Principles

Some things I try to keep in mind as I navigate life, work, and relationships. These principles are not necessarily rules, but rather guiding thoughts that help me stay grounded and focused.

1. "Don't let perfect be the enemy of done"
2. "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act" — Proverbs 3:27
3. "Truth—or, more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality—is the essential foundation for any good outcome" — Ray Dalio
4. "Pain + Reflection = Progress" — Ray Dalio
5. "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you" — Proverbs 4:6
6. "Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words" — Proverbs 23:9
7. "Boredom (not apathy) is perhaps something to be consciously pursued, for it spurs self-reflection, creativity and action."
8. "Now is the only time you'll ever be in the now, this version of you, this version of the world, the version of everyone around you, uniquely only now"
9. "Wealth consists of not merely your material possessions, but also your ability to do things, relationships and time. Cash is the least valuable but most liquid of them all"
10. "Optimism is both positive and infectious, surround yourself with such people"
11. "The way most fortunes are lost is not through excessive expenditure, but through bad investments... The situation with time is much the same as with money... The most dangerous way to lose time is not to spend it having fun, but to spend it doing fake work..." — Paul Graham
12. "You need to be a bit delusional with high expectations and standards for yourself, but also with a bit of imposter-syndrome pushing you to work hard on them"
13. "Keep being genuine, your people will find you" — Yukti Jain
14. "In the practical use of our intellect, forgetting is as important a function as remembering"
15. "Don’t network, make friends. Writing online is great for bringing interesting people your way. Having a wide network of friends really makes a difference to the opportunities you get and how easy it is to launch your projects." — Nabeel Qureshi
16. "A lot of the everything basically runs on luck, which means you'll have to learn to create your own luck — go increase your surface area!"
17. "You can just do things" — Sam Altman
18. "Appreciating that belief is not reality can help us to appreciate the primacy of reality, and either stop arguing with it and accept it, or actually become curious about it." — Eliezer Yudkowsky