My Final Lecture: What I Learned About Living a Good Life

In the final minutes of the final lecture of Dr. Shermer's final semester at Chapman a student asked what practical lessons for life he might share with them. Dr. Shermer offered as much as he could think of off the top of his head, but since he has researched and written a fair amount on this topic over the decades he sat down and wrote out a final lecture here, not only for his students but for anyone who is interested in knowing what tools science and reason can provide for how to live a good life and how to deal with entropy, problems, setbacks and obstacles, aka normal life. Here are the ten lessons…

1. The First Law of Life
2. To Thine Own Self Be True
3. Be Antifragile
4. Be Self-Disciplined Because Action is Character
5. Don't be a Victim
6. Don't Eat the Marshmallow
7. Directing Your Future Self
8. Be Your Own Financial Advisor
9. Build Strong Social Networks
10. Find Your Meaning and Purpose in Life