12 Principles For a Better Life

Inspired by Ryan Holiday, here are my 12 rules for living well.

Two of our rules overlap. I read every day, and always have. And I’ve learned, after far too many years of getting angry and frustrated about things I cannot immediately change, to focus on what I can control.

I can be a slow learner. Music and books have always been a big part of my life, but some of the guidelines below are things I stumbled on much later. I really wish I’d known them earlier, so I’m sharing them here.

And I’d love to know your rules for living a good life. Do share them in the comments!

Now that I have built up savings for emergencies, 10% of everything I earn goes into a separate account to spend and enjoy, guilt-free, and a further 10% (at least) is invested, a gift to my future self.

But I’ve learned to do this with time, as well as money. The first hour of every working day is spent writing and working on my personal projects. Even when I have deadlines. It means I’m always moving forward with the things I really want to write or create, as well as the work I do to pay the bills.

Like most creatives, I tend to over-complicate things. I let perfectionism get in the way, and I often make things much harder than they need to be. Life got much easier when I adopted the concept of a Minimum Viable Product: putting out early versions of courses, articles, even books; then polishing and adding new features once I have feedback.

Now, I ask these two questions constantly:

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