25 Rules for Living an Excellent Life in a Chaotic World

The internet is full of advice. Some of it is good. Most of it is ehh, at best.

Though I’m in the business of long form writing, I’m often asked for bite-sized chunks of wisdom. I figure the end of the year is as good a time as any to compile just that. My hope is that this cuts through the noise, gives you some ideas to reflect upon, and helps you to get, or stay, on the path.

Here are 25 rules for living an excellent life in a shallow, distracted, and too often isolated world.

1. The best way to stay sane is to find the people and activities you love and give them your all.

2. Challenge yourself and do hard things. It makes you feel alive, and what we are all seeking is aliveness.

3. Move your body regularly. Eat your vegetables. (And when you forget, simply begin again.)

4. Be consistent. Some days will be better than others. Show up. Give what you’ve got to give. Rinse and repeat.

5. Remember that true success is not a big house or fancy car. It is knowing your values and living in alignment in with them.

6. Surround yourself with the right people. (This may be most important of all.)

7. Do what you can to respond not react. You can’t always control what happens to you but you can control what you do about it. This is where your power lies.

8. Everyone faces anxiety, fear, and doubt. Try not to let it shrink your life. Courage means taking these emotions along for the ride and doing it anyways.

9. Confidence comes from evidence. If you want to be confident about something, put in the reps and give yourself the evidence.

10. Just. Get. Started. You’re never fully ready. Nobody is. Lower the bar to ready enough, step in the arena, and learn (and grow) as you go.

11. Do not worry about being the best. Focus on being the best at getting better. The results will take care of themselves.

12. Better is about more than just objective results and points on the scoreboard; it also means becoming stronger, kinder, and wiser.

13. Focus less on being happy all the time and more on living a meaningful and textured life. The irony is, you’ll be happier as a result.

14. Set aside time for full attention on work that is important. Remove distractions. Periods of deep-focus work are a simple yet truly profound part of a good life.

15. Start where you are. Not where you want to be. Not where you think you should be. Not where other people think you should be. But where you are.

16. Play the long game. There is no such thing as an overnight breakthrough. The bigger the goal, the smaller the steps.

17. Sleep when you are tired.

18. Motivation is overrated. You don’t need to feel good to get going, you need to get going to give yourself a chance at feeling good.

19. People love to chess thump about how disciplined they are, but true discipline doesn’t need a parade: it is simply showing up and doing what you need to do.

20. Doing the hard thing today often makes tomorrow just a bit easier.

21. You don’t have to have an opinion on everything.

22. Don’t stress if you aren’t “balanced.” It’s impossible to do all the things. Part of being a mature adult is making tradeoffs. It’s okay to have different seasons of life for emphasizing different things.

23. What other people think of you does not matter nearly as much as what you think of yourself.

24. Don’t be too cool to care. Caring is one of the coolest things there is.

25. There will be highs and lows, peaks and valleys. But the pursuit of greatness isn’t only about where you end up. It’s also about the person you become along the way.

I hope you found this list resonant.

Please share it with your favorites, and let me know if I’ve missed anything.

If you want to go deeper, check out my new book, The Way of Excellence, which comes out at the beginning of next year. Pre-order today and get an incredible package of bonuses, including a workbook, masterclass, and the year-end core values exercise I do with clients. Think of it as a gift to your future self. Get the book and bonuses here.