Useful Advice

Last year I read Kevin Kelly’s 68 bits of Unsolicited advice and found it helpful and applicable to me. He published 99 additional bits of unsolicited advice for his birthday and they were just as good as last year. After reading through them I thought I would direct people to his post and go over the ones that really resonated with me. There is something in there for everyone and some of them just act as a reminder or that much-needed kick up the butt that we need to get going. This post is going to be more personal than my previous few posts. I feel like that’s what I need to be doing right now, a little introspection. If you’re just interested in the 99 bits of advice then head over to his website, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Here are the bits of advice that resonated with me.

If your goal does not have a schedule, it is a dream

This is a big problem of mine; I always seem to push scheduling to the next day/week. I understand that putting things down doesn’t set them in stone and that they can change but having them written down as a plan of attack makes it easier to achieve. Part of not writing it down makes it tangible and I guess it’s that resistance preventing me from getting it done. The fear of working towards something that I want to achieve and possibly failing is holding me back, but it shouldn’t cause I won’t really know until I try.

All the greatest gains in life — in wealth, relationships, or knowledge —come from the magic of compounding interest — amplifying small steady gains. All you need for abundance is to keep adding 1% more than you subtract on a regular basis.

This is an important reminder for me and adds to the previous bit of advice. Most of the time we don’t start because the task seems too daunting. But constantly reminding myself about the compounding interest effect has motivated me to just do a little bit, whatever that may be. That little bit gets you started or keeps you going, and it is a lot better than the alternative of mindless scrolling or not doing something you are interested in. I’ve become a bit stagnant recently and this reminder has motivated me to keep going, to do that little bit extra.

I have never met a person I admired who did not read more books than I did.

This one motivates me to keep reading every day. In every podcast I listen to, they always ask the guest what their favourite books are, and they always have an extensive list on a variety of subjects. There is so much to learn about and with so many books out there it can be daunting. But by applying the compounding interest theory to books, you can slowly learn so much about our world and the people in it. 

Every person you meet knows an amazing lot about something you know virtually nothing about. Your job is to discover what it is, and it won’t be obvious.

I find this piece of advice so interesting, and it reminds me of the times I have found this to be true. I find it fascinating when someone I know is interested in something I know nothing about. This bit of advice acts as a reminder that conversation or small talk doesn’t have to be boring. There is something that either of you may bring to the conversation that could fascinate the other person, leading to a much better conversation. You just need to look for it and put in some effort.  

Always give credit, take blame.

I need to do more of both of these. I don’t give enough credit when it is due, I tend to assume a person knows that I’m appreciative of them, but it’s not that difficult to just tell them that you do. This may be different to giving credit, but that’s what this bit of advice triggers in me. They are both easy to do and help keep the ego in check, just like taking the blame too. Taking the blame can help a situation if you’re in the right mindset to do so. Only positives can come from giving credit and taking the blame.  

Be frugal in all things, except in your passions splurge.

I’m quite conscious about saving money and learning about investing but putting money away does make it hard to justify spending on myself. I’ve started doing it more often, but camera equipment can be really expensive, so I have to be sure about the purchase. This makes me feel better about making these purchases and helps me see it as an investment in myself.     

Work to become, not to acquire.

There seems to be a theme here. After picking out the pieces of advice I found to be most applicable to me, a lot of them seem to be about working towards something and my mindset. These reminders do help and so does reflecting on them in my blog. Having the mindset of improving as a person and becoming the person I want to be, makes me prouder of the progress I’ve made. Although I haven’t made much financial progress, focusing on self-improvement motivates me to keep going. I don’t want to be someone who acquires things, but rather shares experiences and learns more about life. It’s easy to say that when I don’t have the ability to acquire anything I want, but I’d like to think that it wouldn’t change me if I did.

Here are a few more bits of advice that I liked:

Calm is contagious.

Be governed not by the tyranny of the urgent but by the elevation of the important.

Recipe for success: under-promise and over-deliver.

Most overnight successes — in fact any significant successes — take at least 5 years. Budget your life accordingly.

There are so many bits of advice that I think would resonate with anyone. It’s a five-minute read and who knows, you could find that one bit of advice that changes your perspective or gets you going.