Principle #5: Lifelong Learning

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

— Confucius

Great quote… but I actually hate this advice.

Not because it’s not true, but because it’s not actionable for 99% of people.

It makes you believe that if you do something you love, you won’t face any obstacles along the way and that success will come easy. Neither of those are true.

Unfortunately, we’re not all Serena Williams or Justin Bieber. We don’t always stumble upon our passions at an early age and pursue them relentlessly.

Instead, most of us need to work on finding what it is that we’ll spend our lives on. We’ll need to think deeply about our inclinations and curiosities.

Naval Ravikant, Peter Thiel, and Cal Newport give us their thoughts on this concept, summarized as follows:

Think deeply about your genuine curiosities. What has always come naturally to you?

Build skills around these curiosities through deliberate practice — keep refining your skillset until you’re the best (or only one) in the world.

Fascinated by different cuisines? Experiment with foods and create a new dining experience.

In short — double-down on your personality, talents, and curiosity.

So how do you get there?

By being a lifelong learner.

We’ve become so fixated on instant gratification that we forget that life is more marathon than sprint.

The learning shouldn’t stop just because you’ve graduated from college. In reality, it’s just getting started.

Tinker with ideas. Take in new information. Formulate opinions.

The best part is — doing all of these things doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it should be the exact opposite.

Need I say more?

Think about when you have some of your best ideas:

* In the shower

* While washing dishes

* On a long walk

Learn to strike the right balance between taking in information and freely reflecting on it.

You don’t want to be the person who’s always busy. Really, the busyness is just a cover up for a lack of focus.

If your calendar is filled with places for you to be and things for you to do, when will you have time to think?

Be intentional with your time. Work hard, with intent, when it’s time to work hard.

Know when to rest and embrace the boredom. Leaving your mind unoccupied will allow it to wander into the land of creativity. That’s where the magic happens.

Thanks for listening. See you on the next episode of The Principle Podcast.

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