Treat yourself like an athlete in the startup "Olympics" **Common mistake**: Working hard, but not smart **Focus on basics first**: - **Sleep**: sleep is the ultimate nootropic, optimize your environment - Don’t be ashamed to sleep 8-9 hours, spend lavishly in what you need - **Food**: eat healthy, drink an uncomfortable amount of water - **Exercise**: start small, build positive habits - Do cardio 4x a week - Spend time outdoors **Health**: - Take one day off per week to recharge - Read long-form content regularly - Minimize social media and short-form content - Practice mindfulness/third-person perspective - Maximize time spent in "flow" state **Leadership**: - Understand stages of adult development (Robert Kegan's theory): [[Constructive Developmental Theory]] - Aim for "self-authoring" or "self-transforming" mindset - Ask genuinely interesting questions - Think in systems and embrace different perspectives **General advice**: - Value your time highly ($500/hour mindset) - Launch and iterate on your personal habits - Be genuinely curious about others - Play "infinite games" instead of finite ones - Build a supportive peer group - Often, the riskier path is the right one **Coming up with startup ideas**: - Don’t force it in a pressure cooker environment - Maintain an ongoing list of ideas - Focus on solving problems you're passionate about