34 life tips I would share with a younger version of myself.

Relationships

• People are more important than you think.

• The most important relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. If you don’t respect and love yourself, no one else will.

• There’s a fine line between being “very comfortable” with someone and taking them for granted. It’s easy to cross that line. Know when you’ve done that and correct yourself.

• Honestly saying sorry is the least you should do when you’ve made a mistake.

• It’s easy to set different standards for yourself and others. “Their mistakes are their fault, and your mistakes are because of circumstances.” Know that this is a logical fallacy and the fastest path to fooling yourself.

• No relationship is 50:50 every day of the year. Some days it’s 10:90, other days it’s 90:10. If you can consistently remain aware of which day it is, then the relationship will blossom in the long term.

• Someone on the other side of the world has a great chance of being like minded and becoming a close friend. Make the effort to find them, it will be worth it.

• Empathy is the most important skill in the world. Not writing, not coding, not invesing. Empathy. And you can get better at it with practice, just like any other skill. Empathize with people.

Money

• Money is less important than you think.

• Time, not money is the most important resource in your life.

• Use money to buy basic necessatities (food, air, water, WiFi) or time (by outsourcing/automating menial tasks) or experiences(travel, books, movies, fine dining, etc.). That is the best use of your money.

• Know how much is enough, and be brave to say no after that point.

• Banks just want to sell you credit and earn interest. Don’t fall for it.

• If you spend less than you make you will never be poor.

• Even if you can’t control how much you make, you can always control how much you spend.

• Owning equity is the only way to build real wealth.

• Invest in a business you understand, everything else is a gamble.

• Gamble only what you can afford to lose.

• You will lose money at many points in life. Learn from them and don’t repeat the same mistakes again. But don’t be afraid of making new mistakes, that’s how you grow.

• The only certainty in life is that it’s random and the music can stop at any moment - Buy insurance, lot’s of it. For your health, your vehicle, your life.

Health

• Your body is more important than you think. You are the only inhabitant of your body, from birth to death. Take care of it.

• Your body wasn’t designed for the sedentary lifestyle you live today. Find ways to give it the strains it needs regularly.

• Your brain is a squishy computer that needs frequent reboots and care. Don’t mistreat it. Take regular breaks, sleep well, take on interesting intellectual challenges.

• Spend more calories than you consume and you will be healthy for most parts of your life.

• Food is just fuel for the body, not comfort for the mind.

• The advice “Drink more Water” works well with most health challenges - so drink more water, at least 3 liters a day.

Life

• Gratitude is more important than you think. You are extremely privileged to be able to live the life you’re living. Count your blessings every day and help the people less privileged than you.

• This is the only life you will get. Value it, don’t waste it.

• “Live and let live” is the single most important life mantra you can practice. Live life life the way you want to, but never interfere with someone else’ way of life.

• The world is a random place, to do anything worthwhile you will need to take multiple shots. Always give yourself enough space/time to take more shots.

• Be an optimist. The present is better than the past, the future will be better than the present. Your best years are ahead of you.

• A birthday is a random number that doesn’t mean anything. You control what meaning you want to give to it. Use it to remind yourself of your mortality every year. Coming closer to your death every year should inspire you to live life to the fullest right now.

• Life is long, don’t bore yourself by doing the same thing everyday.

• Life is short, hold fewer grudges, have more fun, live more experiences.