Ask HN: Your words of wisdom to live by?
I'm the CTO for a non-profit that mentors kids in high school to help them discover their passions early in life. When I talk to the kids I mentor and give advice to, I always try my best to impart my most important words of wisdom to them. Throughout my own life, several people have passed on principles, words to live by, and advice that has helped shape who I am today.
I sat down tonight and started writing out different things that I use to guide myself through life. I thought it would be a good idea to keep a list that I can pass on to kids and, someday, my own children.
While I was writing this stuff down, I thought getting input from the HN community could be a very valuable exercise. With so many intelligent, successful, and thoughtful people, I think we could really build an awesome list.
So, please contribute your words of wisdom, principles to live by, or anecdotes that have guided you in life. I'll start with a few of the most important to me in the comments. After a week or so, I'll compile these into a webpage and get it online. Thanks!
19 comments
[ 8.1 ms ] story [ 80.8 ms ] thread2) Make a strong effort to always leave things better than you found them. A fraternity advisor issued a challenge to me my freshman year. He challenged me to be able to look myself in a mirror at the end of my college career and be able to say that the organization is better for my having been there. I now challenge myself to this with all that I touch.
3) When being criticized, keep your calm and listen. If you result to defensiveness, you'll miss the point. Listen, reflect, and then form your opinions. Criticism is generally not meant as an attack, but comes from people trying to help you.
4) It's better to fail chasing your dreams than to succeed in not.
and
"Luck is what you make it"
Never attribute to malice, that which can be attributed to ________.
Your true friends are those who care how your life turns out.
Genuinely asking someone "How does that make you feel?" or "How do you feel about X?" will make you instantly likable, diffuse almost any tension, defensiveness, or aggression, and is always appropriate when you don't know what to say.
But, counter-intuitively, to be happy and successful you have to focus outward on something bigger than yourself, and completely forget about random good things happening or imagining what might happen if they do. Find something to pour yourself into and make yourself useful. Today. The more you focus on yourself and luck the more you are missing the entire point of living. Don't be a spectator in your own life.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. - Misattributed to various people, including Albert Einstein and Mark Twain. The earliest known occurrence, and probable origin is Rita Mae Brown, Sudden Death (Bantam Books, New York, 1983), p. 68."
Another idea that has helped me is: You can only do what you want, not want what you want.
- Do one thing a day.(Everyday)
- Happiness != Wealth. Love != Wealth. Love = Happiness.
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."