We here at Opinion Headquarters do not merely offer you controversial opinions
on world events, we offer priceless life hacks to help you float effortlessly
through the miasma of modern existence. These are the kind of bits of golden
wisdom that get earned over the decades of experience but that can be shared
for free.
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We are inspired by
legendary tech journalist Kevin Kelly, who, for his 68th, 69th, and 70th
birthdays shared his life learnings on his Technium blog. Here are some of
Kelly’s life hack gems (I have reworded several for concision):
When you have 90
percent of a large project completed, finishing up the final details will take
another 90 percent.
Anything you say
before the word “but” does not count.
Denying or
deflecting a compliment is rude. Accept it with thanks.
Getting cheated
occasionally is a small price to pay for trusting the best of everyone, because
when you trust the best in others they will treat you the best.
When you get
invited to something in the future, ask yourself, Would I do this tomorrow?
Purchase a tourist
guidebook to your hometown. You will learn a lot playing tourist once a year.
The thing that
made you weird as a kid could make you great as an adult.
It’s not an
apology if it comes with an excuse.
Bravo to Kevin Kelly. Everybody learns life lessons. Not everyone clarifies them with such precision and shares them with such generosity. But even Kelly does not have a monopoly on practical wisdom.
Just because it’s
not your fault doesn’t mean it’s not your responsibility.
Ignore what they
are thinking of you because they are not thinking of you.
If you think you
saw a mouse, you did, and if there is one, there are others.
Something does not
need to be perfect to be wonderful, especially weddings.
The biggest lie we
tell ourselves is, “I don’t need to write this down because I will remember
it.”
Bravo to Kevin Kelly.
Everybody learns life lessons. Not everyone clarifies them with such precision
and shares them with such generosity. But even Kelly does not have a monopoly
on practical wisdom.
For example, over
the past few years I have embraced, almost as a religious mantra, the idea that
if you are not sure you can carry it all, take two trips.
A friend shares
the advice: “Always make the call. If you’re disturbed or confused by something
somebody did, always pick up the phone.”
A search around
the world of online advice-givers uncovers some other diamonds of practical
wisdom, both prosaic and profound:
Job interviews are
not really about you. They are about the employer’s needs and how you can fill
them.
If you can’t make
up your mind between two options, flip a coin. Don’t decide based on which side
of the coin came up. Decide based on your emotional reaction to which side came
up.
Take photos of
things your parents do every day. That’s how you will want to remember them.
Build identity
capital. In your 20s do three fascinating things that job interviewers and
dinner companions will want to ask you about for the rest of your life.
Marriage is a
50-year conversation. Marry someone you want to talk with for the rest of your
life.
If you’re giving a
speech, be vulnerable. Fall on the audience and let them catch you. They will.
Never be furtive.
If you’re doing something you don’t want others to find out about, it’s
probably wrong.
If you are
traveling to a place you have never been before, listen to an album you have
never heard before. Forever after that music will remind you of that place.
If you are cutting
cake at a birthday party with a bunch of kids howling around you, it’s quicker
and easier to cut the cake with dental floss, not a knife. Lay the floss across
the cake and firmly press down.
When you’re
beginning a writing project, give yourself permission to write badly. You
cannot fix it until it’s down on paper.
One-off events
usually do not amount to much. Organize gatherings that meet once a month or
once a year.
Make the day; do
not let the day make you. Make sure you are setting your schedule, not just
responding to invitations from others.
If you meet a jerk
once a month, you have met a jerk. If you meet jerks every day, you are a jerk.
Never pass up an
opportunity to hang out with musicians.
Do not try to
figure out what your life is about. It’s too big a question. Just figure out
what the next three years are about.
If you have lost
your husband (or wife), sleep on his (or her) side of the bed and it will not
feel so empty.
Do not ever look
up a recent photo of your first great love.
If you are trying
to figure out what supermarket line is fastest, get behind a single shopper
with a full cart over two shoppers each with a half-full cart.
Low on kitchen
counter space? Pull out a drawer and put your cutting board on top of it.
You can always
tell someone to go to hell tomorrow.
That last one I got from
Warren Buffett. If you follow the life hacks above, you may not wind up as rich
as he is, but you may wind up as serene.
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