It is advisable to do things or invest in things with “asymmetric risk” (huge upside, limited downside).
Here’s some:
- Invest in startups
- Start a company
- Create a book, podcast, video
- Create a (software) product
- Go on many first dates
- Go to a cocktail party
- Read a Lindy book*
- Move to a big city
- Buy Bitcoin
- Tweet
- Learn to code
- Cold email people
*the Lindy Effect = non organic things (advice, ideas, companies,…) that have been around for, let’s say, 50y have a high probability of being around for another 50y. So always listen to your grandma’s advice! (discard the ‘experts’)
You want to design optionality into your life. A life where you have the option to do or not do something. It’s very similar to financial options, but expanded to the larger stage of life. You want to have the option to do something, but not be obligated to do so. If you decide to do them, there is very limited downside and unlimited upside. All of the above are examples of that.
If you’re interested in how to make decisions in the face of randomness, I highly recommend Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s 5 book series ‘Incerto’. One of the great thinkers of our time and an all round funny guy.