My Rules

Inspired by mnmal.org's 40 rules, I give you Ben Simon's rules for life:

Rule 0: Love your wife.

Rule 1: You're going to die. (In other words: life is short, cherish every minute of it.)

Rule 2: Everything but death is fixable. (Not exactly true, but a solid rule of thumb.)

Rule 3: Time is the most precious resource. (See Rule #1.)

Rule 4: Consider the 1 year test. (Will this event/activity/item be important in a year? If not, consider Rule #3.)

Rule 5: Be Honest. (If you broke it, admit it. If you don't understand it, admit.)

Rule 6: Consider contribution, not blame. (Not "who's fault is it?" but, "how did each of us contribute to this problem?")

Rule 7: Your taste will exceed your skills. (So, practice, practice, practice.)

Rule 8: Go to bed angry. (A crisis often shrinks to nothing when considered on a full night's sleep.)

Rule 9: Find Flow and you'll find happiness.

Rule 10: When communicating with others, prefer pictures over spoken words. Prefer a working model over pictures.

Rule 11: Make a list. Prioritize. Work on the first item. Forget about the rest until the first one is complete.

Rule 12: Be Prepared.

Rule 13: Smile.

Rule 14: Consider it an experiment. (There's no failure with experiments, just more data.)

Rule 15: Always completely pay off your credit cards at the end of the month.

Rule 16: Live your best life. (Don't lament that you can't hike the full Appalachian Trail. Do a weekend backpacking trip or overnight or even camp out in the backyard with the kids.)

Rule 17: If you want to understand a subject, teach it to someone. If you want to completely and relentlessly understand a subject, teach it to a computer. (That is, program it. Computers make now allowance for gray areas.)

What are your rules for life?