Maxims for a happy life

Maxims for a happy life.

It's not just "not all Heroes wear capes". Heroes don't wear capes.

Heroes don't seek validation, either. Only needy people need validation. Don't be needy.

Change direction by 5, not 45, degrees. But lock in the change. Rome wasn't built in a day - but it was built.

Pass the ball.

Make five yard passes.

The Dead Poet's Rule: There's no machine for judging poetry.

The pitch

• Do your talking on the pitch. And leave it there.
• Don’t be that guy.
• Let it go. In the immortal words of the Eastenders script-writing collective, “LEAVE IT, PHIL. HE’S NOT WORTH IT.”

You

What you've got

• Don’t be selfish.
• Share. Give freely of what you have and know, to those who need it.
• Use your resources. You can’t take it with you.
• Be useful.
• Don’t judge. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
• Don’t talk your own book.

Confidence

• Back yourself.
• There are other fish in the sea.
• Leave it on the pitch, not the table. (see do your talking on the pitch.)

Mental space

• Go off the grid — sometimes.
• Smell the roses. Take pleasure in beauty. Stop what you’re doing and drink it in. Enjoy what nature — and humans — let you have for free. Admire a wood in autumn.
• "Gee, I wish I spent more time in the office," said NO ONE IN HISTORY.

Learn

• Be open-minded. Never stop learning.
• Find a different way home.
• Write the music you want to hear.

Your nose

• If he gets up your nose, it’s your problem.
• If he gets up your nose, he’s probably got a point. Even Nigel Farage.

Others

• Don’t be intimidated: they’re more scared than you are.
• First question: cui bono?
• Assume they’re talking their own book until you know otherwise. Value people who don’t.
• Insiders have an interest in making what they do seem hard.
• Challenge. Require an explanation. What a professional can’t explain, she doesn’t understand. If she can’t explain it, it’s probably bullshit.

The team

• Disregard rank. Seniors must earn your respect. You must earn it from juniors.
• Your team. They get the credit. You take the responsibility. Deal with underperformance privately: that’s your job. Never sell them out.

Disobey stupid rules

• Walk on the grass. Fuck ’em.

Complexity and order

• Simplify. The Devil is the detail.
• Perfection is the enemy of good enough.
• It’ll do.