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19 year old college student advice

Anything related to matters of the mind

mikeobi

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Hello everyone!
I'm new to this forum and like most of you I have big dreams and aspiration that will only be fulfilled through the fastlane (seems like someone of you have already succeeded so that makes me even more confident). I'm a 19 year old that currently in university (my parent's choice) studying Economics but I've always knew that if I were going to get the things I wanted in life, entrepreneurship would be the best way. As of now I'm in the process of brainstorming ideas and doing research so that's great! Currently I don't work (I live with my parents so less responsibilities) and I was thinking, and probably love to, I devote myself to business solely (and school as well) before I graduate in 2017 and see if I can make a living off it at least. I plan on doing something web-based and getting a domain and hosting. SOOOO my question is do you guys have any tips or anything I may find helpful before I dive in? Maybe you guys think I should have a PT job while i'm in college (not a fan of jobs but...) or solely dedicate myself to establishing a good business within 2-3 years? Is economics something good to learn? or just any advice or tips that I may find helpful.

Thank you guys so much
 
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MJ DeMarco

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1) Question everything.
2) Change makes millionaires. Pay attention to it. And you must be apart of that change.
3) Education never ends, certainly not at graduation.
4) If you have something I want which I perceive as valuable, I don't care about your age or background.
5) Economics and finance is always a good discipline to know.
6) Become a student of business which starts with your head and never ends. You can be in University and start the study of business.
7) You're college professors are probably wrong, at least when it comes to business.
8) Save money and don't become dumbed down to the consumer trap.
9) Pay attention to your choices early in life as they will set the tone for the next 40 years.

and

10) Welcome to the forum.
 

mikeobi

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1) Question everything.
2) Change makes millionaires. Pay attention to it. And you must be apart of that change.
3) Education never ends, certainly not at graduation.
4) If you have something I want which I perceive as valuable, I don't care about your age or background.
5) Economics and finance is always a good discipline to know.
6) Become a student of business which starts with your head and never ends. You can be in University and start the study of business.
7) You're college professors are probably wrong, at least when it comes to business.
8) Save money and don't become dumbed down to the consumer trap.
9) Pay attention to your choices early in life as they will set the tone for the next 40 years.

and

10) Welcome to the forum.

Thank you for this Mr. DeMarco. I'm about 3/4ths into your book and I'll say, it's definitely content I wish I was aware of earlier. I'm so grateful someone referred it to me.
 

BostonHusky

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Hey pal,

18 year old college student from Boston here.

I NEED to succeed in a business because of familial issues, so I started one. Made my first bucks here, legally.

Let me tell you that the deeper you go down this road, the more you'll crave freedom and choose to drop out. I always had an entrepreneurial mindset, ever since I knew myself, and the only reason I'm here in college is to stay in the US somehow. (I'm on a student visa.) This post might seem like somewhat of a rant, but I am far from a kid angry at the world, lol. I love giving to the world, and I believe the only way to do that is through financial freedom.

1) Be a rebel.

Don't try to be cool, but pick your friends right. I've had to clear my environment like crazy, especially since college environments are so full of Slowlaners and Sidewalkers that are either too busy screaming YOLO and getting wasted, or too busy nerding it out in college and going towards a life of mediocrity through modern-day slavery. When you decide to do this and tell people, they won't like it. It's nothing personal towards you. You're challenging their realities by starting a business and attempting a change for the better, and this might make them hate you like crazy. Keep hotties around, they'll support you well, but mediocre friends will only try to bring you down with poison drips such as "You're only a college student", "Just live your life", "Don't try to be special" etc.

I have a very serious girlfriend that is behind every endeavor I undertake, and literally very few close friends with the same mindset. The rest are acquaintances. I can't relate to people because literally everyone around decides to sleep until 11 when they're free, drink alcohol like crazy, discuss television like it actually affects them in any way, and be another cog in the machine of consumerism like anyone else. And that's fine for me. Much less competition this way.

But know that you'll be alone if you go down this road, except for the women. You won't have a lot of close friends who will support you, and if you do, you either won't be able to voice your opinions loudly, or they will think the same way as you, which is rare. This is just my personal experience.

