12 ways to be ready for anything

12 ways to be ready for anything12 ways to be ready for anything1) Have smartfriendsAll of my friends are smarter than me. Even (especially) the ones who dont have college degrees.Being intelligent isnt really about knowing everything. Its about knowing one person who knows the most about SEO, one person who knows the most about building a house, one person who knows about taxes, and one person who knows the rules of grenzberschreitend negotiation.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more2) BeHealthyYesterday I listened to a scary podcast about the state of American health.(Every podcast about American health is scary)While the health of a nation is complicated, health for you is not. Take a walk every hour. Eat whatever you want, so long as you are cooking it. Be in the physical presence of other people often. Make sure you are pooping once per day.The positive impact you can make while you are sick in bed is exactly zero.3) Know how to make a crap ton ofmoneyThis has absolutely nothing to do with your intellectual readiness and everything to do with your emotional readiness.Heres why.Dan Ariely (ofthis TED talkandthis book), wanted to unpack extrinsic motivation. He and his team ran an experiment where they offered three groups of participants three different amounts of money to complete a series of random memory and concentration tasks.The first group was offered a days salary for good performance. They did pretty well.The second group was offered two weeks salary for good performance. They did fine as well.The third group was offered a jaw-droppingfive months salaryfor good performance. Time to shine, right?Wrong.This group performeddramaticallyworse. The extreme amounts of money triggered the fight-or-flight response in their bodies.A large reason many people with a medium income do not rise above that level is because they lack the confidence to pursue OR rec eive big checks.Do you want to know when the results in Arielys study flipped? When the people in the big bonus groupperceived the task as easy. At that point, they confidently flew through the challenges and walked away with big money.People who earn the most make hard work look and feel easy.4) BeNaiveOne of the great ironies of human nature is thisWe want to know every step of the process before we start. Yet, if we were truly aware of all it takes, there is probably no way we would evermove.Initial ignorance protects you from becoming overwhelmed. Do what you can do today. Start now. Figure out the rest later.5) RememberFlikFlik is an ant from the movie A Bugs Life.While all the other ants were standing in line, doing what was expected of them, and enjoying their comfortable living, Flik knew there must be more.One day, he understood he would neverfullybe ready. So he strapped on a backpack and dove headfirst into the unknown.Hmmm.6) Invent projects foryourselfEric Thomas (afair lysuccessful speaker) recently admitted that he completely botched his first voiceover job.Although he knew he had a great voice, talking to a microphone in a studio was another monster entirely.So what did he do?He invented scripts and read them into his own microphone.Heres what I learned. If I stay ready, I never have to getready.- EricThomasDid the coffee shop down the street commission you to rebrand them? No. Do it anyway.Did HGTV call you to edit their new show about (get this) a spunky couple who is flipping houses? No. But one day they might.Will anybody ever hold you to a standard worthy of the best work? Probably not. Butthats why you should.7) Have a safetynetAt least, financially.It is a lot easier to take the risks necessary for success when you arent wondering how each decision will affect your ability to pay Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, Capital One and the IRS. (Trust me. This is not a hypothetical list.)The freedom to act without fear is probably the best t hing you can buy.8) Dont have a safetynetAt least, not emotionally.Lets pretend you are working a traditional 95er right now. But you are ambitious. You have goals of your own. You have a side hustle. You wont spend your whole life selling your soul.The temptation, of course, is to take it easy during the key hours of the day in order to conserve your best thinking.This is the exact wrong instinct.Everything is momentum, a virtuous cycle. Do you think you will suddenly rise to excellence after a long day of half-heartedness?No. Greatness at a 95 rolls into greatness from 59 which leads to a good nights sleep and that gives us a better option.If anything is going to be attached to your name, please dont do it halfway. You deserve better.9) Know what action to take at any giventimeThe peak of discipline is the ability to work for only five minutes on a project which will take several months.Know how to beat The Three Is of InactionIndifference,Indecision,Ignorance.When you know exactl y what to do and can start doing it at the slightest break in the schedule, doors open.10) Master trustbuildingCan I be honest with you? Continuous trust is one of the perks of working a traditional office job as opposed to clients.With a traditional job, you are exposed to your clients every day. You can charm them. You can buy them coffee and breakfast and learn what they want. It is much easier to convince them you dont have any evil plans (even if you do).Freelancing, this process must take place in 1/10th of the time to meet deadlines most of the time. Fail to do so, and be micromanaged.The faster you build trust, the faster you and your boss are happy.(Unless you have abad boss)11) Know CheatCodesthe band, not a series of buttons. Although they earned their name for the ability to hack their way to the top of the charts.After spending several years learning their craft and finding their voice, Cheat Codes got to tour with Demi Lovato (who had a name far more familiar to pop mu sic fans).When given the chance to collaborate, Cheat Codes did not try and book time with Demi six months down the road. They did not start researching male/female songs. They immediately sent over a song they had already written and said Demi, this would be great for you.In other words12) Always have ideas in your backpocketI once worked with an entrepreneur who sold his company for several billion. He used to tell me thisPeople talk about plan A and plan B. They never talk about plans C through Z. The way I look at things, there are at least 26 chances for success for everyprojectOne reason I will never forget this is because it was the first time I heard someone say zed instead of zee, which made my American heart giggle. The second reason is because I so often fail this advice, choosing instead to balk at any work which takes more than a couple of false starts.Its very short-sighted of me. Maybe one day, I will get better.Speaking ofideasYou may enjoy my free ebook?- ?The Ultim ate Guide to Infinite Ideas?- ?which I am giving away for the price of an schmelzglas address.Get your copy right here.This article first appeared Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people