Internet is full of lists like this post. Most of the lists are repetitive and useless. They bring to the table the same old information again and again. However, these paragraphs are different. They bring new and fresh insights to your life. These insights are from Robert Greene, author of many important books such as 33 strategies of war, Mastery, and 48 laws of power among others. Those are life changing books that everyone should read. But if you need a tease this post contains some concepts that may spark your interest.

Alive time and dead time. Starting from the latter, dead time is the time is when you’re simply waiting. You’re passively waiting for events to happen. However, alive time is the time-frame where you actively pursue the goal and improve yourself with the hope that the opportunity will arrive. It’s the time used to leverage the future opportunities.

Be objective. Objectivity is everything, we shall not be pulled towards anything without a decent reason. This is about removing the impartiality we live by. It’s about deconstructing life to see the real elements in play rather than the mystique surrounding it.

Be your best self. People naturally make assumptions about others. Your goal in this case is to be better than the assumption they made. Strive for greatness and be funnier, nicer, smarter, and more open minded than they thought. This requires work but it’s worth it.

Deconstruct and understand. Every time when we start a new activity or move to a new place we are on the surface. As we put work in it we familiarize ourselves with each step and component and we build mental pathways to intuition. Eventually we make it all way through.

Exercise increases productivity. Through the years this is something that I noticed. During the periods that I did the most sport I also achieved the most. Many people would think the contrary that sport takes time from other activities, but it’s plainly false. Sport gives you stamina, focus and energy through the day but it also relaxes the mind and body when deadlines are approaching.

Be patient. Most rewards come from delayed gratification. We are always rushing through our lives but if we give time for things to fall in the correct place we will be taking the optimal decisions at each time point. Sometimes the opportunity arrises but we are not ready to take it, and instead of rushing into it we should wait for future and more suitable chances.

Aim for perennity. Create art that will last long after you leave. Ok is not good enough. Classic books are classic because they endured the pass of time. And they did so because they are worth it. Don’t let the odds decide, it does not happen by accident, make it intentional.

Avoid tactical hell. Stop being reactive to other people’s demands and needs driven by emotions. Plan things, think long term and don’t let others deviate from your crafted path.

Plan all the way to the end. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. If you know the final destination you can reverse engineer the path to achieve it. With this you will have zero excuse to not pursue your dreams.

Everything is a learning experience. Everything that happens in your life can serve a purpose later in life. It can be material for a book, a story to tell a friend, something that you learn. See it as collecting data, observe it.

Avoid distractions. If you are working you are working. Focus and discipline are in crisis. Each break you take it costs you more time than the break itself. Stop reacting to others, technology allows us to communicate asynchronously. Try turning your phone off while working and you will see how much productive you get.

Keep calm. From over reactions you will achieve nothing. Rushed decisions may take us into wrong places. Don’t loose control of your mind and try to keep as rational as possible. This is a long term strategy.

Focus. Choose one task at a time and few goals to achieve. The more you add the less energy you will be able to focalize at each one of them. And without enough energy you may not even progress. Things move faster if you concentrate your resources into few well chosen endeavours. Say no and ignore the rest.

I hope that with all of these you achieve a higher enlightenment.