Up until I turned 25, I was the ‘let everything take care of itself' type. I believed in the ‘suffering and neglect builds resilience' rhetoric. While that's true in a sense and in a variety of situations, the universal truth is this: What is well taken care of will ALWAYS be more productive than whatever is neglected. The world cares about results, not battle scars. That's why neglected kids may grow up with tougher skins, but they almost never become as accomplished as their well-groomed counterparts. Plants in the wild will cope better with diseases and adverse conditions, but will never bear more fruit than a backyard counterpart tended to regularly by its steward. Similarly, a car that is properly maintained will always last far longer than a neglected one. I've tried to run away from this reality for years but, it's simply nature. While it's true that taking excessive care for anything has a net-negative return on investment, the same can be said about absolute neglect. Overindulged kids grow up to be entitled, arrogant, repulsive people. Overwatered and overfertilized plants produce less or produce poor quality fruits-some even die. And over-maintained cars will get accustomed to a certain kind of treatment and easily break down when there's a slight negative deviation from the normal fuel, service routine, or whatever excessive treatment it was given. These are just three examples. The applications of this universal law are endless. Some years back, I planted pineapples behind my workplace. I religiously took care of them. I inspected them daily, weeded them as soon as I spotted encroachment, and fertilized them with green manure and egg shells. The result? I harvested mostly massive fruits. However, there was a problem. Towards the harvest, I overwatered them. Pineapples don't need a lot of water. And every agriculturist knows that too much moisture breeds diseases. So, yes, I harvested massive fruits, but most of them weren't marketable because they came down with mealy bugs. Still enjoyed them though. My point is, whatever you decide to have or do, take care of it just enough to give you maximum returns-not too much to make it fragile and not too little to make it barren. How does this all apply in areas that matter most? Your health? Take good care of it. You only have one life. But that doesn't mean you become obsessive about hygiene and drugs. Your relationships? Nurture them. Relationships are the foundation of humanity. It is from them that the doors of privileged opportunity open. Check up on your people regularly- Not just family, but friends and acquaintances too. Your business? I know there's a thing called ‘systematization'. But I'll tell you the truth: No system can truly replace you. Your presence in your business matters as much as parents of a child. I'm not asking you to become an employee in your business, I'm asking you to check on it regularly enough to know what it needs before any manager comes to you with unreadable quarterly reports. Take care of anything you're involved in. It is the new golden rule.