I want to introduce you to one of my very favorite books I’ve ever read. I’ve read it at least 4 times, and I regularly revisit it for pearls of wisdom on how to operate, both individually and personally. Unsurprisingly, it’s called PRINCIPLES. It’s written by Ray Dalio, who is an investor and a super smart dude that has approached his personal and professional life really intentionally so he can maximize it for what he wants to achieve.
“Evolution consists of adaptations/inventions that provide spurts of benefits that decline in value. That painful decline leads either to new adaptations and new inventions that bring new products, organizations and human capabilities to new and higher levels of development, or decline and death.”
Dalio goes on to say that perfection doesn’t exist; it is a goal that fuels a never ending process of adaptation. If something, or someone, was perfect, they wouldn’t be evolving. But we know that companies, countries and individuals are highly imperfect but capable of improving. So rather than hiding our mistakes, we’re much better off to discover our imperfections and deal with them. When we can do this well, we learn the valuable lessons that come from the mistakes, and we improve. If we don’t, we don’t grow. “Evolve or die”, as they say.
In the coming videos in this series, I’m going to outline the specific 5 step process Ray Dalio prescribes in order to evolve well. Again, this looping trend applies to you as an individual (and it applies to your mental/emotional state, as well as your physical state) – heck, it applies to nearly everything. We hope you find this useful.
Evolve and struggle well!
– Clifton Wonsettler, DPT, CSCS
