Technology is changing things faster than ever before.
There are a few first principles you can focus on to prepare yourself for the future.
Some of these principles will seem redundant, but that's the thing about first principles—they don't change.
Amazon became a trillion-dollar company by focusing on the things that don't change—fast shipping, huge selection, best customer experience.
The only constant in the Universe is change.
To be robust is to stay the same in the face of change.
To be fragile is to break under too much stress—or to slowly waste away.
To be antifragile—which you want to be—is to get BETTER/STRONGER through change.
So what are principles that will make you better moving into a continually changing and uncertain future?
Here we go:
1. Your ability to change
Imagine that: if you live in a changing environment, your ability to change with it (adapt to it) is your greatest asset.
Changing our thinking becomes one of our most significant assets for humans since everything else flows from it.
2. Your speaking ability
The better you speak, the more you influence and the more people like you.
And in the age of visual and audio content, this is a MASSIVE personal branding skill.
Practice speaking in the mirror. Record yourself on-camera daily, then watch the footage. Consider starting a YouTube channel and podcast. Talk about whatever interests you. Who cares if only a few people watch or listen. (This is the single best way to improve your presentation and speaking skills.)
3. Your ability to learn
As more information is released faster than ever, your ability to assimilate information and learn is paramount to constantly evolving.
What I've seen is most people can learn if they truly want it.
As Naval says, "Free education is abundant, all over the Internet. It's the desire to learn that's scarce."
You have to want to learn and obsessively pursue it.
4. Your time preference
This is a fancy way of saying, "Are you patient?"
The more patient you are, the better results you'll get in EVERYTHING.
This applies to your health, relationships, finances, buying Bitcoin, business, etc.
Those that win are patient and keep going. Those that lose or stay stuck give up WAY too soon.
Success in life is distilled down to that simple equation. Like I said, 99% of people can be successful and happy and live abundant lives… they just won't. And intelligence has NOTING to do with it—staying in the game long enough is all that matters.
5. Your understanding of people and human psychology
The better you understand WHY people—including yourself—do what you do, the better life you'll live.
Humans are social creatures. We can't escape this.
Imagine this: you wake up tomorrow with a billion dollars.
Now, what will you do?
It's likely any answer you come up with will include other people.
You can be the richest, most famous, and successful person alive, and you'll STILL NEED PEOPLE.
The better you are with people, the better your life will be, hands down.
(Read How To Win Friends and Influence People every year for the rest of your life.)