Ep 720 | The 10 Laws That Quietly Run Your Life (Whether You Know It or Not) (REPLAY)

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. There is a handful of so-called laws that aren't written in any sort of legal book, but they govern our lives just as much as gravity does. They explain why people frustrate us, why time gets away from us, and why some people seem to make progress while others get stuck. I came across these laws of life after recording yesterday's episode about Hanlon's Razor, which you should go back and listen to if you haven't heard it yet, as I was describing an experience I had with my dad. I, I was researching Hanlon's Razor and came across 9 other laws that I think are quietly running your life whether you know it or not. I think it's basically a— these 10 laws in combination are basically a field guide for how to think and how to lead and even how to live better. So, I want to run through these laws today because I really believe that as you better understand them, you can make a change in how you view people, how you view life, how you make decisions. Now, law number 1, we've already talked about it yesterday, was Hanlon's Razor, which is really simple. It's stop assuming the worst. Remember, Hanlon's Razor says that never attribute the malice what can be explained by ignorance or stupidity or carelessness. So that, that person who didn't text you back, they didn't hate you, they just forgot. That employee who dropped the ball, they were probably overwhelmed. They weren't trying to be a jerk. So when you assume bad intent, you waste energy and you burn trust. The best leaders, the strongest leaders, interpret behavior with, with curiosity before they jump to judgment. So Law Number 1 is Hanlon's Razor. Again, the one you would have heard about yesterday in yesterday's episode. Law 2 is known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect. The Dunning-Kruger effect. The Dunning-Kruger effect or the Dunning-Kruger law states that the less you know, the more confident you are. The less you know, the more confident you are. We've all seen this. It's the, the loudest voice in the room who is rarely the most informed individual in the room. I think the Dunning-Kruger law is a humbling reminder that expertise tends to breed humility. So the deeper you go into anything, be it business or leadership or health, the more you realize how much you don't know. So next time someone speaks with absolute certainty, remember that confidence and competence are not the same thing. Confidence is inversely related to competence. In the Dunning-Kruger effect. Number 3, you've all heard this one, Murphy's Law, what can go wrong will. This is a classic. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Here's the real value I think with Murphy's Law. It's not pessimism. I think it's about being prepared. It's about preparation. I think Murphy's Law is why the best of the best run checklists and have backups and a redundancy plan and a plan for failure. They don't fear what might go wrong. They anticipate it. They plan around it. They keep moving. So, Murphy's Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Again, it's not about being negative or pessimistic. It's just about planning for failure, having a backup, having a contingency plan. Number 4, one I've talked about here quite a bit at No Days Off, Parkinson's Law. Parkinson's Law. Parkinson's Law says work expands to fill the time allotted. In other words, time expands to fit the task. You're probably not as busy as you think. You've just given yourself too much room. If you have a week to get something done, you'll probably take a week. If you only have one day, it'll probably take one day. Shorter deadlines tend to create sharper focus, and high performers Live by compression, not by comfort. We just were talking about Parkinson's Law with Dr. Ben Hardy when we were discussing his Science of Scaling book. Now, Rule 5 is Pareto's Law, the 80/20 rule. I'm going to guess you're probably pretty familiar with Pareto's Principle or Pareto's Law. Pareto's Principle says 20% of your effort produces 80% of your results. 20% of your effort produces 80% of your results. This is a foundation for leverage. I think it's why great leaders focus on just a few things, the vital few, instead of all of the, the trivial many. So in your business and in your wealth, in your relationships, if they're not where you want them, odds are you're spending 80% of your energy on things that don't matter. Law 6. I love this one. It's one I should be talking about more. It's called Kidlin's Law. Kidlin's Law. K-I-D-L-I-N. Kidlin's Law. If you can write a problem down clearly and specifically, you've solved half of it. If you can write a problem down clearly and specifically, you've solved half of it. Write it down to solve it. Is what Kinlan's Law is all about. The act of writing forces clarity. It turns chaos into, into structure. And I think that most people stay stuck not because the problem that they're facing is unsolvable. I think it's because the problem is probably undefined. So, when you can better articulate it, you can better attack it. Kinlan's Law, write it down to solve it. Number 7 of 10, stick with me, Gilbert's Law. Gilbert's Law. Gilbert's Law states that when you take on a task, finding the best way to achieve the result is always your responsibility. When you take on a task, finding the best way to achieve the result is always your responsibility. It's known as Gilbert's Law. The responsibility is yours. No one's coming to save you. Excuses, circumstances, other people's failures, they do not absolve you from owning the outcome. This is a classic Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink law, Gilbert's Law. High performers operate on this simple belief: if it's on my plate, it's my problem. Law number 8, Wilson's Law. Wilson's Law. Wilson's Law is knowledge before money. And Wilson's Law specifically states, if you prioritize knowledge and intelligence, money will continue to come. If you prioritize knowledge and intelligence, money will continue to come. We live in, in a world that's obsessed with chasing outcomes instead of chasing inputs. And I think Wilson's Law does a great job flipping that thinking. When you chase an understanding, you eventually attract wealth. When you chase wealth without understanding, you tend to lose both. Number 9 of the 10 laws, Falkland's Law. Falkland's Law. Falkland's Law says, if you don't have to make a decision about something, don't decide. So simply said, don't decide unless you must. Now, you may hear that, you may think, well, that's procrastination. I don't think this is procrastination. I think it's discipline. My experience, premature decisions are pretty darn expensive. Sometimes the smartest move is to wait, let things clarify, and then act when the signal is stronger. I don't see patience as weakness. I think it's— I think it— I would— I'm going to reword it as strategic restraint. Patience is strategic restraint. Falkland's Law. And then number 10, this is Peter's Law, or as I like to call it, Peter's Principle, the Peter Principle. And that is simply put as good workers become bad managers, or maybe said differently, great performers don't always make great leaders. Being great at your job does not mean you'll be great leading others. Leadership is a skill set of its own, as we've discussed so many times here at No Days Off. Empathy, communication, accountability, vision. It's why some of the best doers that we come across struggle when they get promoted. It's why that high-performing salesperson in the corporate world now becomes a sales manager and becomes irrelevant. That's because They never learned how to shift from performing to developing others. It's Peter's principle to where you're promoted to a level of incompetence. Now, that's the 10, right? That's the 10 laws that I think are quietly running your life, whether you know it or not. So now what do you do with this knowledge? When you look at all 10 of these together, I think they form a philosophy. Don't assume the worst. Don't confuse confidence with competence. Expect things to go wrong. Master your time. Focus on the, the few that matter. Write things down to clarify. Take responsibility. Learn before you earn. Delay decisions until necessary. And then lastly, remember that leadership requires evolution. I don't think these laws are necessarily rules to memorize, but I do think they're filters or lenses by which you, you run your life. Each one helps you see reality a little bit more clearly. And as a result, you can act a little bit more intelligently and waste less emotional energy. This whole No Days Off movement, again, it's not about grinding harder. I think it's about thinking sharper. And I think these laws, they don't just explain the world, they help you navigate it a little bit better. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]