Principles and Beliefs
About this document
It is a document in constant evolution.
It is always incomplete and outdated.
The main objective is to summarize and clarify my thoughts.
The benefits of this document increase as compound interest, as beliefs are corrected over time and built upon each other.
Some of these beliefs will prove to be wrong. Others will not seem to be wrong, but will be wrong anyway.
I am open to changing my mind at any time based on evidence, persuasion, fantasy or chance.
Having clear principles and a philosophy of life prevents us from facing each situation as if it were the first time.
General
My love is not free. To love indiscriminately is the same as not loving.
My respect is not free. To respect indiscriminately is the same as not to respect.
We all must work through voluntary decisions to be worthy of the love and respect of others.
Focus on the important things, disregard nonsense that has no impact.
People are measured by what they do, no by what they are, who they are with or what they have. People are measured by the voluntary decisions they make to live their lives in one way or another.
We are the captains of our destiny, most of the improvements in our life depend on us. Our health, our finances, relationships, knowledge, work… depend mainly on us, they are our responsibility.
Happiness in life is adjusting expectations to reality, without conforming.
Being happy is a choice and requires effort.
To make better decisions, we should ask ourselves: what would an intelligent and brave person do?
Doing something is usually better than doing nothing.
To accumulate in a compound way, to pile up on what we have already gained, is a very powerful phenomenon in different fields.
Evolution works like compound interest; it builds on what has already worked.
We cannot control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we react.
What we do or say on the internet is a digital tattoo that may not disappear.
When a computer learns something, it is very easy for other computers on the network to learn it.
Everyone is not equal. But we must all have the same rights and obligations.
Everything is temporary.
Life is not fair. The best don’t always win.
Behind an anger there is usually fear.
Success is not defined by the time you spend doing what you like, but by the time you do not spend doing what you hate.
Success is achieved by accumulating experiences, relationships, happiness, freedom, flexibility and a sense of purpose.
Nothing matters as much.
A life is not much time.
We should consider repentance, as a tool to decide what to do in the future, not as a burden that anchors us to the past.
We only have one life in which to achieve everything we want to do; we must act accordingly.
The most important aspects in life are health, relationships, passions, growing as a person and contributing to society.
We only perceive changes. We cannot perceive or feel things that are not changing.
We are the sum of our biases. To name a few: we tend to favour the beautiful, the reaffirming and the expected. We tend to attribute too much credit to success.
We will all die.
We don’t have a purpose given to us, but it’s fine if we invent one.
Souls do not exist separate from the physical body.
The gods of organized religions do not exist.
Science cannot explain everything. There are many things that we still cannot explain, and there are some that we may never be able to explain.
There is no heaven or hell.
We have no cosmic meaning.
We are made of star dust.
The earth is not flat; it is mainly spherical.
Micro and macro evolutions occur.
Something like the Big Bang happened.
Something existed before the Big Bang (outside of time and space as we know them).
Nothing in our universe can travel faster than light.
Technology will eventually disrupt all other institutions created by man (politics, religion, identity, economy, energy…).
Most questions have no answer.
Logic is a useful tool, but it has failures and cannot be completely trusted.
Lying creates parallel realities.
We breathe the same air and step on the same ground as the great characters in history.
Life is energy and chemical changes. Life is balance.
With the laws of physics, we can predict the near future. (If I drop an object in the air, I can predict that it will fall to the ground. If I boil water, I can predict that it will become steam.)
Let’s avoid prejudices. Prejudice involves assumptions and charges that are not always met, which are not always true. Prejudices give us a partial view of what it could be.
At the end of the day we only must answer to ourselves. (inner scorecard concept)
Everything we do, we must do to have a clear conscience, first and foremost with ourselves.
In the best and worst moments, the fact that we have done things correctly will allow us to be calm. It is something that nobody can take away from us.
The day after my birthday is closer to my next birthday, than to my recent (past) birthday. We cannot go back in time.
We all travel in time at 1sg/sg.
If you have 2 legs, you have more legs than the average.
Having more money than we need gives us freedom not to do what we don’t want to do.
One of the fundamental goals of life is to improve the lives of others as much as possible.
Everyone is moved by incentives. The most basic incentive is the promise of economic returns. (We reap what we sow)
Talent is distributed equally, opportunities are not.
