Principles

I'm still figuring things out, but these are the few things I keep coming back to.

Take risks

At this point in my life (my 20s) I have very little to lose and almost everything to gain, so I try to bet hard on the things I believe in, even when I can't see where they lead. As Steve Jobs said, you can only connect the dots looking backwards.

Stay curious

If you're not curious, you'll never find what you truly like. I think wanting to know and understand more is one of the best qualities a person can have. Social media is making us passive. We get used to being fed things instead of going out to look for them, and that's really harmful. What you truly like won't show up in a feed, so you have to go out and find it.

Go deep

When something interests me I try to go all the way in. The skills you build yourself are the one thing nobody can take from you, and going deep is what has paid off the most for me. But it only works with things you love. You can't go deep on something you don't care about; you'll quit long before it gets interesting.

Find your people

I try to stay close to people who share my values. Not people who think like me, people who care about the same things. The people around you decide what feels normal, and around the right ones, aiming high stops feeling like a risk and starts feeling like the obvious thing to do.

Be nice

Being nice costs nothing and it's always the right choice. You never know what the future holds, who your next business partner will be, or who will open the next door for you. And it pays back, often in ways you don't expect.