Principles (Dec 23, 2018)
  • Use EV to choose to do something or not. But, once you choose to do it, commit totally and ignore the EV.
  • Keep your boundaries, and respect other people's boundaries. Never change your values for the sole reason of getting others to like you. You will respect yourself less
  • Aim your words to represent your thoughts, not to please others. Pleasing others, whether by omitting what’s on your mind, trying to guess conversation topics that others would like, is a form of dishonesty, and a lack of belief in yourself. You do not need to hide who you are so others like you. Know that you can speak your mind, it may result in people disliking you, but it will also lead to true understanding, and true friendships.
  • Whenever you feel bad, remember there are certain cognitions that can make you feel this way, that skew reality. if you think all is for naught, this is almost never the case
  • Don't live in a dirty house. Clean up, take care of your health, follow your hobbies. Respect yourself.
  • Whenever you are worried about other people's perceptions, ask yourself: are you being authentically you? then what is wrong with that? Consider also that the human mind always looks to others for validation, so they are doing the same thing
  • Have clear. strong reasons for why you do what you do — it is never simply because you have too…
  • Be clear about what you expect from others -- they are not mind readers. Oftentimes you can get hurt, but in reality it was on you to let them know what you were expecting, and to confirm that they were up to deliver that
  • Friendships: Be the kind of friend you want others to be. Think about what you can do for your friends -- show care in the little things
  • When making goals -- consider optionality -- time, wealth, leverage
  • Real quality relationships require investment — the ones you value the most should get the most time. Do not expect this to come back, the quality that this kind of investment creates is all that is needed.
  • Always have things to look forward too — Trips, work accomplishments, etc
  • If you are not seeing your friends or family -- you need to keep in touch, almost daily
  • Remember people succeed in groups
  • Looking through old goals is quite a good way to get a good sense of what to do next
  • Say happy birthd a, happy new year, give random calls — make your loved ones’ day
  • Sometimes I think the relationship are not "real" — they are as real as we make it…
  • Do not expect others to set the pace you want — you set the pace — you be the example
  • When overwhelmed, Cut back first
  • Know, and be confident in the fact that there are many, many people to meet -- you can make great friends anywhere, and these relationships WILL deepen
  • The same applies to current relationships -- it's never "too late" -- go with full heart, and time will take it’s course
  • Cherish -- it's about knowing that right now is the real thing. Take no B.S, go in fully
  • This does not meant to peace out and go to Georgia. It means when i work, work fully, when i play, play fully
  • When in conversation with parents, make sure they feel heard, and they feel loved. Do not lose sight of the true love that is underpinning everything. Avoid getting lost in the details of what specific words mean
  • "Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand"
  • There is much, much more depth to a skill then what the intellectual can convey. Case in point -- workouts, so many hidden rules and paradigms, only possible to see by just working out with strong people.
  • Be vulnerable, share how you feel, give your friends, and those around you a chance to step up and deepen relationships. Share what you are scared of, how you are feeling
  • If you say something, make sure you have skin in the game. Do not preach, or act like you are a saint. Your actions should be aligned and speaking louder.
  • Little growth-hacky things, that in principle are bad but show good numbers, are tells for future black swans
  • Happiness comes from the smiles of those we love, a fun experience, observing life take it's course. Achievement is a separate endeavor, do not conflate the two, and think you need one for the other.
  • It's common to think that it's too late, but that is almost never the case. A whole world of wonder, new ideas, new experiences, new encounters awaits us. One thing is for sure: the future does not often look like the past
  • Remember to assess life at different perspectives, and do it constantly. If you don't have a reminder set for this, there will be trouble, because you won't feel 100% at ease and able to focus
  • Is the runway under control?
  • Are you on top of your projects?
  • Do you have a clear outlook on your areas of responsibility?
  • Do you have your year-long goals set?
  • Do you know where you're heading over the next 4 years?
  • Do you have a gauge on your "why"?
  • When asking a question, think fully, how the other person receiving it sees it
  • Do they see clearly what you want, and what they need to do?
  • Do they see clearly when they need to do it?
  • When building systems the goal is to find the balance between form and function: as simple as functional
  • Do not over-engineer, or under-engineer. Cut through the crux, to find the what the minimum requirements are
  • When building systems, assume things will fail
  • for distributed systems, this means assuming latency
  • for policy, this means people will be selfish by default
  • My relationships to work and money:
  • I work not just for money. I have more then enough, and am confident, that I will be fine. I work for something more
  • I work to build great things with great people, to learn and to grow