If you didn't learn and grow immensely because of 2020, you wasted it.
Suffering is worthless if not for its teaching capacity, and there is a lot of value in the lessons we learn from life's hardest knocks.
That's why I'm writing "20 Lessons I Learned in 2020".
I've taken a handful of themes from last year and distilled them into lessons that are easy-to-understand and apply to life in every age and culture.
Some WILL be controversial to many of you. Some are deep, some are surface, some are fun.
By the way, some of these lessons were more personal, less public, but they all stem from the kinds of challenges we all faced last year. With that said, NOT all of the lessons are related to COVID, shutdowns, election, civil unrest, murder hornets... (but some are 🙂).
I'm updating this post regularly, and I'll also be writing more on each point later on. Here are some of them to chew on for now:
1. Ideas are the most powerful driving force in the world, and the ability to influence ideas in others is a superpower.
2. Humans were built for connection and would rather risk death than ensure the hell of social isolation.
3. Lines are crossed by inches—not miles.
4. With great responsibility comes great power.
Everyone knows it's the other way around, but do you also realize this truth? You have the power to achieve the most ambitious goals. You need to recognize this power. Keep this lesson in mind.
5. The future is rarely predicted in such a complex world, and you will never be 100% prepared.
6. Everyone is religious. Some people go to church.
7. Disc golf is as interesting and fun as ball golf, but far more accessible.
I put so much focus and energy into this sport that in one year, I purchased my first disc ever, made a hole-in-one, and got a perfect 9 under par at a local 9-hole course (tying the all-time course record with only a few other players). I'm not athletic enough to play actual competitive sports, just the ESPN 8 types...
8. Two kids are more than twice as difficult as one kid, but worth it.
They also learn very early how to meltdown at the same time and generally conspire against you. My wife calls it a coordinated attack...
9. Real life can't be replaced with screen life, no matter how sophisticated the screens are.
10. People who work diligently to make sure you become dependent on them do not care about you.
11. Children subconsciously crave structure and thrive in its presence. Adults are no different.
12. Without adversity, there is no opportunity for heroism. Accept its purpose.
13. People want to have power over you for no other reason than to have power.
These are typically insecure people who have little to no control over their own lives and want to control the lives of others.
14. You have never helped someone by telling them they can't.
If YOU want to be a victim, that's fine, but don't pretend you're empowering others by trying to convince them they are victims too.
15. People mostly disagree on "how", not "what".
We can only have respectful disagreements when we acknowledge this, as well as the inherent human dignity in those with whom we disagree.
16. Some people work diligently to defile what is pure and destroy what is good. This is driven by envy and is not an accident.
These are people who prefer chaos they control over order they don't.
17. If people can't achieve a sense of belonging and significance through positive and constructive means, they will achieve it through destructive means.
Shoutout to Alfred Adler. Jobs > mobs. Real religion > internet cults.
18. The best philosophy to combat envy and its destructive downstream effects is this: rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn.
The antidote to the poison of envy.
19. When someone tells you something is NOT essential, this should be your first question: "Essential to whom?"
I first wrote this in April of last year, then waited to publish it because I didn't want to stir the pot anymore than it already had been...
Well, to my disappointment, my point was only proven to be MORE relevant over the course of the year, and in the spirit of life lesson # 1, here you go...
20. Stop trying to survive. Start trying to LIVE.
I can tell you how to have a 100% chance that your business doesn't fail, ever.
Furthermore, I can give you a secret method to:
❌ Never lose your money in the market.
❌ Never face rejection or distaste from others.
❌ Never get hit by a car.
Yes, really, I can GUARANTEE these outcomes. Ready?
✨ Never start a business.
✨ Never invest in the market.
✨ Never meet another soul, after all, they might reject you.
✨ Never cross the street...
Life Lesson 20/20: Stop trying to just survive... Start trying to LIVE!
People who have much didn't get it by working solely to preserve what they started with.
Take risks. Life is always safer if you never actually live it.
I'm glad to have had the privilege to share these life lessons with you. Here's to a better 2021, and a life of constant learning. We now know what we didn't know before. We can do better than we've done before, but we cannot change the past. After all, hindsight is 2020.
You likely disagree with some if not many of these life lessons... GOOD.
I'm always up for respectful debate in the pursuit of building a better world, even if I am wrong (which I may be, and I love finding out when I am)! Comment below, or reach out directly through the "Contact Us" page if you feel so compelled.
Cheers!