30 Bits of Advice for 30 Years

I’m turning 30 this year.

Inspired by Kevin Kelly’s incredible 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice¹, I collected bits of advice I’ve picked up over the years—mostly by people wiser than me.

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Communication is your most important skill, get good at it.
• Be kind first, be right later.²
• Don’t make your problems other people’s problems.
• Read more books.
• Help others succeed, and they’ll help you succeed in the long term.
• It’s only awkward if you make it awkward.
• When giving presents, the perceived value counts, not the actual value (this goes in both directions).
• Your vacation starts when you leave your house and ends when you’re back in your house.
• People care more about stories than facts.
• Find someone outside your bubble that you can talk to and make sure you’re both able to understand where the other comes from.
• Think of yourself as the person you want to be, not the person you are.³
• Trust is the most important ingredient when building a team.
• Always choose the long-term option to leverage the compound effect.³
• Create systems instead of chasing goals.³
• Don’t let your expenses rise as fast as your income.
• Make time for your brain to work without distractions to allow the mind to wander.⁴
• Less is more.⁵
• Always expand your knowledge, skills and network to be ready when opportunities arise.⁶
• Curious people are smart. Be curious.⁷
• Don’t be afraid to look stupid.⁸
• Keep a can-do mindset.⁹
• Don’t get discouraged because of existing work. Instead, try to find ways to put your own spin on it.
• It’s never as easy as it looks.¹⁰
• Perfection is the enemy of good.¹¹
• Good design requires as little cognitive overhead as possible to use.¹²
• When creating, take all the shortcuts you can to get a prototype which you can iterate on.
• Under-promise and over-deliver.
• Always do extra.¹³
• Keep a brag document.¹⁴
• Surround yourself with people who are passionate about their work.

Thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!