In the latest issue of my Book Freak newsletter, I recommended my longtime friend and business partner Kevin Kelly's new book, Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier. It has hundreds of pieces of useful advice. Here are ten samples:
Would I do this tomorrow?
"When you get invited to do something in the future, ask yourself: 'Would I do this tomorrow?' Not too many promises will pass that immediacy filter."
Understand why someone believes something stupid
"You can reduce the annoyance of someone's stupid belief by increasing your understanding of why they believe it."
Do
"The greatest teacher is called 'doing.'"
Creep up
"When you need to cut something extremely exact, don't try to do it with one cut. Instead, cut it a bit bigger and then keep trimming it bit by bit until perfect. Professional makers call this 'creeping up' to the precise measurements."
Play the long game
"We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a decade. Miraculous things can be accomplished if you give it 10 years. A long game will compound small gains that will be able to overcome even big mistakes."
Who should I become?
The only productive way to answer 'What should I do now?' is to first the question of 'Who should I become?'"
A good way to spend $20
"If you loan someone $20 and you never see them again because they are avoiding paying you back, that makes it worth $20."
Reveal the adventure of the worst that can happen
"Fully embrace 'What is the worst that can happen?' at each juncture in life. Rehearsing your response to the 'worst' can reveal it as an adventure and rob it of its power to stall you."
A guide to collecting art
"The perfect kind of art to display in your home are odd pieces that a child is unlikely to forget."
How to get unstuck
When you are stuck, explain your problem to others. Often simply laying out a problem will present a solution. Make 'explaining the problem' part of your troubleshooting process.
