I turned 36 today and wanted to celebrate by sharing 36 lessons I learned at 36 I wish I knew earlier.
Here goes:
- Life is meaningless, but that’s ok.
Ever since I was young I pondered about the meaning of life. I wondered why we were here and well, what was the point of all this? After much contemplation and deliberation, I have learned life has no meaning… except the meaning we give it.
Now, this thought can free you or trap you. Let it free you.
2. You must live with urgency and pursue your dreams as if you will die tomorrow
3. Be a doer not just a thinker or talker. For a doer gets all the spoils.
4. Create more than you consume.
None of us can tell the future and most, if not all, people have no idea what they’re doing. Therefore, let’s step in the arena, create and build our own empire rather than spending the majoirty of our time consuming the beliefs, values, and agendas of others.
5. Shut your mouth more.
If you’re anything like me, you have no filter and thus have a tendency to over share and over talk. Well, shutting up and listening more has served me well and helped me keep my peace and sanity.
6. Do what you love.
We spend the majority of our lives at work and what fun it has been to spend my time doing what I love. I would have it any other way.
7. Ikigai
Do what you love (passion), what you are best at (vocation), what the world needs (mission), and what the world will pay you for (profession).
8. Stay true to yourself and honor your gifts.
I’ve started many businesses in the pursuit of money. None of those were successful in enough for me than pursuing businesses where I am naturally suited, have unfair advantages and frankly, am better at than the average person.
9. Love is everything.
Love yourself, your family, your friends and fellow humans.
10. Let go of all negative emotion.
The Buddha said, “having hate is like eating poison and hoping the other person gets sick.” If you want to heal then let go.
11. Flow
Entering flow states has allowed me to achieve miraculous things in life that I could not have accomplished otherwise. It’s an effortless feeling and feels like you have magical superpowers. In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research he found we can enter a state of flow by doing things we have the sufficient skill for an equally appropriate challenge at our skill level.
12. Impermenance. Nothing matters in the end.
We will all die one. Nothing matters in the end. So don’t dwell on bad nor good things.
13. Embrace your uniqueness
I am unique, eccentric and quite weird. But I have embraced it and learned to dance with my weirdness in such a way that it frees me to be truly me and to express myself fully and authentically.
14. Solitude is the doorway to greatness.
Yes, I am fully aware, we, as humans, are social creatures and research has shown the happiness and healthiest people have a healthy social life. And yes, I do have a healthy social life with my family and some friends at the gym. That said, when I am alone with my thoughts, books and writing, I am able to develop a deeper connection with my inner self and the truest version of myself. In fact, what you are reading at this very moment are my inner most thoughts, as I sit here in my office writing this for you.
15. Create or build something, anything.
If not, you will be victim to your vices. As they say, “idle hands is the devil’s playground.”
16. Find a companion. She or he will keep you sane and pull you through tough times
17. Just do the next smallest thing.
18. Find a reason to live.
19. Travel. See the world.
20. Be kind. For it makes the world better and you never know when you’ll need the good Karma of kindness on your side.
21. Be warrior in a garden.
22. Dance with nature.
23. As a man, impregnate the world with your thoughts, ideas, visions and work ethic.
24. Write
25. Read the greatest writings ever created.
26. Find inspiring humans and hang out with them – in person or virtually.
27. Be a voracious learner. Watch things in 2x speed, or even 3x or the highest speed possible. This way you can soak up all the knowledge, lessons, mistakes of your fellow brothers and sisters and accelerate your achievements and contributions.
28. Meditate. It will heighten your gratitude, focus, flow, patience, discipline, sex life, financial success, and every facet of life.
29. Dream. Dream your biggest, brightest and wildest dreams. Then act on your top 3 this year.
30. Exercise. Fight for your life. Exercise will keep you fit and ready for what life throws your way.
31. Do hard things, for doing hard things is nature’s natural miracle drug for mental and physical health/
32. 5 Fs. Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances and Freedom.
33. Freedom. Get your soveriengty. Grow a successful business where you are able to achieve financial freedom, time freedom and location freedom. With your FU Money you can do what you want, when you want, with whomever you want, as much as you want.
34. Be grateful for everything. The good for they are oh so pleasurable and the bad for they fortify you, callous your mind and make you unbreakable.
35. Keep your word.
36. Have fun. You’re as young as you’ll ever be.
Play. Just play. Embrace the power of play, fun and joy. It will keep you young, vibrant, high energy, high performing and high vibrational.
As an active and fit 36 year old, I feel young, energetic and ready to dance with life’s next great adventure.
Happy Birthday to us 36 year olds! Cheers!
Love,
Sonam