Peter’s Laws

by | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 58 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Bold-Peter DiamandisTODAY’S IDEA: Peter’s Laws

— From Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Peter H. Diamandis was named one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2014 by Fortune magazine. He is the founder of more than 15 high-tech companies. He recalls how, in the early days of one of his business ventures, his office mate put a copy of Murphy’s Law on the wall as a joke. It read: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” After a few days it started to get under Diamandis’ skin, so he went to his whiteboard and wrote, “If anything can go wrong, fix it! (To hell with Murphy!)” And above that, he wrote, “Peter’s Law.”

As time went by, he started collecting more laws, which now serve as his rules to live by. I want to share all those rules here with you, but before that, here’s some advice from Diamandis: “The maxims presented below are the ones that have worked for me, but that’s no guarantee they’ll work for you. So come up with your own. Borrow from anyone you like. The point isn’t to produce pretty pictures covered with inspirational quotes. The point is to trust your history. Plumb you past to plot your future. Start collecting mind hacks by examining your own life and seeing what strategies consistently worked along the way. Turn those strategies into your laws.”

Peter’s Laws ™*

The Creed of the Persistent and Passionate Mind

  1. If anything can go wrong, fix it! (To hell with Murphy!)
  2. When given a choice—take both!
  3. Multiple projects lead to multiple successes.
  4. Start at the top then work your way up.
  5. Do it by the book… but be the author!
  6. When forced to compromise, ask for more.
  7. If you can’t win, change the rules.
  8. If you can’t change the rules, then ignore them.
  9. Perfection is not optional.
  10. When faced without a challenge—make one.
  11. No simply means begin one level higher.
  12. Don’t walk when you can run.
  13. When in doubt: THINK!
  14. Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.
  15. The squeaky wheel gets replaced.
  16. The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live.
  17. The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!
  18. The ratio of something to nothing is infinite.
  19. You get what you incentivize.
  20. If you think it is impossible, then it is for you.
  21. An expert is someone who can tell you exactly how something can’t be done.
  22. The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.
  23. If it was easy, it would have been done already.
  24. Without a target you’ll miss it every time.
  25. Fail early, fail often, fail forward!
  26. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
  27. The world’s most precious resource is the persistent and passionate human mind.
  28. Bureaucracy is an obstacle to be conquered with persistence, confidence, and a bulldozer when necessary.

* Laws 12 and 15 by Todd B. Hawley. Law 17 adopted from Alan Kay, Law 21 adopted from Robert Heinlein, Law 24 by Byron K. Lichtenberg, Law 25 adopted from John Maxwell.

ACTION

TODAY: Take a look at Peter’s Laws and see which ones apply to your life and business. Keep the ones that suit you and add at least one more of your own.

FUTURE: Take a deeper look into Peter’s Laws in these blog posts (here and here).  You’ll learn what’s behind some of these rules; and the thoughts, I’m sure, will spark some ideas to come up with a few rules of your own for your list of Laws. You can download a copy of Peter’s Laws here.

Know someone who could use some law’s in business and/or life? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!