15 July 2019
First Principles
Strive for excellence because at a micro level, life is a series of games. Whatever you choose to play, play to win.
Live values-first because at a macro level, only two poles matter to you: freedom/dignity and impact. Preserve freedom and dignity - if you lose all else, this alone will be sufficient. Maximize impact (lives changed) — even if you achieve everything else, you will only remember this.
Be disciplined with your mind and your body — they are what constitutes your consciousness. The world will continually try to weaken both.
Be frugal — because labor and natural resources, the two greatest inputs to all material goods, are precious and scarce, whereas the outputs (material goods) bring minimal marginal happiness above a basic threshold. The world will continually try to obscure the value of inputs and inflate the desirability and value of outputs.
Be bold and take risks - exponentiality is what you should always aim for. For your parents, who had nothing, this was a risk. For you, who have everything, this is a responsibility.
Take action on your empathy for the world — human and otherwise. You live in a reality which needs this.
Embrace impermanence — all meaning exists due to limiting constraints. Our lives hold meaning due to the inevitability of death; our selves hold meaning due to the inevitability of change. The world will tempt you with promises of immortality — do not heed them. You are who you are, and the life you enable will simply be. When discovered and lived, impermanence is the most liberating principle of all.