Develop the ability to distance your thought patterns and emotions from your actions, observing feelings like “I am feeling anger” rather than “I am angry,” to react appropriately in challenging situations.
Prioritize good, high-quality sleep (as much as you need, ideally without an alarm clock) as it’s the largest needle-mover for productivity, improving performance significantly.
Increase your “luck” by constantly listening for opportunities and then having the courage to act on them when they arise, rather than reverting to your local maxima.
Become aware of your own insecurities and embrace vulnerability as a leader, as it is crucial for success and can surprisingly lead to positive reactions from your team.
Develop genuine empathy for the people you work with by becoming innately interested in their lives and problems, which helps you understand and motivate them more effectively.
Carefully curate your social environment and the people you surround yourself with, as their influence will profoundly “rewrite your brain” and shape your thinking.
Design your day to maximize “flow” states by strategically scheduling meetings and structuring work to minimize distractions, allowing for deep, focused engagement.
To achieve success or overcome negative patterns, identify and intervene to change the underlying “feedback loops” that drive behavior, as these are the most important interventions.
Act as a “micro-influencer” by giving positive feedback to others, particularly those you admire or respect, to catalyze positive feedback loops that can lead to greatness.
Use people you care about and respect as a “board of advisors” to gut-check your actions and gauge if you are doing the right thing, serving as an ultimate metric for self-improvement.
To achieve personal “iPhone moments” or significant breakthroughs, focus on doing things that may not seem intuitive, align with current metrics, or even appear crazy, but hold the potential for life-changing results.
As a manager or leader, design systems that align company incentives with employees’ desires to create the best “game” for them.
As a manager, genuinely understand your employees’ personal stories and upbringings to design systems that align company incentives with their desires, fostering motivation and a better “game” for them.
To motivate yourself for difficult tasks, read books on the subject, as their length and repetitive narrative can “brainwash” your mind and change your internal processes.
Prioritize reading fiction over nonfiction, especially while you’re younger, as it can have a more potent and deeper effect on your mind, shaping your worldview at a fundamental level.
Manage your social media usage carefully, viewing platforms like Twitter as “chocolate” (good in the moment, bad long-term), and implement system-based defenses rather than relying on willpower.
Do not feel obligated to finish every book; if a book is bad or uninteresting, discard it immediately to maximize the amount of reading you do.
Cycle through various long-form content formats like books and podcasts, switching when you’re too tired or mentally active for one, to maintain consistent learning.
Keep your phone outside of your bedroom and away from your bed to minimize distractions and promote better sleep and focus.
Keep “Do Not Disturb” turned on your phone to avoid constant interruptions, treating phone notifications as intrusive as someone shouting in your face.
Turn on the color filter on your iPhone to make the screen black and white, reducing its visual appeal and making it less addictive for better focus.
Break down massive or overly difficult problems into smaller, manageable parts to maintain a state of “flow” and avoid being overwhelmed by challenges.
When building software, prioritize understanding users’ deep goals and align them with the organization’s goals, rather than solely focusing on organizational imperatives or KPIs.
To understand success, reverse engineer the small, catalyzing moments that initiated positive feedback loops for highly successful individuals, rather than just their current habits or beginnings.
Cultivate situations where people positively predict the outcome of exploring new directions and being curious about themselves, making them feel safe and rewarded for taking steps forward.
As a leader, vocalize your worries and concerns to your team, treating them as adults and providing full context, as this can be the most effective approach.
When faced with opposing opinions, cultivate intrigue in the other side by trying to understand how that person developed their viewpoint, rather than simply disagreeing.
To shift your mindset and broaden your views, talk to people you respect about topics outside the domain for which you initially respect them.
Recognize that people’s minds are more open to new ideas and alternatives when they experience environmental novelty, such as returning from vacation or being in a new place.
Take care of yourself, particularly by prioritizing sleep, because no one else will tell you to, and it’s crucial for maintaining performance and empathy.