Humans are the only mammals that have joined in mass thanks to common fictions, money and/or religion.
Every person is inherently valuable independent of behaviour and beliefs. (Though some beliefs may be not be valuable.)
Everyone matters. Treat people accordingly, without exception.
Avoiding failure is a lot easier than trying to be successful.
Understand predictable points of failure (probability + magnitude) and plan against them.
There are no mistakes, only lessons.
There is no better place and time than here and now.
What we make of our life is up to us.
Life is exactly what you think it is.
Optimism makes people perform better.
Every obstacle is merely a challenge, not a threat.
People enjoy authentic people. Be authentic, respect your values and do not sell yourself.
Common sense beats all rules.
Success comes from trying something, failing and modifying the action – Thousands of times.
A huge part of succeeding at something is simply showing up.
Show small amounts of gratitude every day. Gratitude forces you to focus on the things you are happy about.
Constantly be evaluating yourself. Every year, every month, week, day or hour.
Adaptation is the key to survival. You cannot run over a jungle, but with the right small frequent adjustments, you can run through a jungle.
Discipline is not just following a plan when you need a plan but following the plan when you’ve succeeded.
Automate literally every task you do not enjoy.
No amount of regret can bring back the dead. Love immensely and give your friends and family what they deserve as soon as possible and as often as possible.
Never show your cards first in a negotiation.
In a dispute, ask for proof of everything. Make the process draining for the other party if you’re in the right and they are forcing you to wade through mud.
The mirror test – what kind of person do you want to see every morning.
How not to fail = Strengths + Discipline + Values + Work ethic + Knowledge + Kaizen + Frugality
The future is a series of possibilities of which only one is produced, which in turn causes another series of possibilities.
Build the reality you want.
Build the reputation you want.
Pursue your purpose.
Pursue autonomy and personal freedom.
Be happy making those you love happy.
Improve constantly (Kaizen).
Make good use of your time.
Trust others, make them trust you and trust myself.
Be positive, proactive, flexible, humble and grateful.
Make decisions. We don’t want to be a donkey. (Buridán’s donkey)
Find solutions, not problems.
Reflect and think.
Try to do everything for yourself, at least once.
Be a good person but don’t brag about it.
Look to the future, live the present and learn from the past.
Do not spend, invest.
Spend less than what you earn.
Do what works.
Fears
Unknown unknowns.
To not have / find purpose.
To not work on something that I like.
Not having enough money to be independent.
It is important to be aware of our fears in order to work on them and/or prevent them.
Productivity
We must know the tools we use.
We must have the best tools we can afford.
Seek inertia to be productive and avoid procrastination.
Productivity is a muscle that grows the more we work it.
Concentrate and avoid multitasking. Practice task isolation.
Health
It is as important to know which habits we should practice and which we should avoid.
Habits are what form and deform your life. Humans are short-sighted. Build a ritual that will, much like compound interest, build an amazing life.
Current health services are based on the care of the sick, not on the prevention of the disease.
Get 6-8 hours of sleep.
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Sleep is one of the more important aspects of health, right beside nutrition and exercise.
Optimal sleep warm up is 1 hour before bed to begin process attempting sleep. – No screens, no exercise, no stress.
Stem cells regrow the body.
Vaccines are good.
Abortion should be legal and regulated everywhere. (No one likes it but it must be done safely)
Assisted suicide should be legal and regulated everywhere. (No one likes it but it must be done safely)
Medical care must be available and affordable for all who need it.
Not exercising is worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease.
Tobacco use is linked to a quarter of a billion life-years lost vs. illegal drugs accounting for only tens of millions.
Intelligent people make smarter health decisions that prevent the need for reactive, potentially too-late healthcare.
Dark chocolate is a superfood.
Avoid drinking sugar.
Avoid carbohydrates.
[A healthy dish] (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/translations/spanish_spain/) consists of 1/2 fruits and vegetables + 1/4 of whole grains + 1/4 healthy proteins
Physical activity helps us feel better physically and mentally.
Find daily, flexible activity that works for you.
Being healthy and fit allows us to enjoy more of everything.
Exercise, do not smoke, drink and eat in moderation, and walk a lot.
Relations, friends and family
Having friends, family and a partner is essential to being happy.
Be honest with yourself and others.
