Source: Youtube
Rule #1 – Focus on a single task per day
- Everything feels like it’s urgent, but only a handful of things are important. Do not confuse one with the other.
- Every day ask yourself: what is actually important for me to do today? Then do that!
Rule #2 – Wake up at the same time every day
- Life gets simpler when you wake up at the same time every day.
Rule #3 – Smile more
Rule #4 – The best revenge is NONE
- Leave it in the past and move on.
- Seeking revenge takes something from you and gives even more of you to the other side.
Rule #5 – Focus on 1 desire at a time
- Life feels complicated because you are told to want a million things at the same time.
- Remove the noise. Take out the desires that aren’t really yours.
- Find the few that really matter. Pick one.
- Life rewards clarity!
- As long as you focus on a single desire and nothing else, you will be able to alter your reality to make it happen. As a rule of thumb: If you don’t have it, it means you do not want it enough!
Rule #6 – Don’t allow the external to affect the internal.
- Here’s a smart way to think about it: Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside of you and sink you.
Rule #7 – Remember when you wanted what you currently have
- Wake up every morning and realize just how amazing it is to be you. 10 years ago you wanted what you currently have. How amazing is that, and how foolish it is to not give yourself more praise for what you’ve done? Your life lacks simplicity because you keep adding desires without appreciating the ones you’re fulfilling.
Rule #8 – You don’t have to know how to bake a cake, to eat cake
- There are 3 ways you end up eating cake: + You gather all the ingredients, the tools & recipe and proceed to bake it yourself (Hard) + You work, get money, and purchase a cake. (Medium) + You’re in the room when someone cuts their cake. (Easy) + This metaphor isn’t really about cake!
- In the most important situations in life, go with option 1, when it comes to the non-essential stuff, go with option 2, and when it comes to the unexpected, go with option 3.
Rule #9 – Do not lie, or at least try to tell the truth
- If you want a simple life, stick with the truth, that way you won’t have to worry about the lies you told.
Rule #10 – Live below your means and all life will be good.
- This is by far the most valuable lesson when it comes to living a simpler life. The only way to lose in life is by consistently going beyond what you can afford: financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, at the expense of the present.
Rule #11 – You will not be able to escape pain, uncertainty, and constant work
- Now that you know all three will be parts of your life, what kind of work do you want to do for the rest of your life?
- How will you deal with uncertainty and pain?
Rule #12 – Avoid the trap of more
- You don’t need more, you need just enough. Once you know what enough is, go after it nonstop until you get it.
- And when you’re there, push for another 10% and stop.
Rule #13 – Return what you borrow
- Give back what was given to you in the same condition in which you received it. If someone was kind enough to help you, return the favor.
Rule #14 – Always be on time and do not make excuses
- Pay attention to how time flows, and you will be able to understand its pace. Once you do that, you will never be late again; your mind will account for everything.
- People think less of the unpunctual. Your life will feel more chaotic.
- It will always feel rushed.
Rule #15 – Know when to keep your mouth shut
- Once words leave your mouth, they’re no longer yours to control. More often than not, shutting up leads to superior outcomes.
- Taste your words before you spit them out and make a decision if you want to proceed or not.
Rule #16 – Know that you are not the voice in your head
- Being able to separate yourself from the voice in your head is the first step in taking control of your mind, and one cannot live a simple life unless one controls their mind.
Rule #17 – Stress, over-eating, lack of sleep, and exercise are forms of self-harm
Rule #18 – The people around multiply what you are
- If you want to be happy, spend time with happy people;
- If you want to be successful, spend time with successful people.
Rule #19 – Motivation is temporary, act on it immediately
- If motivation does find you, do not let go of it. Allow it to move you in ways you otherwise wouldn’t.
- It will give you the momentum needed to get started on the things you’ve been postponing for a long time.
- Once motivation goes away, you will fall back on the discipline you’ve instilled in yourself.
Rule #20 - We do what we plan for the night before
- What doesn’t get planned, doesn’t get done!
- Make a plan the day before and start on it immediately after you wake up.
- You will be surprised at just how quickly you’ll be up and running.
Rule #21 – Be intentional with your time, and energy and act accordingly
- If you don’t schedule your time, others will schedule it for you.
Rule #22 – If undecided, go for the option that’s the most painful in the short term
- This way, you get to enjoy its benefits over the long term.
Rule #23 – Believe that whatever happens, you will be able to get through it
- Optimists outperform everyone else. This rule for a simple life is as straightforward as it gets.
- As the navy seals put it: we fall to the level of our preparation.
- In life, the goal is not to hope that nothing bad ever happens; instead, to know that you will be able to handle it, no matter what it is.
