Sunday, February 11, 2024

How To Live a Resilient Life - Nassim Taleb

I love to listen to this once in a while to evaluate myself at a given point and time. Plus it gives me insight about myself which I was unaware of. 

Today, I understood why I moved away from so many "friends" :

Tell people what you do not what they should do. 

When I talk about things I do and act on; I think it irritates and intimidates those people. They prefer talking abstract bullshit or signaling topics. 

I prefer not do those mating dances. 

Next one: 

If something is nonsense... say it!

This one is more elegant. People who can digest that fact I am calling their "bullshit, are more open minded and have an ability to change their mind. Plus they are mature enough to understand that I can be trusted and I will be a shoulder they can rely on.

This has been my technique to weed out crappy humans out of my life.  It not only saved me time but helped me avoid unwanted psychological drama. 

Here's Taleb's 11 rules: 

  1. Do not disappoint your 18-year-old self. 
  2. Sacrifice for others
  3. Seek self respect
  4. Do not read newspapers (or consume news) 
  5. If something is nonsense... say it!
  6. Be most respectful to manual workers
  7. Avoid things that bore you
  8. Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you
  9. Start a business
  10. Tell people what you do not what they should do
  11. I am, at the Fed level, libertarian; at the state level, Republican; at the local level, Democrat; and at the family and friends level, a socialist. If that saying doesn’t convince you of the fatuousness of left vs. right labels, nothing will.

Things to avoid completely: 

  • Muscles without strength
  • Friendship without trust
  • Opinion without risk
  • Change without aesthetics 
  • Age without values
  • Food without nourishment 
  • Power without fairness
  • Facts without rigor 
  • Degree without erudition 
  • Militarism without fortitude
  • Progress without civilization 
  • Complication without depth
  • Fluency without content
  • Religion without tolerance



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