My friend and Cool Tools parter, Kevin Kelly, just turned 68. Happy Birthday, Kevin! To celebrate, he posted 68 pieces of advice. Kevin is one of the wisest people I know, and when he gives advice, I never dismiss it lightly. Here are the first 10:
- Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or even offend you. See if you can find the truth in what they believe.
- Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.
- Always demand a deadline. A deadline weeds out the extraneous and the ordinary. It prevents you from trying to make it perfect, so you have to make it different. Different is better.
- Don't be afraid to ask a question that may sound stupid because 99% of the time everyone else is thinking of the same question and is too embarrassed to ask it.
- Being able to listen well is a superpower. While listening to someone you love keep asking them "Is there more?", until there is no more.
- A worthy goal for a year is to learn enough about a subject so that you can't believe how ignorant you were a year earlier.
- Gratitude will unlock all other virtues and is something you can get better at.
- Treating a person to a meal never fails, and is so easy to do. It's powerful with old friends and a great way to make new friends.
- Don't trust all-purpose glue.
- Reading to your children regularly will bond you together and kickstart their imaginations.
Image: Christopher Michel