29 Non-Obvious Lessons to Give Your Younger Self

I turn 29 today.

I tried answering this question:

What non-obvious lessons would I give my younger self?

Here's 29 of them: pic.twitter.com/P66WCb0NCd

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

1. The Western Blindspot:

• Amazon has thousands of books on how to be a good parent.

• There's almost 0 books on how to be a good son or daughter.

This represents a selfish blindspot in Western society.

You have to correct it for yourself before it's too late. pic.twitter.com/5E3ZAmOWPU

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

2, Be Like Japan:

When I ask people where they want to travel to: 90% say Japan

Japan practiced an isolationist policy called Sakoku for 265 years. They largely cut off the outside world resulting in a unique culture.

Once per quarter, practice Sakoku for a week. pic.twitter.com/tNAiYFCarF

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

3. Get Better At Giving Gifts:

If you have creative or entrepreneurial friends, you can get them close to tears on a tiny budget:

1. Google "Wayback machine"

2. Find their first website or creation

3. Get it framed

It will mean more to them than any expensive cliche gift. pic.twitter.com/u9eqiq46ZL

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

4. 10% or 20%:

10% of my time should've been spent thinking about where my time was going.

When I was too busy to allocate 10%, I should've allocated 20% of my time to fix this problem.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

5. How To Time Travel:

1. If you go from doing a task once per week to once per day, you achieve 7 years of output in 1 year.

2. If you apply a 1% compound interest each time, you achieve 54 years of output in 1 year. pic.twitter.com/rfRj94hKiT

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

6. Anti-Signalling is Signalling:

I thought fashion was for shallow people

So I wore the same black T-shirt and jeans every day

I took mushrooms and saw my reflection: I realized I was trying to signal I was above signaling

I didn't escape the game - I just looked terrible 😂

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

7. How To Be More Creative:

1. Collect the best questions you hear

2. Add them to a spinning wheel app

3. Spin the wheel before bed

4. Leave the question with your subconscious overnight

5. Brainstorm on the question first thing in the morning before any inputs pic.twitter.com/cNmw6gOiv0

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

8. Become Your Own IRS:

I could've been smarter and happier by creating my own taxes:

1. Education tax - A % of income towards education and tutors

2. Gifting tax - A % of income towards gifts for other people

Even if it's $10 per month, it's miles better than $0

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

9. Every Thought Has Opportunity Cost:

I spent too much thinking bandwidth on:

1. Ego
2. Insecurity
3. Emotion

This time had a huge opportunity cost. I could've used that cognitive horsepower on:

1. Inputs
2. Outputs
3. Feedback loops. pic.twitter.com/0iuZlZyqAB

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

10. Service Worker MDMA:

If you interact with a service worker who’s constantly giving positive energy — randomly give them an uncomfortable amount as a tip one day.

It will be the best money you’ve ever spent. (It's pure MDMA -- without touching drugs)

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

11. The Salary Trap:

The biggest mistake I made in my 20s was accepting a job purely because it increased my salary

I should've ranked opportunities on...

• Learning potential > Earning potential

Ironically, skill acquisition usually makes more money in the long term too. pic.twitter.com/z5GjCwCRAV

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

12. The 2023 University Playbook:

• If I was to go back to University, here's what I'd do differently:

1. Drop out in the first week (Minimise debt)

2. Stay around campus (Maximise social skills)

3. Learn skills online + get apprenticeships (Maximise free time)

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

13. The 3 F's:

1. Friends
2. Freedom
3. Flow State

This accounted for 90% of my happiness:

And if I don't have them, 90% of my misery.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

14. How To Be A Good Writer:

1. Realise it's an infinite game: I want to do it until my 90-year-old hands stop working

2. Post and ghost. Don't wait to see people's reactions.

3. Commit to writing like an athlete. Get up early to do it. (Or just move to a time zone ahead)

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

15. Consume Niche Content:

I found @ChrisWillx and @GoodMarketingHQ on their first podcast + blog. (Both became great friends)

Watched a @StevenBartlett vlog that had a few thousand views (Got a job at his company)

Allocate time to niche content the algo isn't serving you

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

16. Hardware > Software:

Rule of thumb: Fix hardware (physiology) before software (psychology).

1. 95% of software problems seem to get fixed when you take care of the hardware.

2. The remaining 5% is easier to debug once you've fixed the hardware.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

17. Depressing Shower Thought:

• Driving is the last time most adults learn a new skill.

Positive reframe: If you're open to learning new skills in adulthood, you have an extreme competitive advantage.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

18. Create Your Own News + Think From First Principles:

1. If you wait for the news to inform you - you'll either be wrong or too late.

2. If it's a talking point on Reddit, you're probably early.

3. If it's a talking point on LinkedIn, you're definitely late.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

19. Friendship Rule Of Thumb:

Out of 5, how much energy do you feel after spending time with someone?

If 4-5 - break down walls to see them.

If 1-2 - fade away.

Energy is the best gauge. You don’t need anything more complex.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

20. Avoid The Simmering 6:

I wasted so much time in the simmering 6. I wasn't fully switched on or fully switched off.

In hindsight, I'm much better when I operate in intense focus (9/10) -- or intense relaxation (1/10).

Most Type-A personalities do not know how to relax.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

21. Everyone Should Try Cold Sales:

The best thing I did was cold sales in my early 20s.

Cold selling is like muscle building:

Stack it whilst you're young because it gets a lot more difficult to do later on in life.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

22. How To Think For Yourself:

Have a decentralized friend group so you avoid mimetic forces.

• Want to laugh all night? Call your fun friends.

• Want to settle down? Call your serious friends.

• Want to start a business? Call your ambitious friends.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

23. Outsource Your Weaknesses:

I thought doing things I was bad at was a sign of willpower and strength.

In hindsight, it was a sign of ego and stupidity.

If you're optimizing for value creation, only do things you can be the best in the world at.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

24. Charlie Munger's Favourite Ad:

"The company that needs a new machine tool, and hasn't bought it, is already paying for it."

A beautiful ad -- and a beautiful reframe.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

25. How To Make Instagram Useful:

Follow this policy:

1. Do I want to see this person in the next 6 months?

2. Did this educate me?

3. Did this make me laugh?

If you answer no to all 3 questions, mute the account.

After 1 week of pruning, your feed is incredible.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

26. The Best Marketing Skill:

I've worked in marketing for 10+ years -- including some of the best marketers in the world.

The only thing the best people all share:

Insatiable curiosity.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

27. Track Your Time:

Once per quarter, track your time for a whole week:

1. Compare this with your priorities

2. It never matches

3. Review and adjust your schedule moving forward.

PS. It only takes 10 minutes per day (That's the benefit of tracking time - you see this data)

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

28. 95% Of Marketing Problems:

1. There's no such thing as a marketing problem - it's a traffic or conversion problem

2. The best marketing and sales never look like marketing and sales

3. Marketing is a multiplier of product. Multiply 0 by a trillion, you still have 0.

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023

29. The Career Cheat Code:

Technology is the only area of life your parents ask you for advice.

If you want to get ahead of the older generation, you have 2 choices:

1. Wait for them to retire (20-30 years)

2. Get good at technology (2-3 years) pic.twitter.com/ECfQqcxEuu

— George Mack (@george__mack) April 13, 2023