Some Things I Believe

Be yourself and iterate.

Being yourself is the fastest way to peace. There’s probably nothing more important than living in alignment with who you are or want to be. The goal is to be unapologetically yourself. What this means is that who you are on the inside is what everyone gets on the outside. Consistency is vital. It’s not enough to simply be yourself. We must constantly improve ourselves. Be your true self + iterate on self = the best version of yourself. Iteration is error correction. It means doing more of what works and fixing or removing what doesn’t. It’s learning from mistakes and improving in each moment. We can trust that being ourself will lead to good outcomes if we constantly iterate.

Focus on the signal, tune out the noise.

Focus on what matters and is most important, and tune out the things that don’t matter. It works in almost every scenario. Feeling overwhelmed? Focus on the signal, tune out the noise. Not sure what to work on? Focus on the signal, tune out the noise. Signals are things we feel called upon to do. They are the things that we are meant to follow as part of a greater creative force. We are conduits that ideas flow through to be expressed in reality. Noise are things that take away our cognitive capacity and create waste. Most of us have a hard time tuning out noise. The simplest way to do this is to say no to everything that’s not important and rebuild from what is most important.

Don’t wait for things to happen, make them happen.

Having a strong sense of agency is important for living a good life. High agency means questioning everything. It means believing that there are no unsolvable problems and that you are in control of your destiny. It’s the most freeing and wonderful attitudes one can take in life. Once you embody it, nothing can stop you.

Creation over consumption.

Creation is the ultimate source of dopamine. Consuming things is great, but it doesn’t come close to the rush you get from making, building, iterating, solving problems, working toward a vision, then and putting it out to the world. As someone who loves learning and reading more than most activities, they don’t compare to the energy you get from building something that matters to you. When you make something that satisfies your curiosity, you experience something that can’t be found elsewhere. I’m not sure what this is, but I know it’s unique.

Enjoy the ride.

We are just a blip in the cosmic order. The fact that we’re even here is something to admire. Don’t take yourself and life so serious. Find joy in the absurdity of it all.