(Not my) yuppie life by Janet Kwan on 500px
Earlier this week I somehow stumbled on an old (2012) Medium story by Ev Williams, called, Formula for Entrepreneurial Success. (Ev is the cofounder of Medium, Twitter, and Blogger. He basically invented blogging.)
His post includes 5 short recommendations, and is obviously aimed at entrepreneurs, but I think the lessons also apply more broadly to life in general. They resonated with me, so I thought they might also resonate with you.
So whether you’re starting a company, developing a new building, or just living life, here are Ev’s 5 points:
1. Work with amazing people. Don’t compromise on who you choose to found your company with and hire. Do not put up with ego-centric personalities or downer attitudes.
2. Take on big challenges. It’s pretty simple: Hard things are valuable; easy things are not so valuable. Reaching the mountaintop is rewarding because it is hard. If it was easy, everybody would do it.
3. Focus. Say no to most things: Features. People. Partnerships. “Coffees.” Projects. Only a few of them really matter. (Yes, it’s hard to know which.) Don’t get distracted.
4. Take care of yourself. When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers.
5. Love those close to you. Failure of your company is not failure in life. Failure in your relationships is.
If I had to pick one of the items from this list, I’d say I struggle the most with focus. It’s not that I can’t focus and complete tasks, it’s that I’m the kind of person who wants to fill every second of the day with something meaningful. And when people email me wanting to go for coffee or help with something, I want to do it.
But unfortunately, time is a hugely valuable commodity and you have to be selective.
So surround yourself with amazing people. Don’t be afraid of big challenges and risks. Focus. Eat well and lift weights (my preference). And love the important people in your life.
I was recently interviewed by a Berlin-based online magazine called Archipreneur. You can read that interview by clicking here.
If you haven’t yet heard of Archipreneur, you should definitely check it out. It’s a great read. The magazine is dedicated to the intersection of architecture and entrepreneurship. They cover a lot of the same topics that I cover here on Architect This City – such as design, real estate development, technology, and so on. But they are generally more focused on architects (or people trained as architects, in my case) who are doing interesting things other than traditional practice.
In my case, it’s real estate development and this blog. Check out the interview here.
I recently heard someone define a habit as something that you need to do in order to feel normal. In other words, until you do it, you don’t feel yourself.
This, of course, could refer to both good habits and bad habits. And most of us probably have habits from both camps. But I like it as a clear and simple definition.
I’ve written about disciplines and habits a few times before, because I think of myself as having a few. The most public of my habits is this blog and, at this point, I certainly don’t feel normal if I don’t write everyday. I’ve missed a few days since I started writing in 2013 and each time I felt bad.
My other big habit is going to the gym and lifting weights. And since my snowboarding injury back in February, I haven’t been able to do this properly (though I still tried). It’s easily the longest break I’ve taken from it since I started this particular habit when I was 16.
Because of this, I really haven’t felt myself for about 2 months. My energy levels aren’t the same and I just don’t feel as mentally sharp. Those are some of the main reasons why I love this habit. And I still haven’t adjusted.
Thankfully (with some help from Totum Life Science), my back and shoulder are finally starting to feel better. And so today, instead of writing about cities, I’m going to go to the gym and try and do one of my regular workout routines.
I’m not quite at 100% yet, but I should be soon. And then I’ll finally feel normal again.