I. I place the highest weight on my own judgment.

By all accounts, I was born to be average. I'm an average person born to two average parents. But I've come to believe that being average is a choice, not a circumstance or a destiny. And perhaps destiny, in its strange and unknowable way, has a tendency to conspire for those who refuse to settle. I've been fortunate enough that luck has found me at the right moments in my life. But I've been even more fortunate to learn that the elusive phenomenon we call luck is something you have to be prepared to receive. So, when I wake up, I decide that no one knows any better than myself and that my limits are largely self-imposed.

II. Until death, all defeat is psychological.

We as human beings are capable of creativity and resilience, of great things. I firmly believe that improving 1% each day will compound into a life well lived. The only one in your way is you.

III. No one is ever ready until they are.

In the words of R. W. Hamming, "some of the greatest work was done under unfavorable conditions." Half the battle is overcoming the activation barrier. Make it exist first—you can always make it good later. Pull the lever, and tread on.