35 Principles for 35 Years

<p>This is a narrated version of my <a href="https://www.swyx.io/35-principles/">blogpost</a>. You can share the <a href="https://twitter.com/swyx/status/1385349095074656259">tweet thread version here</a>!</p><p>---</p><p>I turn 35 today. Here are 35 principles I have accumulated and try to live by:</p><ol> <li> <strong>Life is too Short for Short Term Games</strong>. We only have so many years for long term games to compound.</li> <li> <strong>Writing is Stupendously High Leverage.</strong><ul> <li>It helps to organize my thoughts and learning (aka <a href="https://twitter.com/swyx/status/1245281982797373441?lang=en">Building My Second Brain</a>). I win even if nobody reads me.</li> <li>It enables me to share great ideas even while I sleep (as a <a href="https://twitter.com/swyx/status/1224538408132993026?lang=en">Friendcatcher</a>). I am constantly shocked at the caliber of people that read my work and DM me their thoughts. There is absolutely no other way I would be on their radar.</li> <li>Blogging helped me <a href="https://www.swyx.io/coding-career-launch/">sell $4k worth of an empty PDF</a> on the day I decided to write my book because people trusted me.</li> <li>It's led to multiple job opportunities from great companies (e.g. <a href="https://www.swyx.io/farewell-netlify/">Netlify</a>, <a href="https://www.swyx.io/hello-aws/">AWS</a>, <a href="https://gist.github.com/sw-yx/ff8a4f6757286444fa20b43f6b98b205#reconstituting-the-monolith">Temporal</a>) that I would have otherwise struggled to be hired at.</li> </ul> </li> <li> <strong>Learn in Public</strong>. Most of you know me for this one... (<a href="https://www.swyx.io/learn-in-public/">read up if you're new round here, welcome!</a>)</li> <li> <strong>Good Enough is Better than Best</strong>. In a world of infinite abundance, you can lose yourself constantly chasing the hottest new thing. <a href="https://twitter.com/swyx/status/1221129594146840577">Satisfice rather than Maximize.</a> </li> <li> <strong>Less is More</strong>. Minimalism wins: <