2) Don't think too much. Just jump in, since you don't have any experience down your belt. Anything will help. Learn from the best. If you need to learn cold calling, watch Jordan Belfort's stuff. If you need to learn how to make websites, go to trusted sources. Don't waste time on gurus who didn't walk-the-walk. Read biographies for motivation even. But whoever you listen to, run a ruthless background check. Just find an idea, and jump in. Most businesses don't reinvent the lightbulb or are as amazing as Apple. The smallest improvement on any kind of existing business can make you a hit. Like MJ says in his book, just better customer service can put you sky-high in an industry if all other variables are the same. Put in the hardwork and don't back out. There have been times I gave in to procrastination, and I think f*ck me for doing so. I could have had 100 more clients right now.

3) Find your "whys" and keep them in mind. These are the things that are pushing you to do these things. Put the "I want to do what I love" bullshit to the side. That usually doesn't make money. I'm fully paraphrasing MJ here: have passion to push you and solve a need. Your passions don't have to be related to your business. For me, it is the fact that my mother is broke with $40k in debt, and the fact that my sister is going to have a poor upbringing if this goes on. The fact that my father is a rich but extremely oppresive person. Freedom from these things is my passion and that's what makes me jump out of the F*cking bed every morning to do something. Don't forget these things: it's so easy to get comfortable in the modern world and procrastinate again. But have these things in your heart, and something will push you. And it's okay if you don't have something as dramatic as mine to push you. If you're really passionate about skydiving, know that it only comes through financial freedom. How would you like a $10k/mo income as you skydived in South America? I'd rather work 20 hours a day now for a year and have that for the rest of my life.

4) Be confident. Never be afraid to voice your opinions. This is a little bit of a personality thing, but I'd rather have everything laid out about myself and be loved or hated. I hate mediocrity. Don't fake anything for people: they aren't worth it. Live full out as yourself.

Welcome to the journey, my friend. I hope you actually stick to it. 99% of people don't. I know I can't give it up now.

Make it your life, and never stop improving in any aspect of your life. ALWAYS go for growth. Nothing is impossible. NOTHING.

That comes from a kid from rural Turkey, who used to hustle water bottles at the local soccer pitch to buy new computer games. Never allow anyone to dictate your life. No one believed me when I skipped university in Turkey for two years to somehow come to America. Everyone celebrates with you when you finally make it.

That doesn't mean go after stupid endeavors, but go after possible ones, and stick to them. Don't give up. Work hard, cry for them, put everything above them and do ANYTHING to accomplish them, want it more than anything else in the world, and you'll have it. I'm not rich, but I've accomplished everything I've wanted bad. It isn't easy, but there's so much living proof around you that ANYTHING is possible.

Best of luck.

PS: I don't believe ANY kind of college education is worth it. You can learn all the shit they teach you yourself (as long as it isn't medical, and especially in your case) for 10000x cheaper and 1000x faster.
 

mikeobi

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Hey pal,

18 year old college student from Boston here.

I NEED to succeed in a business because of familial issues, so I started one. Made my first bucks here, legally.

Let me tell you that the deeper you go down this road, the more you'll crave freedom and choose to drop out. I always had an entrepreneurial mindset, ever since I knew myself, and the only reason I'm here in college is to stay in the US somehow. (I'm on a student visa.) This post might seem like somewhat of a rant, but I am far from a kid angry at the world, lol. I love giving to the world, and I believe the only way to do that is through financial freedom.

1) Be a rebel.

Don't try to be cool, but pick your friends right. I've had to clear my environment like crazy, especially since college environments are so full of Slowlaners and Sidewalkers that are either too busy screaming YOLO and getting wasted, or too busy nerding it out in college and going towards a life of mediocrity through modern-day slavery. When you decide to do this and tell people, they won't like it. It's nothing personal towards you. You're challenging their realities by starting a business and attempting a change for the better, and this might make them hate you like crazy. Keep hotties around, they'll support you well, but mediocre friends will only try to bring you down with poison drips such as "You're only a college student", "Just live your life", "Don't try to be special" etc.

