Life’s Not a Game—But These 20 Cheat Codes Sure Help

Some lessons take a decade to learn. Others… you hear once, and they click. This post is about those. Not the dramatic, but the small, powerful truths that make life eaiser, work smarter, and help you show up better.

Here are 20 real-life cheat codes I wish someone had handed me earlier:

1. Being easy to work with is the most underrated career skill.
   Talent is loud. Reliability whispers. Be the person people want in the room.
2. Charisma hack: Be a better listener.
   People don’t remember what you said—they remember how they felt around you.
3. Stop outsourcing your peace to other people’s opinions.
   Seriously. Most of them aren’t even thinking about you.
4. Practice positive gossip.
   Talk people up—even when they’re not around. It builds relationships and character.
5. Invest well in what supports you daily.
   Shoes, mattress, chair—these are partnerships, not purchases. One of the best early decisions my wife and I made was to buy an expensive bed, 20 years later we are still grateful we did!
6. Your environment eats your willpower for breakfast.
   Hang out with people who have the habits you’re trying to build.
7. Deadlines are imaginary—but powerful.
   Work expands to fill the space you give it. Use timers. Set artificial end points. Trick your brain. My digital pomodoro timer has revolutionised my productivity.
8. Replace “sorry I’m late” with “thanks for your patience.”
   Own the moment. Don’t make it about guilt.
9. Self-talk isn’t woo-woo. It’s wiring.
   You are listening to your thoughts. Upgrade the soundtrack. Seriously do it.
10. Habit-building rule: Start so small it’s silly.
    One push-up. One paragraph. One deep breath. Momentum > motivation.
11. Be 15 minutes early. Always.
    Time snags are real. Stress isn’t worth it. I still don’t get this right, even though my car clock is 10 minutes fast…
12. The 5-minute rule for procrastination.
    Tell yourself you’ll only do 5 minutes. You usually won’t stop there.
13. Skincare is future-you insurance.
    Moisturize today. Look 20 at 40. My wife is evidence of this, and if you see me, it’s obvious I started this MUCH later than she did. (I now take collagen supplements daily too…)
14. Keep a daily “story bank.”
    One moment worth remembering. It makes you a better storyteller and a more mindful human. There are cool digital dairies for this, sometimes it’s cool to add a photo too.
15. Support your entrepreneur friends.
    Don’t ask for discounts. Be the full-price friend.
16. Don’t impress strangers with debt.
    It’s a short-term ego boost with long-term pain. You know the saying, we buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like with money we don’t have.
17. Stretch your hip flexors.
    If you sit for hours, this is your daily reset button. This stretch has been a gift to my cycling.
18. Never tell an angry person to “calm down.”
    It’s like lighting a match near petrol. I did this to a boss once, let’s just leave it at we don’t really talk anymore…
19. There’s a YouTube tutorial for everything.
    You’re not “bad at tech.” You’re one search away. Ask anyone who works in a support role, and now there’s AskDavid, that can help too 😉
20. Every day has four quarters.
    Mess one up? No stress. Take a break, take a walk, then win the next. Don’t throw away the day.

Inspired by life, written by David Wilson (human), accelerated by AI (the precision) March 2025