Simple truths in life

I want and need your help for this one. I am putting together a list of things in life I have found to be true. Some of these will be fairly obvious, but not so much so that 100% of people are already doing them.

Please comment to this blog post with any additions you can think of. Here is what I have come up with:



Wealth

• Taxes are your single largest expense
• Understand every possible tax refund or reduction that you can qualify for
• Employees typically have the worst tax breaks. Business owners usually have the best tax breaks
• the top 20% of people (by job performance) always have jobs (even during a depression)
• You should regard money as fuel for what you really want to do, not as a goal in and of itself. Money is like gas in the car -- you need to pay attention or you'll end up on the side of the road -- but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations!
• Compound interest is amazing. It can work for you (savings) or against you (debt). Use it to your advantage when possible
• retail debt is always bad and should be eliminated ASAP.
• Having an easily accessible emergency fund will give you peace of mind.
• driving & owning a car is very expensive. Many millionaires I know drive very modest cars. Car ownership can cost between $7000 - $20000 per year. An annual public transportation pass and occasionally renting a car is a much better option.
• Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. ( I know this, but am not implementing it... feel free to pressure me into this )

Relationships:

• trust takes time to build
• you should always try to make deposits (do good things) into your emotional bank account in other people. you can only be friends with someone so long as you make more deposits than withdrawals.
• calling or visiting old friends is always a good idea - they DO want to hear from you.
• Being smart and having lots of accomplishments might get you a first date, but it won't get you a second date. Developing social skills is equally important as developing an education.
• Attracting a partner is all about the dance of polarity. Energy flows between positive and negative electrodes, anode and cathode, magnetic north and south. Unless you actually convey femininity as a woman or masculinity as a man, you're not going to attract a suitable companion of the opposite sex.

Health:

• A diet rich in whole grains and plant foods is the best diet. Very little if any animal foods should be included. We are primates - millions of years of evolution has decided that an excellent diet for primates is 97% whole plant foods & 3% insects/animals.
• 2 workouts per week will maintain your body, 3 will build. Anything less will degrade your body
• Trans fats and Saturated fats are bad in any quantity
• The government's health recommendations do not have your best interest in mind. You must learn what is and is not good for you from non-government sources.
• an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
• Drink 8 glasses of water per day
• Flossing your teeth is important

Information:

• Information from books is usually the best source, the Internet is often a good source of information, and TV news is a poor source of information.
• People who read more than 10 books a year are often high caliber people.
• The more citations a piece of information has from varied sources, the better.
• The answer to almost all of your questions is in a book. All you have to do is find it and read it.

Universal:

• you get what you put in - but the rewards for slightly better performance can be exponential.
• Always put in more than is required
• Persistence is more valuable than education, talent, and strength.
• Very old people, when they talk about regrets, always talk about things the did NOT do in the lives. They almost never express regrets for things they did. Do the things you really want to do, make them happen!
• write your goals on paper, then write a plan to achieve them
• Older doesn't always mean wiser
• you can't soar with the eagles if you are scratching with the turkeys - hang out with positive people.
• Use a daily to-do list and prioritize it.
• Always work smart. Keep trying to find ways to do the same thing faster/cheaper/simpler/better. This has always been my personal value proposition in the workplace.
• extremism in any form is bad

Time:

• Don't watch broadcast TV. Don't even subscribe to it. Instead watch DVD box sets of your favorite shows. Its more rewarding and saves a lot of time.
• If possible, live close to your work. Its amazing! Lots of studies prove this.
• batch your tasks as often as possible
• Beware of emails. They come in constantly and most of them can wait - they interupt your flow. Dont check them 100 times a day. Ideally check them no more than twice per day for personal. Don't have your email display in your browsers default page. (see batching tasks). Play with how little you can check your email - try only checking once a week and see how that goes.
• The best time of day to do important things is in the morning. (For example: If working out is important to you, do it in the morning. If you do it in the evening, the events of the day may dissuade you from working out)

Happiness:

• More money will only marginally increase your happiness
• If trying to "buy" happiness, purchase "experiences" rather than merchandise. Concert tickets are better than a new sweater. (there are some exceptions to this; like a guitar where you are essentially purchasing merchandise that will lead to an experience).
• Everything you do in life is ultimately to feel happy. Happiness is the over arching goal to all of your other goals. Make sure you are aware of this and try to be happy as much as you can.
• You are ultimately in control of whether you feel happy or not.