21 Tips at 21

I am 21-years-old.

And I’ve seen a lot of these lists online, like this. So let me try it out.

Major caveat though. If you haven’t realized, I do not have a lot of life experience at age 21, nor am I super qualified in any particular field. Which translates to the unfortunate fact that I am a low believability person. However, this should still be interesting and it’ll certainly be fun to read in the future. Maybe I’ll even have moments like what was I thinking when I wrote that?

Do note that this list is not 100% original. Sources are provided where possible.

21 Tips at 21

  1. Everyone is weird in their own way. So do what makes you “weird” and stop fearing what others think.

  2. When you want to get to the root of something, look at the incentives. 1 Came from the Charlie Munger quote: “show me the incentives and I will show you the outcome.”

  3. Compliment others while they’re still alive, not at their funeral. They’re not there to appreciate it when they’re dead.

  4. I have regretted every single time I’ve gotten angry. So the next time you feel yourself filling with rage, withdraw yourself and keep quiet. Because anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

  5. We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality – Seneca. (Book on Amazon US | Singapore)

  6. We live in a world of nuance, but we communicate in black and white.

  7. Getting less sleep so you can get more time is like borrowing money from a loanshark. It works for now, but you’re going to be stuck paying high interest in perpetuity.

  8. Say this more often: “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”

  9. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. (Wikipedia)

  10. Add time to achieve greatness. Writing once is okay, anyone can do it. Writing 1000 times over time is greatness.

  11. Give value to get value.

  12. Discipline equals freedom. Are you truly free if you’re held hostage by your temptations? (Book on Amazon US | Singapore)

  13. Remember that you’re going to die.

  14. The days are long, but the decades are short. (Sam Altman)

  15. Work on things that continue working for you when you’ve stopped. This is one such example. I could be sleeping right now, but here you are reading my writing.

  16. Every time you say yes, you’re saying no to everything else.

  17. If you don’t like the book you’re reading, try a little longer. Still don’t like it? Drop it. Don’t let it ruin the joy of reading.

  18. If it’s taught in school, you can be replaced by a newer graduate (no AI disruption, machine learning, or other buzzwords necessary).

  19. You are what you create, not what you consume. So create more, consume less.

  20. 80% of phone notifications should be disabled.

  21. If you add up all the advice in the world, they’ll eventually cancel each other out. And that includes this list too. (Naval Ravikant on Amazon US | Singapore)

What do you think? Let me know.

Published July 27, 2021 | Updated August 5, 2021

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