25 Rules For Success

Success leaves clues.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with figuring out the blueprint for success

So over the last decade, I’ve dived headfirst into hundreds of books, podcasts, YouTube videos, and conferences to try to learn from the best.

And as a big believer in the power of shared knowledge, I created this post to outline what I believe separates the dreamers from the achievers. I plan to revisit this list at the end of each year and update it.

For now, here are my 25 rules for success:

1. You can't hit what you don't target.

2. You can't lose if you don't quit.

3. The harder you work, the luckier you'll get.

4. But you won't get lucky unless you are in the arena.

5. Optimize for learning valuable skills, and the money will follow.

6. Become obsessed.

7. You can learn everything you need for free over the internet.

8. But don't spend your whole life behind a computer screen—proximity matters. Get in rooms with people doing big things.

9. How you do anything is how you do everything.

10. If you feel in complete control, you aren't growing.

11. You control what things mean.

12. It's often more important where you play than how you play. Be on the right boat.

13. If you aren't willing to work on it for ten years, don't work on it for one year.

14. What people think of you is their business.

15. Long-term thinkers will beat short-term thinkers every time.

16. Don't be a pessimist, and don't work with pessimists.

17. Give more than you take.

18. There is no success without persistence and consistency.

19. Timing matters. A great thing at the wrong time won't work.

20. Keep the main thing the main thing.

21. To build conviction, gather evidence.

22. If you can't decide, the answer is no.

23. History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme.

24. Control the controllable, ignore the rest.

25. Have fun.