37 Lessons from 37 Years on This Planet

I turn 37 today and here are 37 lessons from my experience.

I am turning 37 today. Here are 37 lessons I have learned in the past 37 years. Most of the learnings came to me in the past 7 years. Even if a few points help you in your life journey, this post would’ve done its job.

The lessons are not in order of importance. Let’s start:

1. Leave Home: Leave your home and hometown in your early 20s. Get out of your comfort zone. It will feel scary, but the more you are in the safe zone around your parents the less risk you will take and the less you will grow.

2. Stay Single: Do not commit to a single relationship or romantic partner before 30. Commitment after 30 is a sign of maturity. Commitment before 30 is a sign of a scarcity mindset. You commit because you think you cannot find someone better.

3. Stay Fit: Your body is your temple. Do not fall into bad company and get into bad habits. It’s easy to think that you are cool with smoking, drinking, weed, and so on. What’s cool and what’s gangsta is being sober and straight-headed.

4. Solo Vacations: Go on solo trips at least once a year. Going on a solo vacation gives you plenty of time to think and experience life without being an object to others. In our daily lives, we are always under the stress of what others will think about us.

5. Buy Books: Buy a lot of books even if you don’t read much. Books in your home or office give a positive energy. You might just pick up some books and read a few pages once in a while. Even that would be a help in the course of your life.

6. Adopt or Buy a Dog: Get a dog as soon as you have the resources. The need to give care is as important as the need to get care. It might be a lot of time before you get married and plan kids. However, you can get a dog as soon as you start living by yourself.

7. Have Plants: Get a lot of plants in the house. Even if you can’t get a dog at least have some plants. Water the plants and make sure they don’t wither away. Seeing something grow will remind you that good things take time and you need patience.

8. Start Saving: Start saving as early as possible. Even 10% of your income saved from your 20s will amount to a lot in your 30s because of the magic of compounding. My choice of savings is Bitcoin but I started very late. Do your own research.

9. Do Not Trust: Do not trust the system so much. We live in a system but the system is designed to take advantage of us. The system is designed for the benefit of the system, not for the individual. What the individual needs is always in conflict with what the system needs.

10. Clean Everyday: Have a daily cleaning routine. You won’t feel good about yourself living in a messy space. Make your bed as soon as you wake up. It’s a habit that will help you for life. A clean house gives positivity and a clean mind.

11. You Are Unique: Never compare yourself to others. Everyone is born unique and the only way you can compare yourself is to the ideal version of yourself. Try to become more like your own ideal version every day and don’t feel bad when someone else does better.

12. Be a Part of a Mastermind: Surround yourself with people more successful than you. It will feel uncomfortable but you can never grow in a circle of friends who are doing worse than you. You will have a false sense of being better when you are around losers.

13. Meditate: Start practicing meditation as early as possible in life. If you can meditate only 10 minutes a day, it still helps. If you can do a 10-day Vipassana course in your life at some point in time, do it. Then meditate more.

14. F Social Status: Never put effort into social status. If you think others will think you are cool because you have a nice car, you are already losing. Never spend money on social status. Remember, rich people look poor, and poor people look rich. You want to be rich and anonymous, not rich and famous.

15. Watch Podcasts: Watch 2-hour podcasts instead of 2-hour movies. Watching podcasts is a great way to learn instead of watching movies. Go for movies once in a while but don’t make it a routine. Movies are made for the masses and we don’t want to think like the masses.

16. Ride: Buy a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is not just about having fun. It’s about meditation. You ride not to show off, but to have inner peace. You also learn how to take calculated risks in life. If you are alert and wear full protective gear, it is pretty safe to ride motorcycles regularly.

17. Hobbies: Create friend circles around activities, such as motorcycling. Without activities, you won’t have a friends circle. Initially, it was going to the same college. Then it comes from your workplace. You need friends outside work and that comes with activities, not just meeting people for no reason.

18. Don’t Buy a House: The world will tell you to “invest” in a house. But do it as late as possible in life. Buying a house early is a lot of financial burden and you get locked in one place. You have no idea how your 30s will be in your 20s. And you have no idea how your 40s will be in your 30s. You might move, so just rent.

19. Do Blood Tests: Do not think that you are perfectly healthy even if you feel perfectly healthy. A lot of us have vitamin deficiencies even in our 20s. Do a full body health checkup once a year and take supplements as required. This will make sure you feel like you are in your 20s in your 40s.

20. Buy a Used Car: When you have enough money to buy a car, buy a slightly used car. Cars that are slightly used come at a 20-30% discount. Do not pay a premium for the new car smell. You just need a car to get from one place to another. You will feel less pain when you get scratches in your car.

