Action before words - 15 tough rules that make my life easier

1. Assume you know your mission. Even if you don’t.

2. Be your own best bullshit detector.

Hold yourself accountable for what you did. Whether you did it to others or to yourself.

3. No shortcuts.

It takes 20 years to gain 20 years’ worth experience. Don’t be blinded by the imposters. Nobody ever gets away with anything.

4. Learn to pick your battles.

The ones you pick, for the love of god - fight with all your heart!

5. You will feel alone and insecure.

Don’t ignore it. Don’t push it away. Be honest, let it show. Name it - then claim it.

Taking ownership will make you secure again.

6. Do your due diligence.

Preparation is everything. Do your research, examine every detail mercilessly and systematically. Imagine what will go wrong and what will work out. Then switch it around. Then repeat it. Then, repeat it again. WHEN, not IF, you fail, you will be prepared.

7. Install backstops.

In navigation practice a backstop is a point on the map that shows you if you have gone off track. You then either turn around or find a different approach to complete the same mission. Installing backstops will ensure you won’t be taken by surprise or get lost.

8. Start before you’re ready.

There’s no such thing as being overprepared, but there is such a thing as a being under-performed. At some point, you must move. Better to be a small fish in a big sea than not to swim at all.

9. Control your attention.

What you focus on becomes bigger. Choose wisely. Never half ass two things. Full ass one thing. Rest must be only rest, action must be only one single action.

10. Don't interrupt yourself.

If you’re failing at something finish it anyway. If you can’t finish it yourself, stay to watch your peers finish it. A failed test is practice and experience for the next test. Gather the intel.

11. Don’t interrupt your enemies whilst they are making mistakes.

(C’mon... just think it through...)

12. Run your own race.

Don't race anyone. Competition strategy does not work. It’s a waste of time to try and predict what others will do. You cannot change them, you can only change yourself. You didn’t train or work the way they did, you trained the way YOU did.

13. Get yourself a pacer.

You will need support, you will feel stronger for giving support. Make sure they run your pace. This could be your sister, best friend, partner, your dog.

14. Do it anyway - action before words.

Know that you will never get it perfectly right. Done - is better than perfect.

15. There is no finish line. Life is pain. It is relentless.

You might as well invite it in for a drink, exchange some war stories, be grateful, humble and kind. Remember, a dance off is always better than a face off.