11 Rules For Life

Key Takeaways

1. Prioritize Fitness for a Foundation of Success

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.

Fitness is foundational. Fitness isn't just about aesthetics; it's the bedrock upon which a successful and fulfilling life is built. It encompasses physical strength, mental resilience, and overall well-being, all of which are essential for tackling life's challenges. Neglecting fitness undermines your capacity for achievement.

Three pillars of fitness. Fitness is composed of three pillars: sleep, diet, and exercise. Each pillar requires a simple, effective system.

• Prioritize 7-8 hours of quality sleep by maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, creating a dark and quiet sleep environment, and avoiding screens before bed.
• Adopt a balanced, nutritious diet focused on whole foods, lean protein, and plenty of vegetables, while limiting processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats.
• Incorporate regular exercise into your routine, including both cardio and weight training, to build strength, endurance, and mental toughness.

Mental strength. Exercise requires motivation, focus and discipline. It demands pushing aside that inner voice making excuses or asking you to quit. This is exactly what success in life requires as well. Every time you go to the gym or go for a run, you’re basically doing net-practice sessions for the world. Treat the aesthetic and physical strength benefits as by-products.

2. Master Emotions to Rule Your Destiny

The wise man is master of his emotions, and the fool is their slave.

Emotional mastery is key. The ability to understand and control your emotions is a critical determinant of success. While emotions are a fundamental part of being human, allowing them to dictate your decisions can lead to disastrous outcomes. Mastering your emotions allows you to make rational choices aligned with your long-term goals.

Two-step process. There’s a two-step process to mastering your emotions.

• Identify your current state of mind. Are you rationally dominant, emotionally dominant, or somewhere in between?
• Resolve to become a rationally dominant person. Train your brain to prioritize logic and reason over impulsive emotional reactions.

Reading other people's emotions. While you work on your own emotional control, learn to read other people’s emotions well too. As most of the human population is emotionally driven, there’s value in learning what makes other people tick emotionally. This doesn’t mean you become an emotional manipulator, or that you exploit other people’s feelings. This simply means being sensitive to the fact that almost everyone you interact with is driven emotionally, at least partially so.

3. Put Yourself First to Truly Thrive

If you don’t put yourself first, who will?

Self-prioritization is essential. Putting yourself first is not selfish; it's a necessary act of self-preservation. It means prioritizing your needs, goals, and well-being to create a foundation for success and happiness. Only when you are strong and fulfilled can you effectively support others.

Boundaries are key. Setting boundaries signals to others that you value your time, energy, and priorities. People will adjust to your needs when you consistently demonstrate that you respect them yourself. This doesn't mean ignoring the needs of others, but rather ensuring that your own needs are met first.

People-pleasing isn't just living your life for people. It is also about living your entire life to show people. For some reason, you want certain people to praise you, be in awe of you, or say, ‘Wow, that’s cool!’ to everything you do. This makes you do jobs you hate, put on a persona that isn’t really you, go after things that you think those people would like, not necessarily you. Before you know it, you are living a life that is a complete lie.

4. Master Simple English for Opportunity

The English language is the language of international business, diplomacy, and culture. It is also the language of the internet and social media. Learning English will give you access to a world of opportunities.

English unlocks doors. In today's globalized world, proficiency in English is a valuable asset. It opens doors to better job opportunities, higher education, and broader cultural experiences. Mastering simple English can significantly improve your chances of success.

Three categories of English speakers. There are three broad categories:

• E-0s: Those who don't know or speak English at all, limiting their career choices.
• E-1s: Those who have learned English but lack native-level comfort, often struggling with confidence and fluency.
• E-2s: A small group who grew up with English, enjoying unique opportunities and immediate attention.

Master simple English. The good news is you don’t have to know E-2 level English. However, you must aim to become a confident, high-level E-1. Get your spoken English to a point where it is no longer a roadblock in life. Your written English must also be at a level where you can quickly compose an email, memo, covering letter, presentation or document in correct, coherent and easy-to-understand English.

5. Avoid Cheap Dopamine for Real Rewards

The pleasure of the moment is the poison of the future.

Dopamine drives motivation. Dopamine is a neurochemical that regulates your brain's motivation and reward circuits. It drives you to seek pleasure and repeat behaviors that trigger its release. However, not all dopamine is created equal.

Cheap dopamine is harmful. Cheap dopamine refers to easily accessible sources of pleasure that require little effort, such as junk food, social media, and pornography. These activities provide a temporary high but ultimately deplete your motivation and disrupt your brain's reward system.

Earn that dopamine, don’t steal it. Dopamine-based rewards must only come after effort. Any other reward is stolen. Real achievements in life only come from real striving. If you waste away your precious dopamine on these easy activities, how will you ever get the dopamine that makes you want to truly work hard?

6. Chase the Hard Things for Growth

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.

