My sister graduated from college this year. What a weird year to join the real world. I thought I could give insightful advice as an older brother–you know, some nuggets of wisdom after 3 decades of life.
Instead, I procrastinated until the last day of the year. In place of writing something original, I combed through old notes and put together a collection of favorite essays and quotes. I wish I read, re-read, and internalized these sooner.
Not all advice resonates the same way for everyone, so discard what doesn't work for you. The point isn't even to read all of it. Find the ones you relate to and read them slowly; linger on the ones that stick and make them a part of you. Putting useful thoughts into action is the hard part.
On figuring out what you should work on
Derek Sivers, an entrepreneur and musician, on prioritizing: "When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than 'Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!' — then say 'no.'"
Chris Dixon, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, talking about hill climbing and different paths in life: "But the lure of the current hill is strong. There is a natural human tendency to make the next step an upward one. He ends up falling for a common trap highlighted by behavioral economists: people tend to systematically overvalue near term over long term rewards. This effect seems to be even stronger in more ambitious people. Their ambition seems to make it hard for them to forgo the nearby upward step.
People early in their career should learn from computer science: meander some in your walk (especially early on), randomly drop yourself into new parts of the terrain, and when you find the highest hill, don’t waste any more time on the current hill no matter how much better the next step up might appear."
All of Paul Graham's essays are fantastic, I've read his writing for 10 years now, and it gets better. Work asks "what doesn't seem like work to you?", which is further explained in genius. How to do what you love is another classic. His essay for high schoolers is relevant for all of us.
On failure and pushing through difficulty
Kobe Bryant on pushing through rehab after his Achilles injury: “I just go. Once I make the decision I am going to take this challenge on, I never waver and I never question the investment. I already made the decision. You have those painful moments, but you just keep on moving.”
Stephen Colbert on failure from his GQ interview shortly after taking over for David Letterman: “You have to learn to love the bomb. It took me a long time to really understand what that meant...It wasn't ‘Don't worry, you'll get it next time.’ It wasn't ‘Laugh it off.’ No, it means what it says. You gotta learn to love when you're failing...The embracing of that, the discomfort of failing in front of an audience, leads you to penetrate through the fear that blinds you. Fear is the mind killer.”
Reinhold Niebuhr: "Grant me serenity to accept the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which I can, and wisdom to distinguish one from the other.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, and accepting hardship as a pathway to peace."
On what other people think
Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat Pray Love, on creating: "Recognizing that people’s reactions don’t belong to you is the only sane way to create. If people enjoy what you’ve created, terrific. If people ignore what you’ve created, too bad. If people misunderstand what you’ve created, don’t sweat it. And what if people absolutely hate what you’ve created? What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest – as politely as you possibly can – that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”
Tim Urban, Author of Wait but Why, on why you should stop caring what other people think. His long form essays are detailed and in-depth.
On wealth, but not money
Simple bulleted investing rules from Morgan Housel, a venture capitalist and great investing writer. One of my favorite investing writers I've read for a long time. His essays cover human behaviors around money, what we can learn from history, grand mistakes, and how to make sure you don't disturb compounding growth.
Another Paul Graham recommendation about making wealth.
A popular tweetstorm from Naval, philosopher, entrepreneur, and super angel investor, on how to get rich without getting lucky. It's the most concise summary on how to methodically approach the endeavor.
General
There's no speed limit by Derek Sivers.
Sam Altman's life advice after turning 30. A lot of great things in here, I won't spoil it.
One of my favorite writers, Nassim Taleb, giving a commencement speech at the American University in Beirut. The whole commencement is fantastic, but there's gold in the first 15 seconds: "For I have a single definition of success: you look in the
mirror every evening, and wonder if you disappoint the
person you were at 18, right before the age when people
start getting corrupted by life. Let him or her be the only
judge; not your reputation, not your wealth, not your
standing in the community, not the decorations on your
lapel. If you do not feel ashamed, you are successful. All
other definitions of success are modern constructions;
fragile modern constructions."
Taleb's book series is worth a read and Antifragile is my most re-read book.
The ever popular Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address: "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
Bonus
Somebody just launched this: Alias - it's a directory of people and their content, all housed in one place. Right now it's heavily indexed on technology entrepreneurs but I suspect it will expand over time. There are a number of scientists and professors in there as well. Pick your rabbit hole carefully :-)