Personal Principles Playbook

Happy Friday Friends,

I love a good quote!The deep, meaningful ones are pretty cool but, for me, it’s the quotes from books or smart people I follow that really stick with me. 

I also love advice. Sometimes it’s from a real-life mentor but these days it often comes from successful and smart people I follow online.Often the quotes I save are bits of advice. But I have some issues.

Problem 1 - there are too many to remember. Instagram, Twitter, books and podcasts. With the amount of information I consume, it’s hard to keep track of what I save or highlight. I solve this by adding them to an ever-growing table in Notion. Where, like any good Type-A nerd, I categorise and rank them.

This brings me to problem 2 - there are just too many out there. I have good intentions for all the quotes I find but, most of them will fade into nothingness and be useless to me.

Then, a few years ago I discovered Julian Shapiro’s Starting Principles.

In a world teeming with advice, Julian Shapiro's "Starting Principles" offers a pragmatic approach to sifting through the noise and finding guidance that truly resonates. 

Shapiro's system isn't about hoarding tips or quotes like forgotten bookmarks. It's about internalising a select few principles that will become the compass by which you navigate some of your life decisions. 

By committing to a handful of memorised “rules”, we can streamline our decision-making process. We can ensure that our actions are consistent and aligned with our core values. These principles act as a mental shortcut or a set of personal commandments that guide behaviour without the need for constant deliberation.

I’ve created a new set of principles every year for the past 3 years. The power of "Starting Principles" is that they foster a sense of purpose and clarity amidst the chaos of everyday life. It's a useful exercise and a brilliant little life hack.

You’re asking yourself what the hell I’m talking about, aren’t you?

Let me share the 5 I’ve chosen for this year.

• Choose Optimism

• Luck is a function of surface area

• Shoot all your shots

• 1% better than yesterday

• Proud but never satisfied

I’ve picked mine based on where I’m holding in my personal and professional life for this year. All of them are mindsets that will challenge me to be better and in turn, improve my life. The top 3 specifically are phrases I need to keep reminding myself of as I try to build out my consulting business. 

So, when I don’t feel like sending that cold email in case the person doesn’t remember me - SHOOT ALL MY SHOTS!

When I tell myself there’s no point going to that networking event, they’re almost always useless - CHOOSE OPTIMISM!

Or, when I’ve signed a handful of clients and think it’s I can take my foot off the pedal for a bit - PROUD BUT NEVER SATISFIED.

Get it? Got it? Gooooood. Now, let’s give you a simple plan to create your own Starting Principles.

Things To Remember

• They should be transferable in different scenarios. 

• They should be high level enough that you can make other decisions with them. 

• You know your principles are right for you when they will meaningfully change your behaviour. 

Here are a few examples from my advice archive to get your juices flowing.

• Play long-term games with long-term people - Naval Ravikant

• Elimination is the highest form of optimisation.

• Inspiration is perishable. Act on it immediately

• Happiness hinges on maintaining freedom. Success is gaining degrees of freedom.

• There is no value in winning when the game doesn't matter to you - Naval Ravikant

• We create our own stress due to the perception of what we must do.

• Conviction emerges from exposure!

• Half doing something is an expensive way of not doing it - Angela Jiang

Let’s Get Started

1. Put together a list of quotes, principles, adages or bits of advice you have written down. 10-15 will be plenty.

2. Be critical with that list and choose 5-7 that not only resonate with you. Personally, 5 is my max to be effective and remember them. Your principles must also align with where you’d like your life to head in the next 6-12 months.

3. Write down your principles in your diary, on a sticky note or like me pin them to your home screen on your laptop.

4. Look at them every morning for a month until they're memorised.

5. Practice them until they become reflexive

Remember the more you use a principle, the higher the value. And, when you stop using a principle it means it’s time to swap it out for a new one.

When we are strategic and conscious about the decisions we make we can influence who we become. The best time to start making conscious choices and using principles was five years ago. The next best time is now.

Slide into my DMs if you have any questions. Sceptics are also welcome.

Peace, love and muscles.Jazza

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