1) Be the mouse with irrational optimism. A mouse with no hope will drown in water after 1 hrs. A mouse that has been pulled out of the water and dried out has some optimism and will swim for 24 hrs. Its the tough moments that separate winners from losers.
2) Solving problems collaboratively is enormously motivating. In one study, people who got a hint form another participant instead of a teacher worked on puzzles 48% longer.
More than the tip, it was the feeling of teamwork that had the biggest impact.
3) When you keep a list or log of events, it recalibrates your immediate response.
“Bad things happen loudly, good things happen quietly.”
4) Increase your surface area for luck by helping people and connecting weekly. Calls to give peers advice often end up leaving you even more energized!
5) To build a successful business, let go of being cool and listen to market demand. This helps you explore the less attractive problems and offer solutions to the ignored demographics.
6) Life is about personal connection so prioritize who you work with over just chasing a pay raise or business opportunity. And do new things or have novel conversations whenever you can to ensure relationships don’t get stagnant!
7) Turn knowledge into tangible skills by changing behavior. Don’t just learn something, act on it. What’s the smallest first step and can you take it in the next 5 minutes?
8) The hard part to any new skill is sticking with it and showing up when it’s not exciting. But sometimes 2% improvement and staying in the game is the real win.
“What matters most is how you respond on the bad days, not the good ones. How you act when the situation isn’t optimal—that makes the difference.” – James Clear
9) Our actions are always driven by goals so make sure you like your goals! And when you write that down it dramatically clarifies where you’re headed.
10) Finding a hobby that’s unrelated to your work improves self-efficacy. When you can disconnect it helps you process and recharge. Build your house with multiple rooms!
11) The antidote to over-ambition is to let your actions be enjoyable expressions of the fact that we are humans. When you’re having trouble with a decision of what to do, ask yourself:
“Does this feel like it’s taking me in the direction of greater aliveness?” – Oliver Burkeman
12) Most straightforward strategic thinking exercise is to ask yourself, “what am I stupid for not doing?” The obvious answers, especially when they seem difficult to pull off, are the best ones!
13) Instead of FOMO, realize that your happiness level today is the best indicator of how you’ll feel in the future. Most people don’t get happier by reaching a higher level of success, so make sure you are enjoying the process!
** You might also enjoy my insights from the year before: 24 Things I learned in 2024 **
14) A well-rounded life needs to include more than just happiness and meaning. Add spontaneity and openness to new experiences for a life that’s also psychologically rich.
“It is in playful moments and when you are ‘on vacation from social and economic reality’ that we may discover something unexpected, learn something new, and gain new insight into our goals. ‘Be open to be a fool!’”
– Shigehiro Oishi
15) A wonderful definition of creativity is “doing more than the first thing you think of.” Reminder: your first idea or attempt or version is probably not the best. Creativity flourishes under constraints.
16) Ask more questions in conversation than you think you should and the result is that people will like you more. Just 20% more questions will make people more likely to go on a second date and to rate a conversation higher.
17) The rule of 12 states that to find the best option for something you should consider twelve options. From the secretary problem, you should evaluate 10% of your applicants and hire the next best person.
18) Just a few useful things done each week truly add up.
“Life is full of these moments, and the degree to which we learn to reap their lessons is the degree to which we grow and improve our lives.” – Anne Laure Le Cunff
19) You level up by connecting with people ahead of you on your journey. One tactic is to grade your reach-outs. Dreaming big enough? Remember that you should be getting some “no” answers or you’re not aiming high.
20) Why start your own business? An entrepreneur is the best person to run things because they actually care. Start something, then stick with it, and you’ve made your most valuable investment of your life.
21) The formality of a calendar event for your top priority / task makes it that much harder to ignore. Leverage your own psychology to get the right things done!
22) Realize when you’re in research mode versus execution mode. Sometimes you just need to put your head down and do the work you know needs to get done.
23) Find your business bottleneck and put your focus there. Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to run away from the hardest problem and find distractions. Define your top obstacle and the clear way to grow your business.
24) Delusional optimism is the ideal business mindset.
“Ignorant of the past, realistic about the present, and delusional about the future. You have to have that delusion because if you’re just realistic and practical about the future, you won’t do anything great.”
– Shaan Puri
25) The entrepreneur that wins is the person who accurately predicts what’s coming. To succeed you need this combination: accurate view of the future, investment in that future, and the patience to get the results.
