Rules for Success

One of the best gifts I was ever given.

When I was twenty-one years old, fresh out of college and about to start my first job, my father gave me a handwritten list of instructions.

Here are my dad’s rules for success:

> Do at least 10% more than you are asked.
> Never, ever, to anybody, present as fact, opinions on things you don’t know. Take great care and discipline.
> Be courteous and considerate always— up and down.
> Don’t knock, don’t complain—stick to constructive, serious criticism.
> Don’t be afraid to make decisions when you have the facts on which to make them.
> Quantify where possible.
> Be open-minded but skeptical.
> Be prompt.

I’ve passed these same rules on to my own children and the original copy hangs next to my bathroom mirror.

- Marc Randolph via Twitter/X

Director

I was an accidental entrepreneur but serial now. I don’t think I’ll ever work for anyone else and likely will move from one thing to another so for me it’s a personality trait. I get bored easy and need to move on to something else. But I don’t have a risk taking personality. I am more trained there by mentally pushing myself to take the next step.

It doesn’t come easy but I view my life as if I was watching a movie about my life. I want to watch an amazing interesting movie. To make that happen it’s like I’m directing a scene and tell myself that in this scene take the next step and let’s see what happens. It’s uncomfortable for me but I pretend it’s not. People view me as very assured and confident whereas in reality it’s the director asking the actor to be very assured and confident in this scene.

- Several-Ad2548 on Reddit

You Are Enough

“Tibetan Buddhist texts liken this type of addictive behavior to ‘licking honey off a razor.’ The initial sensation may be sweet, but the underlying effect is quite damaging. Seeking satisfaction in others or in external objects or events reinforces a deep and often unacknowledged belief that we, as we are, are not entirely complete; that we need something beyond ourselves in order to experience a sense of wholeness or security or stability.”​

— Joyful Wisdom by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche