Maxims for a happy life

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A hearty collection of the JC’s pithiest adages.
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Maxims for a happy life.

Don’t be giddy

Contrarianism

  • Be a contrarian. But be prepared to stand in the cold. It’s lonely being a contrarian. If you challenge a popular, bad idea that happens to be liberal that doesn’t make you a conservative, or vice versa. Just ask Helen Pluckrose. Be prepared to walk a lonely path: be wary of the company of those who happen to be aligned against whoever you’re challenging.
  • Don’t join in. From the pages of the contrarian handbook. It’s okay not to be joiner-inner. It's best not to be a joiner-inner. If you’re the guy from BlackRock who didn’t post an #iam message ... good for you. That took a ton more courage.
  • Disdain fashionable things. Especially ideas.

Harden up

  • The glass is half full. Always. Whoever you are, wherever you are. If you have the time, resources and cognitive ability to read this diatribe, you’re one of the lucky ones. For Christ’s sake, buck up.
  • Don’t be a victim. Own your predicament, don’t whine about it. If you can’t be the predator at least don’t be prey. See also: don’t talk your own book.
  • If you’re a man, be masculine. Don’t apologise for who you are.
  • Don’t be needy. Walk up escalators. Give up your seat. See: You’re one of the lucky ones.
  • Don’t be easily shocked: it’s called “the shock of the new” for a reason. Shock value isn’t the same as stock value. The longer something’s been around, the more crap it has put up with, and the more likely it is to be worthwhile. See: disdain fashionable ideas.
  • It’s just a game: If you derive a significant part of your self-worth from the fortunes of a dozen well-paid men[1] you’ve never met and over whom you have no influence, ask yourself this: is that all there is? is something missing in your life?
  • It’s okay to generalise. It’s okay to stereotype. That’s how humans work. We apply heuristics. Just be aware that you’re doing it. Sometimes, generalisations are unfair. Some fail. All are provisional. It’s okay for others to stereotype you too. Deal with it: it’s not like you can stop them.

People are arseholes

The good stuff

  • Make gradual changes in direction, but lock them in. There is an optimal degree of variability. If you vary to much, you’ll change away the good stuff. A 5% change is less volatile, more sustainable, more controllable than a 50% change, and you can tack back if you change away from some good stuff. It is safer. It is wiser. See evolution.
  • The out-sized risks and rewards are not at the top of the curve. They are down the tail.

The good stuff isn’t always obvious till later.

Don’t be that guy

You

What you’ve got. Be additive

Confidence

Mental space

Learn

Your nose

Simplify

  • Eschew contraptions: don't buy a machine to do something you can do perfectly well yourself. It will break. And closing curtains is good exercise.

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, but she does it anyway, it’s probably bullshit. Most complicated things are 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 out your team.

Disobey stupid rules

Complexity and order


References

  1. Footballers.
  2. If you said, “or girl,” you’re being that guy. (and/or girl, as the case may be.)