I invested four long days (sometimes enjoyable, sometimes not) reading the advice of popular experts on what goes into living a good life. A few authors stood out in my mind: Arthur Brooks (determine a clear purpose), Brené Brown (embrace vulnerability), Oliver Burkeman (let go of control, relax), Kelly McGonigal (reframe stress as a positive) and a few more, but I can’t remember their names. My memory capacity is dwindling.
I have my own six big rules, not from research or deep thought, but from the crazy life I have led. I’ve experienced a bunch of life for over 80 years. My credentials are based on hitchhiking around the country as a young man, flunking out of the University of Illinois and learning to love knowledge in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, being on both sides of jail cells, starting 19 corporations (many going down the tubes in a rush, a few flourishing in fabulous fashion), creating Interactive Journals and selling over 30 million of them, and having personal conversations with Mark Twain late at night.
Here are my rules to live by:
1. Don, listen — really listen — before thinking about what you want to say.
2. Don, only invest your time with people you like and who like you. Make most of them smarter than you (a pretty easy chore). Then go back to #1.
3. Don, continue to practice using cursive. Use it each day by sending notes to the people in #2.
4. Don, find one person to love deeply. Discard all your filters and share your deepest feelings and beliefs (lucky break — I found Sherry).
5. Don, be kind — even when you don’t want to. It makes the world a better place and makes you a happier person.
6. Don, love you the most. Give yourself a big hug each morning. Now, you can love others.
What rules guide your life?
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