train is only painful if you run after it. Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking. […] It is more difficult to be a loser in a game you set up yourself. “

(Nassim Nicolas Taleb author of Black Swan)

 

-7-

“The ultimate freedom we have is how we choose to respond to a situation.”

(Viktor Frankl author of Man’s Search For Meaning)

-8-

“To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want. The world is not yet a crazy enough place to reward a whole bunch of
undeserving people.”

(Charles T. Munger)

-9-

“Man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life: to life he can only respond by being responsible. […] According to logotherapy we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. 

(Viktor Frankl author of Man’s Search For Meaning)

-10-

Asking for a 10% discount off everything you buy is remarkably and surprisingly effective. Be it a cup of coffee, a sandwich, clothes or something else. Give it a try and see for yourself. (I barrowed this from Tim Ferriss)