Three life hacks: Read, Play and Explain.
Fun leads to mastery
Simple life hacks can be very powerful. One such hack I apply was proposed by Physicist Richard Feynman: If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Embracing this suggestion, I recently explained a statistical concept to colleagues in the following way. Imagine there are 100 people in a room. You ask them to line up in increasing height order. Shortest at the start (number 1) and the tallest at the end (number 100). Number 50 (the 50% percentile) in the row represents the Median height of the group. The height of numbers 25 and 75 represent the 25% and 75% percentile heights of the group, respectively. The difference in height between number 75 and 25 is the Interquartile Range, a measure of spread. (While not being strictly correct, it served it’s purpose.)
Other life hacks I embrace relate to reading and playing.
Love reading
Books are a uniquely portable magic. - Stephen King
At school, my French teacher said, Philip is not a natural, but finds ways of entertaining himself. My English teacher could have said the same. Many years later, books and I have become firm friends. Now, I love reading and writing. Books that captivate my interest drive my learning and growth. As Naval Ravikant suggests, Books are the original virtual reality. They take you out of your head and into someone else’s. The right books, discovered serendipitously, shape world views and creativity.
Do what feels like play, but looks like work
Building specific knowledge will feel like play to you but will look like work to others. - Naval Ravikant
Success comes from pursuing activities that feel effortless and enjoyable because they align with our strengths and passions. To others, these activities may seem like hard work, but for us, they are energising and fulfilling. This not only ensures sustained motivation but also positions us to excel in a competitive world. Discovering the intersection of passion and productivity fosters happiness and long-term wealth.
I love building digital tools, apps and writing. I particularly enjoy combining skills and ideas from different domains, e.g. behavioural science and technology. For me it feels like play and develops my skill stack. I recently developed a tool which enables colleagues to provide customer quotes ten times faster than before.
Other resources
How to Get Rich talk by Naval Ravikant
Three Books that Rewired my Brain post by Phil Martin
How to Join the New Rich post by Phil Martin
Naval Ravikant sums it up. True education is self-directed play.
Have fun.
Phil…
