Do as I Say Not as I Do

I write under the banner Do as I Say, Not as I Do for a very specific set of reasons. I’m a curious person. Not in the weird sense — well ok, maybe in the weird sense, but also, I’m curious about the world. I believe it’s the single most important trait for a successful life. Being curious creates a virtuous cycle of improvement that will make you more successful as well.

Because I’m curious, I do a lot of experiments. Writing like this for public consumption is itself an experiment, one of my bigger ones. But I experiment constantly in big ways and small. From sharper nail clippers, to walking 10,000 steps, to AI investing, I can’t help myself, I love to learn. Curiosity, paying attention, and the learning that results, will be what shapes my future, and yours.

I get my ideas for things to write about from things I read, things I watch, and occasionally from mysterious voices in my head. Sometimes drugs are involved. Most often, inspiration comes from a conversation over lunch or while on a long walk with a friend. I don’t have a niche, sorry, you’ll have to decide case by case if a particular story resonates, but I’ll try to write with enough humour and false humility to make even the trashier stuff somewhat palatable.

I’ve had the good fortune to make a little money by building and selling Audiobooks.com and making several astute investments besides. I was lucky and I was supported by incredible people along the way, starting with my parents. What that money buys me is credibility when it comes to talking about financial subjects.

I’ve also had three lovely kids, a wonderful 17 year (and running) marriage, two dogs, some fast cars, a private foundation, a cocktail bar, a lot of travel and a little experience with psychedelics that I hope buys me some credibility when it comes to everything else.

I won’t shy away from difficult subjects in my writing. My bankruptcy, my divorce, a bipolar disorder diagnosis, my twenty years in therapy — I’m a real person, with all the flaws you’d expect, and some you wouldn’t, but for the record, liking K-pop isn’t actually a flaw.

My writing comes down to paying attention to life, and extracting meaning from the tiniest experiences to the largest, because as the saying goes, how you do anything is how you do everything.

From how I decide what TV shows to watch, to how we discuss war in the Middle East, it can all serve to teach us a little more about how the puzzle is put together.

Writing down my experiences and insights keeps me curious and makes me a better human. Reading these articles may make you smile, and might make you a better human too.

Welcome to my life. Stay curious, but save yourself some pain.

Do as I say, not as I do.

1. Sign up for my Sanjay Says newsletter to get my two best posts each week.

2. If you really have nothing better to do, you can sign up on Medium.com to read everything I write as I write it.

3. The Sanjay Says website where you can see an archive of my best posts.

4. The article my wife said was my best yet.