Rule #24 – The enemy of peace is other people’s expectations of you
- This is your life. You control it.
- The more people who have a say in it, the more chaos they’ll brew. And a simple life is one where the decisions are simple, and simple decisions lead to peace because you already know what serves your well-being and what doesn’t.
- Let them deal with their own lives, and you deal with yours. As it stands, the sooner you apply this rule for a simple life, the simpler your life is going to get.
Rule #25 – Set boundaries. Tell people NO. Tell some people to F themselves if you have to
- They do not get a say in who you are, what you do, how you spend your time, or what you should be doing. Moreso, people have this tendency to expect you to give to them by taking from yourself.
Rule #26 – Finish the books you bought before buying new ones
- Anything worth starting is worth finishing.
- Do not jump to the next shiny thing before you maximize the current opportunity.
Rule #27 – The media will make it seem like the world is on fire 24/7/365
Rule #28 - Dont worry about having a grand purpose
- It’s ok to just go through life finding interesting things to enjoy. That is, find wonder in the ordinary, and the extraordinary will reveal itself.
- If you are meant to have a grand purpose, it will find you.
Rule #29 – The purpose of the struggle is to rid yourself of ever struggling again
- Figure out health and happiness, and you’re golden.
Rule #30 – If you have to say it twice, write it down
- We have a pretty simple solution in mind. If we don’t know what to do, we read. Once we know what we need to do, we do it.
- If the mind keeps going in circles, we write it down. As simple as this rule is, this much difference it will make in simplifying your life.
- document everything like it will be used in court against you and you will never have to worry about training your people again
Rule #31 – Never work harder than you have to
- First, be effective. Second, be efficient. Lastly, use laziness to find a smart solution.
- Refer to Rule 29 and fix the problem once and for all so you don’t have to deal with it every single time.
Rule #32 – You won’t be able to find time, you have to make time
- Your time is already pre-booked.
- Anything you want to add to your life will require you to dive into what you’re already doing and cut things out.
Rule #34 – Other people’s emotions are not your responsibility
Rule #35 – Remove poison from your life!
- Sugar, coffee, alcohol, reality TV, cigarettes, drugs, and deep-fried food.
- Cut out what doesn’t nurture you.
Rule #36 – Bask in having to do nothing
- If you find yourself having to do nothing, appreciate the moment, for society will be quick to throw things at you out of envy.
- In office, its called Inbox 0
Rule #37 – Minimize the number of things you own
- Everything you own eventually asks for some time from you, and it won’t take long before you realize just how important your time is.
- Remember: Things are only valuable when used.
Rule #38 – Invest in a Quality focused wardrobe
- buy one quality item for everything you need and take care of it.
Rule #39 – Learn to “feel” what you’re doing
- The quality of our lives is dependent on how much of our senses we use in our daily lives. If you’re eating like a robot, life will seem robotic. Instead, taste the salt, taste the bread.
- Feel the water run down your body in the shower.
- Feel the sun on your face. Fill your heart when you hug the person you love. Notice how they smell.
Rule #40 – Do something nice for a stranger and keep it private
- Go out of your way to be nice on the days that you’re not feeling well. It’s like a life hack for happiness, and you will immediately start feeling better.
- Give things away and do it often, not only does it help others, but it will declutter your life.
Rule #41 – Compliment people often, and do it genuinely
Rule #42 – Accept the things that are outside of your control
- If you can change the outcome, do it. Besides, if you can’t, leave it be and play the game, however, the cards may fall.
- As humans, almost half the things we worry about never come to fruition. And, that’s self-inflicted pain, stress, and worry we didn’t have to bother with.
Rule #43 – Nothing in life is promised except death
- We are born with the seed of death within us. Realizing this is the key to using this rule for a simple life.
- Remember that you will die, that almost everything you do will be forgotten, and that the problems you’re facing are insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Rule #44 – Fix the little things and life immediately gets better
- Pay attention to how you do things more than what things you are doing. Equally important, it’s up to you what you end up focusing on.
- The biggest secret in life is that one can fully control their perception of reality by altering their views or perspective on things.
Rule #45 – Realize that over 1 billion people would love to trade lives with you right this moment
- Your reality is their dream life.
- Don’t take it for granted.
Rule #46 – Live as if your version of God is real and watching
- Acting as if somebody is watching and keeping track of who you are as a human being will tilt your reality toward the positive side.
Rule #47 – Be happy alone, be happy together
- Learn to be happy by yourself. Learn to be okay with being alone and to like yourself. What’s more, once you do, others will follow.
Rule #48 – Spend time with your parents
- The reality is you won’t get that many Christmases with them. You can actually count them.