The Goal of This Post

In this post, I share some of my favorite passages from the book How to Live an Extraordinary Life, by Anthony Pompliano.

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A Word of Caution from the Author

Context matters when you are sharing advice, so evaluate each lesson independently.

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1. How you do anything is how you do everything.

Consistency is incredibly valuable. Consistency is a superpower. Excellence breeds excellence.

• Everything in life is made up of details.
• It is important to decide what type of person you want to be.
• Once you decide, you can start acting like that person immediately.

Ask yourself: Who do I aspire to be, and what actions does this person take?

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2. Carve your Ethics in Stone, Write your Opinions in Sand

Don’t be rigid in your thinking. Understand there are different approaches for different situations. The world is a nuanced place.

Ethics

• Ethics are foundation principals that govern how you do things.
• Never waver on these. Carve them in stone. Always do the right thing.

Opinions

• Opinions are views you form on what you do.
• Be willing to change your opinions when the facts change.

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3. Build Things

Creation requires optimism. You have to see the future world you want to live in and then spend the time, money, and energy to make it a reality.

• The most fulfilling activity I have ever found is building something.
• Focus on building something of value.
• Protect your creativity like your life depends on it.

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4. Life is full of Power Laws

Life is all about power laws. Relationships, experiences, financial returns. Find the 5% that delivers 95% and ignore the rest.

• Maintain five incredible relationships with good people throughout your life.
• Ignore the small decisions. Focus on getting the big ones right.
• The majority of the amazing things in your life will come from a relatively small amount of things you do.

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5. Clear thinking can’t happen in a messy room

You can design your life by designing your environment.

• Keep your space clean and well organized.
• Curate a space that firs your goals.
• Strive to be excellent in everything you do.

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6. Genuinely caring is a life hack

You must genuinely care about the things you do in life.

• The hardest person to lie to is to yourself.
• You have to discover what you are truly passionate about.
• Caring about what you do gives you an advantage in life.

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7. Compete, don’t Complain

You will face many obstacles and challenges in your life. Use them as opportunities. It is all about perspective. A problem can’t hurt you unless you are complicit in the damage.

• You can manage a bad situation by being intentional about how you respond to it.
• Adversity is painful. But make sure you don’t become a complainer.
• Focus on finding and executing a solution. There is no time to complain.

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8. Puzzles, not Problems

You either think the world can be better in the future and you work to make that happen.. or you think the world is guaranteed to decline and you sit around complaining.

• If you view a situation as a problem, it will become difficult to navigate.
• Think of problems as puzzles waiting to be solved.
• The only way to solve a puzzle is to go one piece at a time.

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9. Every play is drawn up to be a touchdown.

You can create any plans you want. No matter how much time you spend planning, reality will inevitably be different.

• Success eludes those who have never faced obstacles.
• People who achieve their goals are experts at dealing with obstacles as they pursue their plan.
• Winners are those who achieve success when the plan falls apart.

True innovators can adapt to any environment… Design every play to score a touchdown… Play to Win.

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10. Write Letters

Letters serve as time capsules for all that you have learned and all that you have yet to learn.

• Write letters as often as you can.
• Writing forces you to think critically about the lessons you’ve learned.
• Clear writing leads to clear thinking.

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One Last Takeaway. => Live your life as a Documentary.

It is easy to get caught up in the mundane, repetitive nature of your day-to-day schedule. You have to fight this entropy. No one wants to watch a boring biopic. Do epic things. Pursue adventure, action, and excitement.

Create memories that give you stories to tell to others in the future.

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All content credit goes to the author. I have shared the bits I enjoyed the most and found most useful.

Cheers ’till next time! Saludos!
Alberto