Ground Rules

Inspired by Mark and Steve:

1. Try out things yourself. Play. Learn. Goof around. Be creative. Sometimes even try doing things that are commonly considered "wrong" or "stupid". It is the only way to gather first hand experience.
2. Question other people, question "common wisdom" – but do consider what other people have to say. Take other people's experience and advise as a rough guide, but take it always with (at least) a grain of salt. Try to know where they come from, what might be right and what might be wrong with what they have to say.
3. Do not make costly mistakes. Don't get hurt badly, don't ruin your health, don't ruin your finances, don't sink all your money in adventures that might turn out to be a huge mistake. If a mistake cripples your abilities to do things in the future, then it might be a good idea to know what could turn out to be a mistake (and know it before you do something that might result in a mistake) – and what you should therefore not attempt.
4. But do make mistakes. Don't be ashamed to make mistakes. Learn from them. Be proud of things you learned from mistakes. It is the hardest thing thing to admit learning from own mistakes. Nobody knows everything from day one, and people who pretend to be know-it-alls and never-made-mistakes are charlatans.
5. Move on to the "next level", don't stand still. In some video games, the next level is always a bit harder, the game gets slowly and progressively harder. As you learn, as your experience grows, as your capabilities grow, your "level" will grow. Enjoy it!
6. Sometimes, try the impossible – but only if you know that the consequences will not hurt you badly. Try to measure the weight of the world!
7. Do something completely different once in a while. Act out of character. Maybe do something you think you don't "like", or think is "stupid", or "not for you", or "way out of your league", but have not actually tried yourself (or not tried in a long time).
8. Do reinvent the wheel. Do not reinvent the wheel. It depends. It can be fun to reinvent the wheel (Go ahead, grind your own mirrors for your own astronomical telescope! Build your own Schiefspiegler!). Sometimes it is more prudent to not reinvent the wheel, and simply use what has been build by others (in order to focus on something you want to achieve with it, like astronomical observation).
9. Get to know your interests, your needs and your capabilities. Get to know those of other people. Because there are differences, and there are commonalities. Know where your interests bias you – or where other people's interests biases them.
10. Make your own rules, from your own experience.
11. Don't listen to rules.