Life Lessons

What life lessons would you tell your 13 year old self if you had the opportunity?  Maybe these would be a good start...

• You only have one. The one you are living right now. There are no rehearsals in life.
• Life is not that complex. If you manage to follow simple rules you can go far/
• The world is not optimal or efficient. Do not consider the world around you to be "the best it could". There are a lot of improvements that can be done and you should make many.
• You are more capable than you think.
• People are not rational and in most cases they do not take rational decisions. Let that be your guide in your behavior to others and to the products you create.
• Everything in moderation is the one and only advice anyone could give you. From eating, to work, to sports, everything in moderation is what you are aiming for.
• Success in life is a combination of skill and luck. The only thing you control is skill and you hope that luck will also be there when you need it.
• Most in life is random. Accept that and you will feel much better in inadvertent times.
• Life is an aggregate of moments. The ones that really matter are the smaller ones. Pay attention.
• You will always envy someone else's possesions (the one who is supposedely one level up). Try not to focus on that and enjoy your own stuff.
• Life is not a race, but a journey.
• Life doesn't have one ultimate winning price.
• Be very careful with other people's advice. They are not you. They will never be you.
• Chart your own path. Life is all about doing your own thing and take your own initiatives. Don't try to be like someone else. You will never manage to do so successfully. Be you with the positive and negative aspects.
• Don't be afraid of failure. Be afraid of conformity.
• Your life needs a purpose to be meaningful. Always be searching for such a purpose.
• Life is fun only with others around.
• Money has nothing to do with your life's meaning. Is just a medium. Treat them like one and you will get a lot.
• Focus on your passions and you will rule the world.
• Being inspired is a great feeling. Inspiring others is the ultimate one.
• No one is a failure in the middle of a big change. You can't fail if you're moving toward something. You fail only if you stop.
• It's not the outcome that matters, it is always the decision to act.
• Never lose faith. It's the only limitless fuel of your engine.
• You cannot do this alone. Build relationships that will help you in a time of need. Help before you ask to be helped. It always comes back.
• Do not try to calculate everything. When there is a known result and a similar but unknown option choose the later. Most of the times it will teach you something new.
• The more you get out of your comfort zone, the more alive you will feel. Trying things (and failing for the biggest part) is the faster way to move forward.
• Never settle.
• If it makes sense to you, don't be afraid to go against the common way of thinking. Following your way of thinking doesn't mean that you are doing somethign wrong.
• It is better to do something and then apologize, than not do something because you feel you will be criticized.
• Changing one bad habit starts with the smallest of actions. Do not try to go big right away and focus on one goal, not many.
• Action brings more action. Even if the initial action is small. Go do your bed.
• Do not forget the simple hacks for better life expectancy. Think positive, do not smoke, do not drink (that much), have sex, do not sit more than 6 hours per day, get married, own a pet.
• Turn off your TV.
• Facebook is a tool to connect you to the people you love. Connect and stop losing time piping in other people's lives.
• Allow serendipity in your life (on what you read, what you do, who you go out with etc).
• Diversify your goals. Do not have one big goal, rather than have more smaller ones. Much better probability of success.
• Invest young and diversify your assets. Your investments grow exponentially, not linearly.
• Try to be effective, not efficient.
• Keep yourself busy with things that matter. Do not strive for intentional "busyness".
• Your family, wife and friends are the most important elements in your life. Keep them close.
• Do not focus on the things you don't have, focus on the things you do.
• Exercise. It will give you a better mood, motivation to do more things during the day and a healthy outfit
• You stay fit by doing 20 push-ups (or any preferred exercise) every day, not by going to the gym 2 months a year.
• You are not going to remember everything you read, do and see. Accept that.
• There is a big difference of what happened and of what you remember that happened.
• Always put goals even if you think you are not following them. Even their mere existence will guide you subconsciously.
• Accept that your goals will change as will your plan for life. Adapt.
• Having your worst fear materialized will give you an excellent baseline.
• If you haven't hurt yourself in a relationship with a woman, you haven't really known what a healthy relationship is. Wait for that to happen.
• Eat fruit and eat salad. It's good and it's proven.
• Your parents love you more than you know. You will only understand that when you become one.
• Random (small) acts of kindness are a huge boost. Send a nice email or help a friend from school with a small chore. It will make you feel fulfilled.
• Enjoy your youth.
• The fact that any 65 year old would give most of his money to be again a 13 year old, must give you a good estimate of the Money vs. Time analogy.
• It is never "too late". It is actually usually the opposite. Do not let time go because you think you don't have enough.
• The biggest source of inactivity in the future is looking tat your inactivity in the past.
• At some point you have to settle with another person for the rest of your life. Treat that person as your king/queen and remember he/she will become the best link to your past.
• The future belongs to the curious. Be one.
• Travel.
• Death is natural. A death of a loved one will come and surprise you but what will also surprise you is your ability to cope with your life.
• Remember that people tend to overestimate the importance of a moment and underestimate the importance of their life.
• Give to get back.
• Don't worry about things you cannot change and focus on the ones you can
• Most of the things written here are things you will forget. Try to come back to the list but most of all collect your own truths and stick to them.