36 Life Lessons I Learned Before the Age of 30_ The Observer 4th May 2015

Here's a simplified version of this recent interview that I have really enjoyed reading. I hope that you enjoy it too! It's so true!

36 Life Lessons I Learned Before the Age of 30

Sam Altman is the president of Y Combinator, which has incubated companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox and Scribd.

I turned 30 last week and a friend asked me if I had figured out any life advice in the past decade worth passing on. I’m somewhat hesitant to publish this but here is a cleaned-up version of my answer:

1.    Never put your family, friends, or significant other low on your priority list. Prefer a handful of truly close friends to a hundred acquaintances. Don’t lose touch with old friends.

2.    Time is extremely limited and goes by fast. Do what makes you happy and fulfilled. Don’t do stuff that doesn’t make you happy and cut negative people out of your life. Don’t waste time. Be a doer, not a talker.

3.    Work very hard but not so hard that the rest of your life passes you by. Aim to be the best in the world at whatever you do professionally. Don’t waste time and don’t be afraid to take some career risks, especially early on.

4.    On money: Whether or not money can buy happiness, it can buy freedom, and that’s a big deal. Also, lack of money is very stressful. Making money is often more fun than spending it, though I personally have never regretted money I’ve spent on friends, new experiences and travel.

5.    Talk to people more. Read more long content and fewer tweets. Watch less TV. Spend less time on the Internet. Learn voraciously.

6.    Don’t let yourself get pushed around. There is a big difference between confident and arrogant. Aim for the former, obviously.

7.    If you think you’re going to regret not doing something, you should probably do it. Regret is the worst, and most people regret far more things they didn’t do than things they did do.

8.    Exercise. Eat well. Sleep. Get out into nature with some regularity.

9.    Go out of your way to help people. Few things in life are as satisfying. Be nice to strangers. Be nice even when it doesn’t matter.

10. Be grateful and keep problems in perspective. Don’t complain too much. Don’t hate other people’s success.  Don’t judge other people too quickly. You never know their whole story and why they did or didn’t do something. Be empathetic.

Adapted from: http://observer.com/2015/05/the-days-are-long-but-the-decades-are-short/#ixzz3ahxqReE1