Thread by @patrick_oshag

36 today...weird age! One of the only ages where you feel simultaneously very old and very young.

I’m insanely fortunate to do what I love with people I admire. Seems a good opportunity to share some things that have helped me along the way...

Early in your career, work on “full stack” projects. A full stack project is one which 1) is your idea 2) is your sole responsibility and 3) requires sales (meaning you have to convince someone of something -internal or external-to complete the project). After, all else pales.

Schedule creative output. Pick some work product that you can do well (piece of content, small software tool, unique zoom meetings, whatever) and force yourself to produce one every [week, month, quarter].

Surround yourself with people so good you can’t help but he humble and feel a little out of place. Keep meeting more people that are better than you. To be interested is a better goal than to be interesting. It’s also a less competitive game.

Never ask to pick someone’s brain. Instead have something to offer, even if it’s just a well thought out idea. Often if you suggest something, and it’s good, the other person will give you a chance to do that thing. Not good to be needy.

Delay $ transactions if doing so allows equity or relationships to compound faster. This is hard, bc $ is tangible and equity and relationships are less so. Have faith that compounding will do it’s magic and do not interrupt it unnecessarily

Manage someone else as part of completing a project. Teaches you how to communicate. People often won’t hear what you think you’ve think you’ve clearly said to them, and that’s your fault not theirs. Managing someone in a project can teach you that skill.

Put risk on. Find ways to put cash and reputation on the line. As @km said to me “make bets. Bets hit different.” Failed bets and successful bets are both fantastic opportunities to learn.

The best bets are deals. Negotiate terms, and a contract. It forces confrontation and compromise. Both are key experiences that must be learned by experience. Great way to learn to control emotions.

Learn to start with an ideal end state and work backwards, rather than trying to improve an existing product. Sounds obvious, but almost no one does it. Inertia is strong, so to do anything interesting you have to learn to fight inertia. Thinking backwards is a great way to fight

Spend lots of time outside. Insist on taking calls on walks in the woods or park. This may be the most valuable yet somehow most ignored advice on this list.

Take major risks before you have kids. It’s harder to do so after, especially if you didn’t get the experience of taking risks early on.

I now live by the mantra: learn, build, share, repeat. I didn’t figure that out for 7 years at start of my career. Sharing is the key. Thanks to the internet, any topic area has a web of people, educational materials, and ideas. Sharing is the key to getting into that web

Don’t waste your time rooting against things or people, even if they are clearly bad. Root FOR things, and ideally ones where you can influence the outcome. If you care about something but can’t influence the outcome, narrow your focus until you can.

Finally, prioritize family. Everyone I respect most works hard on their family. Family is like a game where there’s always another way to level up. The return on real effort with your spouse and children is unlimited. Not true for anything else.