I have a very serious girlfriend that is behind every endeavor I undertake, and literally very few close friends with the same mindset. The rest are acquaintances. I can't relate to people because literally everyone around decides to sleep until 11 when they're free, drink alcohol like crazy, discuss television like it actually affects them in any way, and be another cog in the machine of consumerism like anyone else. And that's fine for me. Much less competition this way.

But know that you'll be alone if you go down this road, except for the women. You won't have a lot of close friends who will support you, and if you do, you either won't be able to voice your opinions loudly, or they will think the same way as you, which is rare. This is just my personal experience.

2) Don't think too much. Just jump in, since you don't have any experience down your belt. Anything will help. Learn from the best. If you need to learn cold calling, watch Jordan Belfort's stuff. If you need to learn how to make websites, go to trusted sources. Don't waste time on gurus who didn't walk-the-walk. Read biographies for motivation even. But whoever you listen to, run a ruthless background check. Just find an idea, and jump in. Most businesses don't reinvent the lightbulb or are as amazing as Apple. The smallest improvement on any kind of existing business can make you a hit. Like MJ says in his book, just better customer service can put you sky-high in an industry if all other variables are the same. Put in the hardwork and don't back out. There have been times I gave in to procrastination, and I think f*ck me for doing so. I could have had 100 more clients right now.

3) Find your "whys" and keep them in mind. These are the things that are pushing you to do these things. Put the "I want to do what I love" bullshit to the side. That usually doesn't make money. I'm fully paraphrasing MJ here: have passion to push you and solve a need. Your passions don't have to be related to your business. For me, it is the fact that my mother is broke with $40k in debt, and the fact that my sister is going to have a poor upbringing if this goes on. The fact that my father is a rich but extremely oppresive person. Freedom from these things is my passion and that's what makes me jump out of the F*cking bed every morning to do something. Don't forget these things: it's so easy to get comfortable in the modern world and procrastinate again. But have these things in your heart, and something will push you. And it's okay if you don't have something as dramatic as mine to push you. If you're really passionate about skydiving, know that it only comes through financial freedom. How would you like a $10k/mo income as you skydived in South America? I'd rather work 20 hours a day now for a year and have that for the rest of my life.

4) Be confident. Never be afraid to voice your opinions. This is a little bit of a personality thing, but I'd rather have everything laid out about myself and be loved or hated. I hate mediocrity. Don't fake anything for people: they aren't worth it. Live full out as yourself.

Welcome to the journey, my friend. I hope you actually stick to it. 99% of people don't. I know I can't give it up now.

Make it your life, and never stop improving in any aspect of your life. ALWAYS go for growth. Nothing is impossible. NOTHING.

That comes from a kid from rural Turkey, who used to hustle water bottles at the local soccer pitch to buy new computer games. Never allow anyone to dictate your life. No one believed me when I skipped university in Turkey for two years to somehow come to America. Everyone celebrates with you when you finally make it.

That doesn't mean go after stupid endeavors, but go after possible ones, and stick to them. Don't give up. Work hard, cry for them, put everything above them and do ANYTHING to accomplish them, want it more than anything else in the world, and you'll have it. I'm not rich, but I've accomplished everything I've wanted bad. It isn't easy, but there's so much living proof around you that ANYTHING is possible.

Best of luck.

PS: I don't believe ANY kind of college education is worth it. You can learn all the shit they teach you yourself (as long as it isn't medical, and especially in your case) for 10000x cheaper and 1000x faster.

I really loved reading this. It's great that someone of your age is actually seeing improvement. At this point I can only count the number of people who support me on just one of my hands and just very few friends who can even understand the what I want to do, but yet haven't meet anyone who wants to go down the fastlane as well. A lot want to own businesses but under false premises. I'm not paying for college myself and parents really want me to get a degree *shrugs* (their culture), so i might as well just learn something I can really use while I'm on this journey. I personally don't think it's worth it on job perspective. You know, I always feel like us immigrants are real go-getteres *laughs* , not say to say regular Americans aren't but we came here for the opportunities and we are dedicated. Thanks the advice man, it was really a good read.
 

