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Lesson #1: Keep Promises (To Yourself)
Lying to ourselves is the worst habit that anyone can possibly fall into.
It starts with a small lie like getting out of bed at 8:00 AM after setting an alarm for 6:00 AM the night before.
Then things tend to spiral quickly…
Since we got out of bed at eight and not six, we tell ourselves that “we can just take it easy today and start fresh tomorrow.”
Like clockwork, we eat like crap, skip the gym, and binge Netflix until 2:00 AM. This cycle then repeats itself for a few days until we can get out of the funk.
All because of one little lie.
For this reason, I keep my promises (especially to myself) at all costs. Sometimes even to my detriment.
Lesson #2: Age Doesn’t Always Equal Wisdom
I spent the first 26 years of my life looking to my elders for life advice for the simple reason that they have been on the planet longer than me and thus have more experience to draw on.
Until I had an epiphany…
I would take financial advice from a 23-year-old that rakes in $2M/year before I would take financial advice from a 69-year-old that pumps gas for $7.70/hour.
Because time spent on the planet doesn’t exactly equate to knowledge gained on any particular subject.
This forced me to look at someone’s experience with a subject, rather than simply assuming that age equates to wisdom in all realms.
Lesson #3: Know Your Blind Spots
My father only buys the best of the best – lawnmowers, trucks, you name it.
These things are all very expensive, so they keep him busy working and saving until he’s ready to buy “the best (insert useless thing here).”
With it finally in his possession, he proceeds to never use it.
Ever.
Never one to waste a good opportunity, I’ve spent my entire adult life shitting on him for this.
That is, until a few months ago when I realized that I inherited his bad habit.
Luckily, I’ve realized it, and I’ve changed the habit.
I tell you this because we all walk around with a set inherited beliefs – some people don’t like to use their shit, other people think that the earth is flat.
I’ll be the first to tell you that beliefs are provisional, and you can change them whenever you’d like. They don’t define you, but if you let them, they will sink you. Start off the new year ripping at the roots of the bad ones and watch your life change overnight.
Lesson # 4: Half the Battle Is Who You Know
A few examples should drive this point home:
In my experience, knowing the right people can:
- Open doors that most people don’t know exist.
- Provide access to information/resources that can change your life.
- Make the impossible tangible.
This isn’t speculation. This is fact.
A fact that’s important enough to make me want to go out and shake a few hands.
Lesson #5: Beware of Big Bites
In 2022, I made a mess by taking on too many responsibilities. In 2023, I spent the entire year cleaning up my mess.
I took big bites in 2022 because I wanted to see big results – more success, more money, more businesses.
I learned quickly and the things that I was doing were pretty impressive. But I made mistakes. Big mistakes. Mistakes that led to more mistakes, setbacks, and plenty of lost time and lost money.
It’s a story that’s not unique to just me.
Whenever most of us start something new, we dive into it with full force and live at the extremes.
We take big bites, bites that require lots of chewing. Chewing that tires people out, slows them down, and ultimately pushes them to quit.
I’ve learned my lesson, and these days I look at new opportunities through a more calculated, long-term lens.
I’ll Leave You with A Story
The most important lesson that I learned in 2023 can be summed up with a parable that I stole from Alex Hormozi:
Imagine that two people are both given a die and told that they are going to play a game.
The size of the die is relative to the life experience that each person has. One person has more experience and less to learn, so they get a die with 20 sides. The other person is a beginner with a lot to learn, so their die has 200 sides.
Each die has one green side, all other sides are red.
Whenever a green is rolled, one side of the die is eliminated. Each player takes turns rolling until all of the sides are gone.
The kicker is, neither person knows how many sides each die has.
So the games starts, and each player rolls plenty of reds.
After an hour of rolling, the player with less sides begins to get frustrated at their lack of success. Meanwhile, the less experienced player keeps his head down and just keeps rolling.
Eventually, the more experienced player rolls a very annoyed green, but it’s short-lived. A few rolls later, they get sick of rolling reds and quit.
With no other option, the less experienced player keeps pushing forward, rolling, rolling, and rolling the dice.
A few hours in, they too hit a green. Now fired up, they keep rolling. As they roll, the greens start to come easier and easier. The game starts to become fun. So they do what they do best, and they keep rolling.
After 199 more greens, all of the sides have been eliminated and our hero stands alone as victor.
Just like this game of dice, the only way to find success in anything is to keep rolling.
Regardless of how many sides are on the die, how many reds we’ve rolled, or how many people give up, the only thing that we can do is keep rolling.
If we can do that, eventually we’re bound to roll a few greens.
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