Nassim Taleb's New Year's Resolutions
Some struggle with coming up with goals, while others simply denounce the tradition.
But not Nassim Taleb.
The famed "Black Swan" tweeted a first draft of his resolutions for 2015.
Here's what he wrote (retyped exactly as tweeted):
- Call someone who has no friends, just to say hello, letting the person know that you do not need him/her. Have coffee with lonely people twice a month.
- Do not read more than one new book a week - if needed re-read (and read no book you wouldn't reread.) Do not do write more than two hours a day. Walk two hours every day regardless of weather. Do not go the gym more than 5 times in any given month and/or do not spend more than 30 minutes per visit.
- Fast one day every week on average. Eat meat only on festivals, but then splurge.
- Respect the janitor more than the chairman and respect those who respect the janitor more than the chairman.
- Do not read the latest breakthrough experiment in psychology about, say, the effect of taking cold showers on grammatical ability. Better even read nothing about these "experiments."
- Read no book written by, or co-authored with, a journalist.
- Pick a lobbyist (preferably Monsanto/GMO) or some economist harmful to the collective and make life miserable for him, especially if the reaction entails some personal and reputational risks for you.
- Give to someone who need money but doesn't ask for it while finding an excuse to preserve his/her dignity.
- Use courage and wisdom, not labor, to make money.
- In the end realize that you are only as valuable as the risks you are taking for the sake of the collective.
We'd like to reemphasize that this is only a first draft. There could be changes in the final version.