Maka702

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19 myself. I personally decided to stay away from college because I don't see the debt helping me in any way. But the one tip I can give you is this. Don't let school be the only means of education. That is one of the reasons I PERSONALLY saw no need for college. I can learn everything they can teach me on my own. Now the moral is not to degrade your college decision it’s to instill that education is a life time thing. Not just for a piece of paper that says you can do something. Until the day you die keep learning. Follow your dream and failure will come embrace it and move forward. Also Knowledge is Power! Never stop learning. Like MJ said the start of your education is once your outside of school not the means to and end.
 
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chrischapman

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Hey bro, I'm 19 and am not going to college. Here's my little story: I worked for 10 months in telemarketing straight after school making sales appointments. That sucked and rocked at the same time. It is a hard job with lots of pressure but boy, did it teach me to sell!

I saved hard and managed to get together $15 000. Now I'm in Colombia (been here about 3.5 months) working like a dog (on business and learning web programming) with heaps of spare time. I'm making friends, learning Spanish and having fun. I've been learning Spanish by myself for 2 years before I came here but I sucked when I arrived. Now I'm sort of fluent, but I speak like a foreigner obviously.

I love economics too. I went to a top high school in Australia and topped the grade of about 70 smart kids both years I did Economics. I was going to study it at college - it was a SERIOUS passion of mine, I know I would have dominated doing some Economics related job. But I dropped it as a career because 1) it would ruin my interest in it, and also 2) I think the career paths associated with it go against my idea of spending my 20's making bank on the internet and travelling living life without calling another person my boss, my superior.

A few recommendations from 1) a LOT of thinking 2) a LOT of reading 3) a LOT of advice from people much smarter and experienced than me:

1) If you're gonna work on the internet, learn code. I bit the bullet 2.5 months ago and am now learning HTML/CSS/Javascript/Ruby/Ruby on Rails and other related stuff. From the reading I've done if you're gonna start with a coding language to be an entrepreneur (or whatever) a lot of people recommend Ruby on Rails. Or, Django. I hear they are both good. But, I'm doing Ruby on Rails and I really like it. PM me for more info on how to learn it (if you want) cause I've got some great resources on hand to recommend.

2) I keep reading the following books over and over again: Think and Grow Rich (Read 3 times and on my fourth reading right now) by Napoleon Hill. A couple of months ago I listened to a podcast interview of this guy who has built businesses and is now worth $500 million and he said he read it like 30 times or something crazy. Millionaire Fastlane by MJ here (Read 2 times and on my third reading right now). Just incredible for obvious reasons. How to win friends and influence people (Read 3 times. will read for 4th time when i finish TGR and MF). Another classic. Besides these three books and some bible books, I have never read a book more than once. If you got any recommendations send them right through. Oh yeah, I'm also reading Law of success by Napoleon hill now as well.

Remember the above books are textbooks, not novels. I read them slowly and concurrently. I read small sections, think about them and dwell on them and move on the next section.

3) Delete bad habits and pick up new good ones. Ain't rocket science to figure out which habits and how to kick/instill. The hard bit is actually doing it :(

I have some very specific goals to make $$ and travel the world. Goals, 5 year goals, 1 year goals, 3 month goals, 1 month goals, day to day goals are awesome. Write them down, commit to them, and be disciplined. I am confident I will see success in years to come because of the little success seeds I am planting day to day.

@mikeobi I wish you all the best in your endeavors and I hoped my story and $0.02 helped a little :)
 

Hassen

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20 myself, entered college at 17, graduated at 19 with a BA. Regular US state uni ranked about top 100 to 150, entered from regular US private high school as a freshman, just to make things clearer. 'Rents were paying my out-of-state tuition out of pocket so shaving half of the expense off really made them glad.
Personally I believe getting out of college as fast as you can beats working part time if your parents financially support you now, regardless whether you're supposed to repay them the expense/pay off your student loan debt yourself or not. When you're a student, earning minimum wage really isn't worth the time you could spend taking an extra class or studying for a for-credit exam, the latter would end up saving you thousands in tuition if not tens of thousands. Or you could spend all your free time on your entrepreneurial pursuits, your call. Just don't recommend working part time for the sake of extra cash, extremely not worth it. If you want to fill your schedule or toughen yourself up from some challenges in life, take extra classes. Interning part time for some relevant work experience if you intend on joining a specific industry later on, then maybe. Otherwise no.
Make sure you enjoy your last years as a student though. Once you get out of college you realise you'll never have the time or freedom again—I mean, we here all work towards freedom, but that takes a while too even when you're on a fastline (others not on one might as well just never get there), and before then, any time you take off will make you feel you're wasting time. Enjoy college, really. Being young is great, whilst money can be earned later, you're never young again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

