“No random actions — none not based on underlying principles.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Priorites

I began to appraise and structure my life in this way after reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The quote above really resonated.

This is something that I constructed for myself, but I have two reasons to share it:

1. to inspire those who don't currently have a structure to create one
2. to provide an exemplary structure that can serve as a reference point

What I've shared here is just that — an example. This is not prescriptive by any means, even for myself. I'm consistently reappraising and refactoring.

My hope is that more people will begin to think and share in this way so that present and future generations have more examples of how people view the world and how they strive to maximize their positive influence.

ZEROTH LAW

0) Health

Being healthy keeps death at bay. When you die, you cease to be, and none of this matters. So the absolute goal is to perpetuate your life — especially a life in which you are fully functional, both physically and mentally. While damage to either system does not disqualify you from subsequent priorities [particularly Motivations], it is assumed that a deficit of health will lead to a deficit ability in these and other areas.

Stephen Hawking is a useful example. The man is as brilliant as they come and is still one of the most influential scientists of all time, even though he is currently limited to controlling just a small muscle in his right cheek. It's very clear that he hasn't allowed his physical limitation get in the way of his impact on the world, but I firmly believe that he could have had an even larger impact if he weren't so hindered by ALS. His intense labors to write books at about one word per minute are astounding and greatly appreciated, but I can't help imagining what he might have been able to do if he could function normally. [Of course this isn't an example of someone who didn't properly care for themself — sometimes health simply deteriorates. In such cases, stabilizing the issue and reallocating focus to other priorities is the best recourse, and this is exactly why I've mentioned Stephen Hawking — a shining example.]

REQUIREMENTS

1) Morality: Respect of Self and Others

You must respect living things and the their associated property to be free of internal disrespect. This includes:

• People and their Property
• Animals and their Habitats
• Nature

2) Efficiency & Productivity

The human's primary resource is time. To waste time is to waste life. By striving toward efficient productivity, you maximize your potential to experience, learn, and create.

Remember that unproductive work done efficiently is still unproductive, and that productive work done inefficiently wastes time.

3) Financial Independence and Stability

You must be financially independent and stable in order to have a consistently positive impact on others. There are two exceptions:

1. If you have inheritance or a large enough savings to not have to work — great. This priority can then disappear.
2. If you have renounced money to live as a monk or mendicant, then this doesn't apply to you. [The same is likely true of Social Responsibility, since ascetics tend to meditate rather than mediate.]

MOTIVATIONS

4) Love

Love is what life as a sentient being is about. If you're not loving, you're not living. Love must begin with oneself, and can then be extended most easily to family and friends — but Love can and should extend to everyone you meet, and even those people you never do. Make the effort.

5) Social Responsibility

Once you're independent and you have a love network, your needs are complete. You have enough money to support yourself while you give and receive love. Life is beautiful. BUT — many other people aren't as fortunate as you are, so you should strive to offer humanity something. This can take several forms:

Donation of Time [Volunteering]

If time is our only true resource, then it makes sense to spend at least some of it serving others who are less fortunate. If you're reading this, it means you understand English and have access to the Internet, which means that you have more opportunity than most people. You don't have to join the Peace Corps to make a difference. A simple beach cleanup or afternoon in a soup kitchen affects plenty of people. The best part is: you'll get a nice feeling out of it, and will likely be motivated to do this more frequently and at increasingly larger scales.

Donation of Finances and Materials
There is no reward in hoarding money to acquire things. This is an empty pursuit that will leave you unfulfilled. You're better off setting aside the amount you need to live comfortably, and finding some way to give away the rest. Of course this doesn't have to be a direct transfer of funds. See below...

Creation of Functional Value
The extra time, money, and resources you afford yourself can also be used to generate new tools and services that improve the lives of others. This can be simple, like creating a piece of art that brightens even just one person's mood or building an app that allows thousands or millions of people to create custom trackpad gestures. This can also be complex and far-reaching, like sharing an idea for cleaning up all of the plastic in the oceans or creating an Airbnb for Refugees. As long as you see whatever you produce as a net positive, you should create it. That gesture app may allow someone to change their workflow and create something that reaches more people in a more meaningful way. That one person who received a piece of art may have been contemplating self-harm, and could instead not only not harm themselves, but could go on to help others who are suffering in similar ways.

There's no knowing how your work will impact the world. Create and share as much as you can.

6) Personal Development

You should always be striving to improve your abilities and learn new ones so that you can do all of the above better.

[Much more to come — just a first draft!]