Caught you off guard, didn't I? Thought this would be the last rule? Well, it's not. It's the first. You know what they say, KISS (as in, Keep It Simple, Something). But, whatever. On to the rules...
Rule #2: Success cannot be bought.
Fancy equipment does not the mountain climber make, while plenty of women are
happy to sell their bodies by the hour. Conquer the
mountain. Conquer the heart. Do not settle for anything
less.
Rule #3: Money follows passion... as does performance.
Do what you love. Do it great. And the money will take care of itself. To this end:
Specialize early and specialize often
Concentrate on deliverables, which:
can be shared with others, and
show your abilities and accomplishments in the best light.
Rule #4: Nobless Oblige
In any interaction, the stronger party has an obligation to the
weaker. It is best to assume that one is always the
stronger party. This means:
Develop a personal code of honor:
Be a Samurai
Be a Knight
Be more valuable to X, than X is to you:
your wife, your school, your car, your job, and even your dream
Rule #5: Stand by your guns
Be
self reliant. The cavalry isn't coming. This reduces to
maintaining an internal locus of control, which pretty much means:
Make your own rules rather than following somebody else’s
Rule #6: Curate your possessions
Reject
Advertising. Reject brand names. Reject chain stores.
Reject prepackaged experiences. Embrace unique, handmade,
one-off, mom and pop’s, antiques. UPC codes are bad.
Originality is good.
Rule# 7: Let tomorrow be available for tomorrow.
Live
for today, but also, when today ends, let tomorrow begin. This
means putting your toys away, cleaning up, and not having any
debt. Be done with today, today. And let tomorrow begin
anew when it comes. Of course, if you managed to wake up with a
few bucks in your pocked, I’m sure your tomorrow-self, will be more
than happy to thank your today-self; and if they have the least bit of
honor, they will carry the favor forward to your future-selves ad
infinitum.