Advice

I started to build things when I was 12 years old. I got serious about life when I was 16 years old. In those 20 years of experience, I learned a few things - things that you may have already heard somewhere else, but they're always a good reminder for me.

About Life:

• Ideologies & dogmas don't work. If you aren't able to change your mind when faced with new data, you're going to be pretty miserable.
• Be intense and go deep. Don't be an amateur about life or knowledge - become an expert whenever you can.
• Take risks, but never take the risk of not being able to play again.
• Failure hurts but you can recover. Failure works because it hurts, otherwise it would teach nothing. Don't forget the beauty of failure.
• Don't look for status; look for wealth. Reputation is a jail without a key.
• Be true to yourself and nothing else will matter.
• Makes friends on the internet. The internet is a get-out-of-jail free card, it helps mitigate the where-were-you-born card.
• Don't try to be serious. Just try to be as courageous as you possibly can.

About People:

• Believe your instincts with people. Always.
• Being kind isn't stupid. We're never kind enough.
• You'll disappoint a lot of people in your life if you do lots of things. It's part of the process of doing. And it doesn't matter - after all, who could we disappoint if not the people who believe in us?
• Don't listen to older people, they're living in a world that doesn't exist anymore.

About Business:

• As Paul Graham famously said: "Do something people want." It's even better if you're doing it for yourself.
• In investments, look for low chances of success but high rates of return. Do it often. It's not the number of failures but the magnitude of the successes that matters. Don't be tricked by your own ego.
• The best businesses are the ones that make money while you sleep.
• Cynicism is toxic. Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Avoid both in business.
• Learn to build things as soon as possible. Don't daydream about being the idea person.
• Learn to sell things as often as possible. Never stop selling.
• If you can build and sell, you're going to be unstoppable.
• Don't ask for permission. Look for permission-less leverage.
• Leverage is everything: Think strategically about the leverage you have and try to acquire new kinds of leverage.
• Don't wait. Time is chaos, and chaos doesn't care about your plans.
• Don't optimize when it comes to the interests or well-being of others. Be fair - it pays off so much more in the long run.
• Pay it forward. It's just so much more fun.

About the Universe: