The Hall of Awesomeness

Some lessons are harder than others.   Yet over the years most of mistakes, costly and nearly bankrupting as they are, have taught me everything I know.  Avoiding something because you may fail is very hard and I suck at taking risks.  Most of the time though we make mistakes and learn and think that didn’t work.  So what I have learned (or am learning) to do is keep a close eye on my mistakes.  Here are some things I learned from making mistakes:

1. Don’t cook fish on high with the lid on.
2. Calamari is like rubber if you cook it too long
3. You need rear vision mirrors
4. Make sure you get all the information you need when saying ‘Yes’ to buying something OR doing something
5. Some people will always use you, even if you tell them, ‘you are using me’.
6. Your boss is not your friend
7. Direct to video sequels destroy the good memories of the original
8. Philosophy is highly subjective, even though academics think they are all right
9. Most people won’t change unless they are forced too
10. There are about 100 ways to skin a cat
11. Just because I think something is a good product, doesn’t mean customers will
12. Having goals are good, having ambition isn’t always a good thing
13. Working harder doesn’t mean getting ahead
14. Doing things for people is not always noble
15. Computers are efficient and useful, except when they aren’t.
16. It’s not 1992 anymore
17. People on the road can get out of their cars if you cut them off
18. You have to spend money to make money only works when your idea is tested, refined and proven to make money
19. Liberty doesn’t exist
20. Max Weber had major mental problems
21. Existentialism, while interesting, leaves you depressed and without answers (sic)
22. Never bet on the favourite
23. Making money online is harder than offline
24. Students don’t love you when you are a hard ass
25. Graduate students should not review papers for major journals
26. Graduate students should not review papers for minor journals
27. Never say yes to something you would take your name off later
28. Don’t sign a contract if you don’t understand it
29. NEVER trust a real estate agent
30. Electricity works, even when it’s switched off
31. Quick release wheels are convenient, until they come out while you are riding your bike
32. Driving on drugs is a really, REALLY bad idea
33. Women don’t find fat people attractive
34. Children don’t do what you ask when you yell or if they do, they undo it later
35. Arguing about the truth is confusing and depends on what the truth is
36. You are not a research paradigm
37. Policy works, breach it and see what happens
38. Managers don’t necessarily think about their employees first
39. Good ideas go to waste in a ‘system’
40. Problems are interpreted, misinterpreted then made into policy
41. Colleagues are also competitors
42. Don’t say yes to money if you don’t know the strings
43. There are no ‘friends’ in business
44. Never take your eyes off the road
45. If you are bulky (or burly as I have been called) you are likely to be sitting by yourself if you get on the bus first
46. Same for trains
47. Doing a PhD is a great idea… until you start
48. Doing a masters is a great idea… until you start
49. Smoking is a bad habit…. especially when it’s crack/marijuana or something else addictive
50. Waving to people may result in a beating
51. Reading ‘literature’ is fun until page 90
52. There is no such thing as a ’4 hour work week’
53. You can’t make as much money as the guy who makes 40k a month without stealing either his market or his ideas
54. Getting old gets worse as you get older
55. Having gray hair at an early age does not win friends or get you a girlfriend… it will get you ridiculed as ‘gramps’.
56. Saying yes to ‘cat’ is a great idea if she isn’t a mentally challenged Sealpoint Himalayan who thinks shitting in your shoes is fun
57. Things usually get worse then much worse if they even get better at all.
58. Action speaks louder than a committee meeting
59. Accountants rule the world
60. Living up to your potential depends on how much you could be bothered to learn what the fuck your potential is in the first place.
61. Other people don’t know you as well as you know you
62. Relatives will be offended when you make inferences about their parenting capacity
63. People think university Lecturers are leaches in a large majority of cases
64. Respect is often fraudulent
65. If you see a car that’s broken down on the side of the road, unless you have a phone, money or mechanical skills keep driving
66. Dreams are poison
67. Your words make little difference
68. Taking a stand carries a price, you better make sure you are prepared to pay for it when you stand
69. Faith works except when it doesn’t
70. Believe in what you do
71. Shoot the messenger
72. Don’t bet on old ideas
73. Marketing is for micro thinkers
74. Happiness depends on context
75. Church is for church people

These are only a few… add more in the comments if you like.