Some advice for new college grads by Chris from 2006.

It's advice that was written down 17 years ago, yet is still as, or more, important today.

• amount of happiness ∝ amount of frustration
  • frustration is all about unmet expectations, learn to set your expectation about life realistically.
  • when you find yourself dissatisfied, ask yourself what you expected, and ask yourself why you expected what you did.
• Good things in life take work
  • in careers (work extra hard in your 20s) and in relationship (like taking care of a plant)
  • don't expect getting to good life will be easy.
• Rethink what you really want
  • if you want to be rich, why? to not work again? that's boredom.
  • best reason to be rich is: to go from "have tos" -> "want tos"
  • ultimate goal: meaningful relationships
    • "the good life is a life inspired by love and guided by knowledge" - Bertrand Russell
• the world is vastly different today than when your parents started working
  • no more working for the same company for your entire career
  • be mindful of the opportunities for advancement
  • the objective of your first job is to get a better one as soon as you can.
• time is to be spent and invested wisely
  • the key to good life is balancing how much time you spend on the moment and on the future
  • spend 12 on the future and 4 on today (3:1 ratio)
    • future = your job, working out (health), reading (gaining knowledge for the future), artistic endeavors (emotional outlets are tied to mental health and sometimes your financial future)
    • in the moment is your release: party. have fun. socialize.
• focus on your people skills
  • social education is every bit as important as scholarly education
  • try to understand what motivates people and why; ask questions and learn to listen
  • be interested in people because you can learn something from anyone.
  • be mindful of how people perceive you; be aware of what's going on in the minds of other people
  • axiom: expect more from yourself and less from other people
• Money: Learn to say no to your desires
  • avoid debt as much as possible
  • maximize income and minimize expenses
  • your lifestyle should reflect your desires to have vast richest later;
• Love is wonderful, but also extremely dangerous
  • think about what you want out of love; discern about who you fall in love with
  • the feeling of love is largely outside of our control, but we are in control of whether we are in situations where love may emerge.
  • get to know people from a distance before you get intimate with them