#28: wisdom of nine decades

Nov 27, 2020

“What’s the one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?”
I asked the 86-year old man sat next to me on a long-haul flight around this time last year.
I overheard him talking to his wife, and after realizing we share the same mother tongue, I was tempted even more to ask him that question.
He looked me in the eye, smiled, and went on for next hour or two.
And I gladly listened…
Be honest.
Wish for others what you want for yourself.
Be the one who picks his teammates; not the quiet one who gets picked! Speak up and voice your thoughts.
Marry wisely. It’s one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make.

Don’t let failures stop you from trying again (and again).
Journal. Write every day. And write anything you remember from the past.
One conversation or one interaction could change the course of your life for better. Have faith.
“Be honest”, he repeated.
Read and listen to as much good content as you can—Do this often and great ideas will keep flowing to you.
The more you read the more you know. The more you listen the more you understand.
Don’t smoke. Avoid alcohol. Your future self will thank you for it.
Make the money first, then spend it. Don’t spend more than you can afford.
So much of what he said resonated with me.
So much of it I knew, but had forgotten.

👋 Welcome to the 28th volume of Out of Curiosity, a weekly newsletter promoting ideas to help get 1% better everyday.

Every week, I go through nearly 100 pieces of content (from books and podcasts to newsletters and tweets), and bring you the best in this newsletter.

In this issue:

📚 The Untethered Soul (by Michael Singer)

💼 12 career lessons

🛤 How do I know I'm on the right path?

👋 Charlene Wang

📚 The Untethered Soul (by Michael Singer)

Notes on mental barriers, seeking the answers within, and staying open:

If you still have barriers and you know what they are because you hit them every day, you must be willing to go beyond them. Otherwise, you remain within your cage. And remember, decorating your cage with beautiful experiences, fond memories and great dreams is not the same as going beyond. You must be willing to go beyond.

External changes are not gonna solve the problem because they don’t address the root of the problem. That’s why have so much problems with the relationships; you have a problem inside yourself and try to seek a solution on the outside.

If you remain open enough, waves of uplifting energy will fill your heart. Don’t ever close.

{186 pages}

💼 12 career lessons

This comprehensive list resonated with me a lot. It's broken down by different career stages and written by Rishad Tobaccowala, a renowned leadership coach and author of Restoring the Soul of Business.

What stood out to me:

Plan and make decisions over a long horizon
Even the best jobs are only good seventy percent of the time
Compete against yourself rather than with others
Plan your career as if you were a company of one
Who you work for is critical so choose your boss well
Build your Brand
Build a portfolio career and start giving back aggressively

{12-min read}

🛤 How do I know I'm on the right path?

Look around you.
If there are others all moving in the same direction, and they look like you, and they move like you, and they all like the same things, and they hate the same things, and they are angry about the same things, and they are screaming about the same things, chances are you are on the wrong path.

Reading this reminded me of what Naval once said about authenticity and competition:

Escape competition through authenticity. Basically, when you’re competing with people, it’s because you’re copying them. It’s because you’re trying to do the same thing. But every human is different. Don’t copy

{1-min read}

📚 A line from a book that stuck with you

We forgot how to know when we learned how to please. When we finally learn that it is impossible to please the world, we can become free to please ourselves.

Untamed (by Glennon Doyle)

📰 A newsletter you look forward to

Erik Torenberg's Thoughts

🐦 A Twitter account to follow

@Julian

🎧 A song you'd listen to all day on repeat

cardigan

🤔 A question that's been on your mind lately

Why do we often sacrifice something to achieve what we want in life?

👋 Follow Charlene

LivingOS | Twitter

📕 Charlene is a life coach for high achievers, and her first book (The Model Breakers) is coming out this April. It's about the struggle to be fully ourselves, and you can check it out here.