21. Learn to Cook: You don't need to become a gourmet chef. But learn basic cooking like keeping rice or coffee for yourself. You will feel that there is less need to always cling to someone. You will have more power to be an individual.

22. Read Fiction Novels: Fiction novels power up your imagination. Most of the books are better to read than the same story in a movie. Recently I have been reading The Godfather book and I feel that the movie hardly captured 30% of what the book is.

23. Play Sports: Find something that you like to play. I like playing badminton. Sports is a good way to work out not just physically but mentally as well. You will also get to make new friends when you play sports.

24. Play Video Games: You don’t need the latest PlayStation. Have some games on your computer. Play strategy games. I used to extensively play Red Alert 3 and I also used to play multiplayer. Strategy games can help you with your business thinking too.

25. Date Before You Marry: Date someone for a year or two before you marry them. Marriage is a legal partnership and it needs to be chosen very carefully. It is one of the few decisions in life that is not easy to reserve and if you want to cancel it, there is a huge emotional, financial, and social cost to it.

26. Be Bold with Business Partnerships: Business partnerships are not as hard to break as marriages. You have to be careful who becomes your co-founder but just in case things don’t pan out as expected, be cool with it. I have had at least 4 business partners before and I learned a lot doing business with them. Now I am a solo founder but they get credit for where I am today.

27. Awards Do Not Matter: Don’t chase awards and recognitions. Even if you get a Nobel prize it doesn’t matter. People get awards, they grow old, and die. Do you remember all the folks who have won the Nobel Prize? Probably not. Feeling good about yourself is the only thing that matters and you don’t need external awards for that. You can get awards and still feel miserable.

28. Remember Death: Death never comes slowly and with a warning. It will always come unexpectedly, no matter how old you are. Someone 90 years of age might be thinking that they have a few more years and it comes within a month. Life is short and one day you will die. Remember that once in a while you will not worry so much about trivial things in life.

29. Don’t Argue With People: If someone tells you something that you don’t agree with, do not correct them. Just smile and move on. There are too many idiots in the world and new idiots are being made daily. You can only protect yourself from that, you cannot change that.

30. Grow a Beard and Long Hair: If you are a man, grow a beard and long hair in your 20s. Later you can remove it. Your parents will not like it. But you need to remind them you are not under their control. Having long hair is an act of defiance. You need to train them that you will disappoint them. Because no matter what you do, they will be disappointed at some point. They need to leave you alone and understand that you are not under their control and your life decisions won’t be in line with what they want from you.

31. Question Authority: If you see a cop or a policeman, and if you see them behaving wrong, question it. If you have a boss, question his attitude. No one is above you and you are not less than anyone. Be straightforward. Always question authority.

32. Freedom is Taken: If you want freedom in your life, you have to take it. Remember, no one will ever give you freedom. People always want freedom for themselves, not for others. Whether it’s a dad-son relationship, a boss-employee relationship, or a husband-wife relationship, everyone will expect you to behave in a certain way. That’s not freedom. So take it like a man.

33. Track Expenses Accurately: We always think we spend less but we end up spending more. You can use personal credit cards and debt, but track where the money is going. You cannot improve something that you don’t track. If you want to become rich, start counting the coins.

34. File Your Taxes: It is obvious, but I know many friends who do not regularly file their taxes. File it on time and honestly. Death and taxes cannot be avoided in life. I do not want to get into the debate of whether the tax money is being used efficiently, but you need to follow the law of the land. Else you have to pay a heavy price for it later.

35. Cut Off Disrespecting People: Remove people who disrespect you from your life completely. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your boss or your spouse. You tolerate disrespect only because you want to gain something from them. But you need to cut it off because you don’t want your self-respect to take a hit.

36. The Past is a Story: Your past is a story in your head. You have no idea if it was a dream or happened in real. Don’t let your past affect your present. Always imagine that you are born this morning. Your past is as unreal as your future. Do not let who you were hold you back from who you are becoming.

37. Learn Mathematics: The truth about the universe is hidden in mathematics. You don’t need to be an engineer to learn maths. Learn probabilities, large numbers, and differential and integral calculus. There are many apps, books, and websites that teach you this. You will have a unique advantage when you are good at maths.

So there you go. Hope you like it.

It’s a great start for my day because I’ve written 2000 words. My usual goal is to write 1000 words every day. And yeah, that’s one more bonus lesson. Write regularly to clear your mind and build a personal brand. This lesson is not said but is shown. Instead of being lazy on the day of my birthday, I started it with writing. I feel great now. Joy comes from efforts, not fun activities, and being lazy. If you have read this post till this point, thank you so much for that.

Comment below with your thoughts.

Cheers,
Deepak Kanakaraju