12 Rules for Life

Rules are necessary. Without them, you can quickly become a slave to your passions. That's not freedom.

Don't figure everything out on your own. Learn from the wisdom of the past. It was hard-earned.

Articulate your own principles so others don't take advantage of you.

When you betray yourself and act out a lie, you weaken your character.

To fix the world, fix yourself.

Delay gratification. Bargain with the future.

Focus on building your character, not status. You can lose your status but not your character.

You are important and deserve respect. You have a vital role to play in this world.

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday and not to someone else

Don't overvalue what you don’t have and undervalue what you do.

To find out what you (actually) believe, watch how you act.

When you have something to say, don't be silent.

CELEBRATE THE LITTLE THINGS

CONFRONT COMPLEXITY WITH CLARITY

SEEK SACRIFICE OVER INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Make friends with people who want the best for you

LOVE YOURSELF AS YOU WOULD OTHERS

Because these really are rules. And the foremost rule is that you must take responsibility for your own life. Period.

So, attend carefully to your posture. Quit drooping and hunching around. Speak your mind. Put your desires forward, as if you had a right to them—at least the same right as others. Walk tall and gaze forthrightly ahead. Dare to be dangerous. Encourage the serotonin to flow plentifully through the neural pathways desperate for its calming influence.

There is very little difference between the capacity for mayhem and destruction, integrated, and strength of character. This is one of the most difficult lessons of life.