12 Rules for Life on Earth
My podcast series, Life on Earth with Robert Nasir, reached and surpassed episode #100 in 2023 ... and yes, a few lessons were learned!
From "One Hundred Episodes: Lessons Learned, Wisdom Gained - Life On Earth with Robert Nasir - Episode 100" (If you’d rather watch it than read it, the link’s at the end!)
1. Yes, You are The Center of The Universe.
Everything you choose, give attention to, and sanction, is elevated. You are the star of this show, as well as the director, the producer, and most importantly, the script writer. You are a work in progress, so ... PROGRESS!
Wait, what? How do you back that up, Robert? Easy! See Life on Earth: "Awe & Ashtrays, Possessions & Professions" (Ep. 1) "Jordan Peterson, Nihilism, and The Meaning Of Life" (Ep 35) "Me, My Self, and Sam Harris" (Ep. 52) "Capitalism: Who Do U Work 4?" (Ep. 60) "What We REALLY Owe The Future: On MacAskill & Longtermism" (Ep. 82)
2. Happiness is Chosen
While happiness is the result of a commitment to defining, and achieving, your values, no one is happy, who does not choose to be happy.
You've got to want it. Not everyone does.
See: "Happiness & Jumping off The Hedonic Treadmill" (Ep. 4) "Choosing Happiness: A Prerequisite to Achieving It" (Ep. 61)
3. The Formulas for Success are All Around Us
The answers are well-known and widely available. See the countless books on motivation and personal success today.
But also see the biographies of great men and women.
And most especially, see the work of the great artists. “Art is the indispensable medium for the communication of a moral ideal.”
See: "Recipes & Scripts for Success!" (Ep. 12) "Objectivism On One Foot, and Life In Four Words (Or Less)" (Ep. 83)
4. Everything is Finite.
And so, there's no time, energy, or resources to waste.
Get busy.
You don't need a perfect plan, or maximum resolve and ambition, to get started.
Start.
See: "Ambition vs Zen & Stoicism" (Ep. 5) "Everything is Finite, so Memento Mori!" (Ep. 6) "Joy, Sorrow, Love, Death, and the Infinite Now" (Ep. 53) "It's About Time!" (Ep. 58)
5. Most of Our Limitations are Self-Imposed.
You're more capable than you know ... more than you can even imagine.
If you were forced by circumstances to be twice the man or woman you are now, you could do it.
So, do it.
See: "Stretch!" (Ep. 31)
6. Ideas Matter.
And this is a battle of ideas. Not of persons, nor personalities.
(Because even when it's all corruption and demagoguery, idiocy and power-lust, carnies and marks, only the ideas make it possible.)
See: "Ideas Matter" (Ep. 17) "Politics & Love" (Ep. 9) "On Racism, Antiracism, NOTA, and Dilbert" (Ep. 84)
7. You Are Not Alone.
Kindred spirits are out there, and in the modern world, we have countless ways to find one another.
And you deserve this.
See: "Benevolence!" (Ep. 3) "Blind Followers or Blind Rebels?" (Ep. 11) "MBTI, DISC & OCON... Types & Tips!" (Ep. 14) "Unconditional Love" (Ep. 33) "Art and The Pursuit Of Romance" (Ep. 34)
8. Reality is Your Ally, Reason is Your Superpower.
The “Benevolent Universe” isn’t out to help you … but it also isn’t out to hurt you … and that’s exactly how you want it. It is knowable by reason, deal-able with by virtue … and it is filled with boundless values, opportunities, adventures, virtual miracles FOR YOU.
See: "Rationality: Pinker's Book, Rand's Virtue" (Ep. 20) "Merry Christmas: Reason Is The Reason For The Season" (Ep. 27) "When Reason Takes A Holiday: "Ego Is The Enemy" (Ep. 56) "Living the Ideas - On Honour" (Ep. 65)
9. Virtue Works.
"'Value' is that which one acts to gain and keep, 'virtue' is the action by which one gains and keeps it." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
See: "Hope. A Preview, and a Promise" (Ep. 22) "How to Be a Passionate & Intellectual Woman" (Ep. 37) "On Integrity: This Is The Way" (Ep 48) "What Does That Look Like?" (Ep. 89)
10. Optimism is Realism.
“It’s Getting Better All The Time.”
Or to quote Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged again:
"We never had to take any of it seriously, did we? "
"No, we never had to."
See: "On Optimism" (Ep. 19) The Future Is At Hand (Ep. 25) "And They Lived Happily Ever After" (Ep. 29) "How's Your Universe? Reason & Trying Times!" (Ep. 55) "Malthus & Ehrlich vs. Tupy & Pooley!" (Ep. 63) "Major Announcement: Everything's Going To Be All Right" (Ep. 75) "Here Is The News" (Ep. 80) "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (Again)" (Ep. 81)
11. People are Just The Best.
Treat them justly. As they deserve.
Be willing to help ... and be willing to ask for help.
Engage!
See: "Compliments" (Ep. 7) "Kindred Spirits" (Ep. 30) "Help!" (Ep. 32) "Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men!" (Ep. 74) "The Boy On The Bicycle: The Courage To Face A Lifetime" (Ep. 99)
"Justice consists first not in condemning, but in admiring—and then in expressing one's admiration explicitly and in fighting for those one admires. It consists first in acknowledging the good: intellectually, in reaching an objective moral verdict; then existentially, in defending the good—speaking out, making one's verdict known, championing publicly the men who are rational (one also praises them to their face, if there is a context to indicate that this would be a value to the person rather than an intrusion). Evil must be combatted, but then it is to be brushed aside. What counts in life are the men who support life." OPAR, Pg. 285 Ch. 8, Virtue
12. Values are Primary.
Values have primacy.
We are here to live a life ... not just to fight evil, and not just to not-die.
Live a life.
That means values have primacy. Define ’em, choose ’em, get ’em, love ’em, live ’em.
See: "The First Duty Of Justice" (Ep. 16) "Copper Pot Objectivists" (Ep. 10) "The Vice Squad" (Ep. 92) "The Joy Of Selfishness: Justice, Mercy, Benevolence" (Ep. 93)
Happy New Year … now, let’s make 2024 our Best Year Yet!