There are those who add value and those who take it away, forget about the latter.
Show your love to the people you love.
Support and help others to achieve what they set out to do.
If you say Yes to others, make sure you aren’t say No to yourself.
Everyone has the same problems. We all feel and have the same concerns, nerves, fears …
The quality of our life depends on the quality of our relationships.
Family is the group of people who really love you and you love back.
Material things
I prefer clean, minimalist, organized and collected environments.
Throw away what you haven’t used in 6 months (except for seasonality).
Buy things based on €/use, the lower the €/use the better the purchase it is.
If I bought something once, I can buy it again.
If I don’t have the memory in my head, I don’t want the material memento.
To avoid decisional fatigue, have a daily clothing «uniform».
Quality over quantity.
Money
Nobody gets rich by renting their time.
Money allows us to buy time and freedom.
Money gives us independence and autonomy.
It is important to diversify and create a heritage.
We must spend less than we earn.
We musn’t get into credits to buy what we do not need.
Expenses reach the limit of what can be spent. (We spend what is available)
Every successful person saves money. Save, at the very least, 10%.
Every successful person invests.
Spend your money on things that grow. – This includes your health.
Do not skip on insurance. The peace of mind that disaster will not ruin you is worth the duty paid.
Buy low, sell high. Every business is in the business of buying something cheaper than selling it.
Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, eBay – All got their start connecting two people together who could help each other. None have inventory, shipping centres, etc.
Scale slowly.
Work
It is better to work to have an impact on learning and on something interesting than changing time for money.
Nobody has professional careers anymore; we are constantly changing.
WHO matters most, then WHY, then HOW, then WHAT, then WHEN.
Hire the right people with the right motives who follow a great plan and what you do and when you do it should work out on its own.
What the research shows is that a fulfilling career requires three things:
– Autonomy – The desire to be self-directed.
– Mastery – The urge to get better skills.
– Purpose – The desire to do something that has meaning and is important.
Go 150% + beyond what you are expected to do. This is a 100% way to gain immediate traction.
If you are always the smartest person in the room, you’re probably in a room full of idiots or you’re lying to yourself.
Double down on your strengths.
Neutralize your weaknesses.
Always do more of the things that you find easy and others find hard.
Consistently release your work publicly. And if you are just starting out… the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
If you have some ideas from the previous questions, start searching job sites for related roles. If there are jobs, that means it’s valuable.
The traits that make a great career great is that you master something both rare and valuable.
Think of these rare and valuable skills you can offer as your career capital.
Once you acquire enough career capital, you can leverage that to get a large degree of autonomy. If you are the best in the world at something, then you get to dictate the terms of the engagement.
The happiest, most purpose-filled employees are not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those who have been around long enough to become good at what they do.
Focus on high leverage activities.
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of.
You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
Optimize your income – Do you know how much you should be earning?
Spend 2 hours to compare the salaries of the different careers you’re interested in?
Clear rules reduce the need for approval, the stress of trying to have everything both ways, and the necessity of constantly explaining yourself.
Learning
It is essential to learn to learn.
It is better to have a broad and diversified knowledge than to be ultra-specialized.
Take advantage of learning and compound knowledge.
We must always learn or improve our skills.
Learning does not end.
Society
Group activities are always more comfortable.
You have value to add to every interaction.
Small talk is the door to deep friendship. You must make small talk first.
Letting go of the thought that people must like you is the best decision you will ever make.
Talk to people’s emotions.
The success of a society can be measured by its ability to fulfil its objectives: to offer social goods that allow people to enjoy truly prosperous lives.
Gay marriage should be legal everywhere.
Prisons must be about protecting the public, rehabilitating, punishing and deterring.
It should be easier and more convenient to send negligent and irresponsible public servants to jail than the average citizen, not slower and more difficult.
Very cheap university education should be available to all who want it.
Never in history have we lived as well as in the current generation (> life expectancy, < economic inequality, < poverty...)
The best alternative to improve the world is through business generating growth.
Being a good person lets us have better relationships with others.
What we think as being good is based on what makes us get along with others and live in society.
Politics
I consider myself a Liberal, everyone should do what they want.
I believe that the best system is a meritocracy. (Though none truly exists)
I believe that a monarchic system is not a full democracy.
Health, Education and Military do not have to be profitable, but we should try for the to be so.