Life is inherently challenging. Avoiding difficult tasks and seeking comfort may seem appealing in the short term, but it ultimately leads to stagnation and decline. True growth and fulfillment come from embracing challenges and pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Choose your hard. Life is hard. Avoiding hard things will eventually make things harder. Better to chase the hard and get it over with. It is hard to see yourself fail at that entrance exam because you did not study. It is hard to be fat. It is hard to be unattractive. It is tough to work at a mediocre job day after day. It is difficult knowing you will never succeed in making a class jump. It is hard to always feel like a loser and remain demotivated. It is hard to always want, but never taste real success in life. It is hard to be sick, unhealthy and get heart attacks.

Life is uphill. The moment you understand this simple and beautiful concept, everything becomes easier. Life is fundamentally a struggle. Life is a beautiful, huge green hill. It is beautiful but you also need to climb the hill to really make the most of it. You must hike up a bit every day. If you avoid this hike, because it is too much effort, you will stop growing. More likely, you will slip down.

7. Eat the Elephant One Piece at a Time

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Big goals require long-term effort. Achieving anything remarkable always requires sustained effort over time. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges involves breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps.

Break it down. The most difficult, insurmountable tasks in life can be dealt with effectively by breaking them down or cutting up the task into small pieces. How you cut your big problem into tiny pieces, and work on eating or finishing up those tiny pieces one at a time determines your success in life.

Consistent effort is key. It takes a long time. It’s monotonous and can be boring as hell. It requires determination, focus and sidelining your own pleasure. After all, who wants to eat an elephant, and only an elephant, day after day? However, this is the one tool available to a person without money, privilege and connections. If you can grind away at achieving your goal and keep at it, get bored but still do it day after day, then you can achieve a lot.

8. Be the Cockroach: Adapt to Survive

In nature, it is not the strongest or most intelligent that survives, but it is the most adaptive that does.

Adaptability is essential for survival. In a constantly changing world, the ability to adapt is crucial for success. Those who can embrace change and adjust their strategies will thrive, while those who resist will be left behind.

The cockroach as a role model. The cockroach is a symbol of resilience and adaptability. It can survive in almost any environment and adapt to changing conditions. Emulating this mindset can help you navigate life's challenges with greater ease.

Embrace change. Whenever presented with options in life involving status quo or change, lean towards change. Over time, change won’t scare you as much. Eventually, you will become as adaptive as a cockroach. Like a cockroach, you will also become chill about change and say, ‘Things are changing? Great, bring it on. I will adjust!’

9. Connect with People: Your Network is Your Net Worth

Networking is not about who you know, it’s about who knows you.

Connections drive success. Building and maintaining a strong network of relationships is essential for success in any field. Your network provides access to opportunities, resources, and support that can help you achieve your goals.

Networking is about people. The first step is to ensure you interact with a lot of people. Your school, college and office are obvious places to start. How many people do you know there? Are these people your immediate classmates or colleagues? Why not increase the number of people you mingle with? Take part in activities, help organize things, initiate conversation with people in the cafeteria. All of these count.

Networking up versus networking down. For your own success, you may always want to network up, or build a network with people higher in status than you. However, this isn’t always how real life works. True, networking is not only about your career gains. Career gains are a by-product of being a well-networked person, which itself comes from being a great people person.

10. It's My Fault: Take Extreme Ownership

Extreme ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.

Accountability is empowering. Taking responsibility for your actions and outcomes is the first step towards making positive change. Blaming others or external circumstances only perpetuates a cycle of helplessness and prevents you from taking control of your life.

It’s my fault. If something is not working in your life, your default response should be to take responsibility by saying, ‘It’s my fault.’ Your friend makes more money than you? You think it is because he got lucky and got that MNC job. No. It’s your fault. You are responsible for not trying harder. You should have put ten times more effort while searching for a job.

Brutal truth augmented-reality mirror. Imagine a beautiful mirror. Now stand in front of it. It shows you your entire body. You can see the scars, pimples, dirt and the areas of your body where you are fat. Now imagine the same mirror with enhanced Brutal Truth Augmented-Reality features. Whenever you stand in front of this mirror, it not only shows you your physical body in detail, but also tells you about your life. It tells you what is good, but more importantly, it tells you what sucks.

11. Earn, Save, and Invest for Financial Freedom

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now.

Financial planning is crucial. Building wealth and achieving financial freedom requires a combination of earning, saving, and investing. Relying solely on a salary is not enough to secure your future.

ESI—earning, saving and investing—has always been a part of my life. The only difference between D and me was that I started saving and investing as much as I could right from my first job, which was twenty-five years ago. Since then, many of my investments have grown manifold.

Start now. The sooner you begin saving and investing, the more time your money has to grow. Even small amounts invested consistently can compound into significant wealth over time. Don't wait for the "perfect" moment; start today.

Last updated: March 11, 2025

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