mikeobi

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Hey bro, I'm 19 and am not going to college. Here's my little story: I worked for 10 months in telemarketing straight after school making sales appointments. That sucked and rocked at the same time. It is a hard job with lots of pressure but boy, did it teach me to sell!

I saved hard and managed to get together $15 000. Now I'm in Colombia (been here about 3.5 months) working like a dog (on business and learning web programming) with heaps of spare time. I'm making friends, learning Spanish and having fun. I've been learning Spanish by myself for 2 years before I came here but I sucked when I arrived. Now I'm sort of fluent, but I speak like a foreigner obviously.

I love economics too. I went to a top high school in Australia and topped the grade of about 70 smart kids both years I did Economics. I was going to study it at college - it was a SERIOUS passion of mine, I know I would have dominated doing some Economics related job. But I dropped it as a career because 1) it would ruin my interest in it, and also 2) I think the career paths associated with it go against my idea of spending my 20's making bank on the internet and travelling living life without calling another person my boss, my superior.

A few recommendations from 1) a LOT of thinking 2) a LOT of reading 3) a LOT of advice from people much smarter and experienced than me:

1) If you're gonna work on the internet, learn code. I bit the bullet 2.5 months ago and am now learning HTML/CSS/Javascript/Ruby/Ruby on Rails and other related stuff. From the reading I've done if you're gonna start with a coding language to be an entrepreneur (or whatever) a lot of people recommend Ruby on Rails. Or, Django. I hear they are both good. But, I'm doing Ruby on Rails and I really like it. PM me for more info on how to learn it (if you want) cause I've got some great resources on hand to recommend.

2) I keep reading the following books over and over again: Think and Grow Rich (Read 3 times and on my fourth reading right now) by Napoleon Hill. A couple of months ago I listened to a podcast interview of this guy who has built businesses and is now worth $500 million and he said he read it like 30 times or something crazy. Millionaire Fastlane by MJ here (Read 2 times and on my third reading right now). Just incredible for obvious reasons. How to win friends and influence people (Read 3 times. will read for 4th time when i finish TGR and MF). Another classic. Besides these three books and some bible books, I have never read a book more than once. If you got any recommendations send them right through. Oh yeah, I'm also reading Law of success by Napoleon hill now as well.

Remember the above books are textbooks, not novels. I read them slowly and concurrently. I read small sections, think about them and dwell on them and move on the next section.

3) Delete bad habits and pick up new good ones. Ain't rocket science to figure out which habits and how to kick/instill. The hard bit is actually doing it :(

I have some very specific goals to make $$ and travel the world. Goals, 5 year goals, 1 year goals, 3 month goals, 1 month goals, day to day goals are awesome. Write them down, commit to them, and be disciplined. I am confident I will see success in years to come because of the little success seeds I am planting day to day.

@mikeobi I wish you all the best in your endeavors and I hoped my story and $0.02 helped a little :)

Thanks for your 2 cents. I will definitely come to you if I need help coding.
 
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randomnumber314

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Next time you are about to buy something, do the math. It took you Q amount of time to get that money, and it that thing worth that much of your life?

Extrapolate and expand on that.

You're going to be in your room, after having procrastinated on some big project, and you're going to be going all-out to finish. What is that A+ worth in hours to you?

The point I'm trying to make is this: value is purely subjective. A thirsty man in the desert will give everything he owns for some water, whereas a quenched man won' t pay a dime for a bottle. Learn to evaluate opportunity and value and you'll be ahead of 99.999% of people in this world.
 

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