Prove Me Wrong: All Of Life Is A Game Of Luck
You were born with a functional brain.You were born outside of a warzone.You were born as a human being with opposable thumbs.You were born right here, in this century.You were born with the desire to improve yourself and the world.You were born with enough resources to get the traction to start making things happen in your life.You were born with the opportunities to learn social skills.You were born with the opportunities to work for a living.I could keep going, but I think you get the point.You're lucky. I'm lucky. Most of us are lucky.All those thoughts in your head that tell you the opposite aren't considering the whole context.And without getting into the long explanation of the subtle, nuanced interaction between DNA and environment . . . I think we can all appreciate how much luck we had before we even started.
2 Minute Action
Reframe your thoughts for the next 2 minutes.
- What ways have you been successful?
- What gifts have you been given?
- What opportunities do you have?
Reflect on this and it will turn it into positivity and optimism.That optimism will quickly turn it into your fuel for the day.Go get 'em.
1 Game Changing Rule Before You Take Advice
I think we can agree that most people like to talk.Then there’s a smaller group of people who like to take their experiences and pay them forward to novices in the field so they may advance further and faster.The 1 game changing rule we each have to remember about advice is that it’s almost always going to be well intentioned but slightly wrong.Not right, not wrong—just slightly wrong.Regardless of whether this advisor wants to adequately inform you or just sound impressive, their entire worldview, shaped over a lifetime is the lens through which their advice comes.
Consider the context before you absorb the content.
And be wary: so much of advice is just “here are the 8 numbers I used to win the lottery.”Unless you are identical in DNA and in worldview, you’re going to hear and see things slightly differently.You have no choice but to follow your gut.
2 Minute Action:
When receiving advice, ask yourself: does the person giving me advice have the kind of lifestyle, moral compass, and skill set I would like to have?Also, if your advisor does most of the talking, they aren’t getting enough time to really understand your problem and provide a solution.Kinda strange to write this post advising on how to receive advice.Feedback and criticisms welcome.What’s some really good or bad advice you’ve gotten?
Where Have All The Geniuses Gone?
You've been taught that there's a right answer and that there's a way to get there.Transitive Property.Pythagorean Theorem.Grammer.There's a right way and there's a wrong way.We're only going to ask you questions to which we adults already know the answers.But when was the last time school taught kids to work on problems that had no right answers?When was the last time we prepared them to fail again and again and again, without knowing when it would finally make sense?School was designed to create compliant factory workers, not geniuses.If I asked you to name a genius, you'd probably say Einstein.And you'd probably say that he was a genius because of his DNA.Almost no one would refer to an idea as genius, but would rather refer to the person as one.And the statistical probability of having more geniuses is higher than ever, now that we're around 8 billion people on the planet.So we know it's not the DNA.
So then where are all the benevolent geniuses?
The problem isn't the DNA, the problem is the system with which we're educating.And if you want to have a society where people have genius ideas, relentless execution, and profound social impact, we're going to need a system that's thoughtful, enriching, and practical enough to give people a chance.There are geniuses all over the place, we just never notice in the Age of Distraction.And the cool thing is that anytime you've had an original idea, you've been one, too.
2 Minute Action
When was the last time you put your phone down for 5 hours so you could zoom out, identify and solve problems you're facing?Perhaps a better question is: when will you?It takes 2 minutes to look through your calendar and block out the time.You're ready.You don't need to "know what you're doing," because no one does.That's just the reflex your schooling has installed in your brain.You're ready.You have everything you need to start.Go.