--- title: "101 Rules to Live By – Random Things I Think About to Try to Always Move Forward!" canonical: https://jimcarroll.com/2022/07/101-rules-to-live-by-random-things-i-think-about-to-try-to-always-move-forward/ updated: 2022-11-08T00:26:01+00:00 --- # 101 Rules to Live By – Random Things I Think About to Try to Always Move Forward! I scribble a lot of notes to myself. Every once in a while I collect them and dump them into a post. ![](https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/RandomActs.jpeg) Some have made their way into my [Daily Inspiration](https://inspiration.jimcarroll.com), and I’m pretty certain that many on this list will have already made it into one, or will one day soon. - If you aren’t scared of your competition, you should be. - If you don’t know what comes next, learn more - If a committee is killing your creativity, kill the committee - If you seek the status quo, stop - Everyone has a different breaking point – make yours stronger - If no one can remember the last time you did anything cool, you’ve got a bigger problem than you think - If your success is based on what you did yesterday rather than what you will do tomorrow, redefine your idea of success - Insanity is when you want something different but you are averse to undertaking the change - It’s the unknown and unforeseen that will get you every time - If you aren’t thinking fast enough, speed will get you - It’s not what you know, it’s what you don’t know that matters - Right now, it’s pretty certain that someone out there is messing up your business model – and you aren’t even aware of them. - Clinging to your past is probably the worst thing you can do right now - Stop trying old solutions to new problems - Just because it’s not happening right now doesn’t mean that it never will - Don’t presume your business model will survive the next 5 years - Find the thing that scares you the most. Conquer it - Don’t feel bad about the mistakes you’ve made – view some of them as a pathway to success - Stop saying it can’t be done – just do it already! - Recognize that mistakes are a natural part of the process of success - Master the skill of mistake-based learning. - Stop focusing on regret for what you haven’t done and look forward with enthusiasm to what you could still do - Don’t presume every dumb idea is a stupid idea – some of them are probably brilliant - Stop making excuses, make actions - Kill your aggressive indecision - Create a culture in which it is okay to make mistakes, and unacceptable not to learn from them. - Don’t hide from problems – learn from them - Seek out interesting things – waste time with them - Don’t allow yourself to go from feast to famine with knowledge - Never think you’ve got too much information – drown yourself in ideas - Use aggressive fear of change as a basic personal motivation - Don’t take on too many activities, take on too many ideas - Turn your lack of courage into enthusiasm - Never say “we tried that, it didn’t work” - Avoid fad-ism - Stop trying to find the right way – just find a way - Don’t let uncertainty cloud your vision - Don’t be first. Be better. - Stop seeking an easy way out. There isn’t one. - Put in the work. - Spend every day tuning your roadmap for how you plan to live your life. - Don’t always presume you are right – avoid being obstinate - Consider that ignorance is a call for action, - Don’t be selfish – be magnanimous - Stop being surprised at surprises - Try new things – regularly - Avoid angry people - Quit quitting - Make the best of the worst moments - Enhance your gratitude every moment you can - Regularly nurture your optimism – its fertilizer for your soul - Take more time to enjoy what you enjoy - Work hard to avoid the trap of boredom - Cultivate your compassion - Remind yourself you don’t need to love every waking moment – it’s ok to get down - Lighten your mood – avoid the heavy - Don’t regret the things you haven’t done – anticipate what you have yet to do - Move on from bad things faster - Keep in mind that committees are where great ideas go to die - Act faster to achieve more - Remind yourself it could be worse - Remember it’s ok to feel down sometimes – but work hard to chase the ‘up’ - Resist the energy that lies within your anger - Don’t punish people for* your* mistakes - Be patient with difficult people - Pause 10 seconds before you send an angry tweet - Never argue with false facts - Remember that any particular day can suddenly turn out to be incredibly complicated and hard - Don’t try to fight the future – because the future always wins - Accept that change happens - Keep in mind that stupid is not a strategy - Regularly interrupt your complacency - Act on your dreams - Pursue bigger goals - Ignore those who tell you your idea won’t succeed - Avoid those who will try to destroy your optimism - Remember that your imagination is your most powerful asset - Find what you love, and build your life around it - Remember that innovation is for everyone, not the mission of a privileged few - Indulge your creativity - Waste more time learning things completely unrelated to who you are - Play more - Fret less - Avoid the dangerous drug of denial - Admit when you are wrong - Motivate others with your enthusiasm - Remember there is always a chance for a hole in one - Don’t let angry people bring you down - Give back - Share your gratitude - Be open – solicit feedback - Master the art of learning, not hiding, from constructive criticism - Never presume that something is finished - Restart that thing that you abandoned - Channel frustration into more focused action - Find more heroes - Build your ideas, don’t just think about them - Do better - Do more - Do it often - Do it now