What would you tell your 18 or 25 year old self?

[cristian tello]

To love himself like Kanye West loves Kanye West.

 

[aikay77]

Do not waste your life playing video games daily

Learn early to stop fear in its tracks (I later summoned courage and dropped out of college)

Start learning how a a scalable business REALLY worked

Avoid all shades of network marketing programs.

 

[G-Man]

you know, i am forty and i wish i had been an a**hole at 25 instead of the good guy

You were never the good guy. You don't have to be an a**hole. Being the bad guy and being the nice guy are both predicated on being concerned with what people think. That's why I can't stand the PuA vein that appears on this forum from time to time.

 

[FastlaneJonah]

Hey all, 23-year-old kiddo here. This has been such an interesting thread so far.
After reading the first 3 pages I already feel as if it has given me a huge amount of knowledge. I decided to make a notion page which summarized the most interesting points for me. My question, are these good? If so, anyone that is around the age of 20 can use the list!

The list I made:

• Stop waiting for things in life to happen to you, be proactive. (stop waiting with asking the girl you like out, with starting the business etc.)
• If you want a girl, approach her, see if she likes you, if she does continue. If she doesn’t want you back, continue with life, don’t take it personal and be a gentleman.
• Value time.
• Live meagerly, live large later. If you want.
• Don’t get into consumer debt.
• Stay in shape, the world isn’t very kind towards fat people. (This is sadly what you see happen all the time. People make fun of fat people, treat them differently etc.) Also this has massive benefits to your memory, health, mental health, and confidence.
• Have quality conversations (and time) with your parents. They won’t be around forever.
• Be careful with marriage it can completely steal your freedom away from you.
• The roughest waters are ahead of you, prepare yourself. (perhaps through good habits.)
• Figure out ways to add massive value to this world.
• Never give up.
• Live with values, don’t do stupid/bad things.
• Cherish your health and loved ones. Be careful with who you let into your heart.
• Raise your standards - For yourself as well as for the people around you. (Don’t allow yourself to be treated like shit, also don’t allow yourself to be a lazy bum.)
• Be kind and social to most, don’t let ego take over, talk to many people.
• Don’t let people drag you down, if they do either stand up for yourself or stop the friendships or even relationships immediately.
• Listen to yourself. Especially when it comes to the grind of entrepreneurship.
• But if you genuinely don’t know something, throw your ego in the bin and accept knowledge from others.
• Keep learning. Never stop learning.
• Be ruthless with protecting your time, the people closest to you, and your values and goals.
• Sharpen your saw, but don’t expect perfection.
• Believe in yourself.
• There is no way in which you can cheat the grind or have a shortcut. Accept that.
• It’s better to fail than to never try at all. Have solid work ethic.
• Focus on process not on events.

Kind Regards,
Jonah

 

[Rawr]

Never start offering to buy your friends meals take them on trips cause they cannot afford it and you dont want to seem like a jerk.. Make friends who can.

Knowing that would of saved me a few 100 grand from 20-25.

That's all you got old man?

 

[PopEmersen]

Get your credit in order
Work out now, don't wait. Lose those extra pounds.
Talk to more women
READ
Slow down on music dreams and concentrate of financial dreams
Moving to Atlanta was a great idea.

 

[Tommy92l]

This thread is pure gold for everybody under 25!

Yeah, absolutely agreed.

I'm only 21, but what I've learned is - Stop finding the easier way. Sometimes the longer, harder, and more pain staking route is the most worthwhile one.... and entertaining as well.

Oh and. Don't just look for a friend with personality, but with character.

 

[Jazzcat]

Be RUTHLESS!

...about protecting your time.
...about protecting those closest to you.
...about protecting your values and goals.

Wasting time is the most foolish thing I did at 25 and at...well at my current age.
Also, sometimes you have to slice out and replace the GOOD to protect what is BEST.

 

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[RazorCut]

Wow. Eye-opening. Too bad many slowlaners will sell the best years of their life in hopes to still be alive for the worse years.

Sadly so true isn't it MJ. It's like the vast majority of people walk around with permanent blinkers on. A slave to the slowlane but the saddest part is they aren't even aware of it.

 

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[rcdlopez]

Loosen up, go on vacation and get laid more often.

I'm Trying

ignore Robert Himler. save 45 bux.

Amy? Is that you?

Just say "NO" to Amway.

Amway ignored!

Stop watching porn!

I'm TRYING!!

Take control of your ridiculous urges bro.

Oh God, I Said I'm TRYING!!!!

 

[Ninjakid]

Look, I invented a time machine!

 

[MoneyDoc]

True story. Before my Father died aged 57 he gave me the following advice (I was 18 at the time):

"Son, I gave the best years of my life to some bugger else. Don't make the same mistake."


I passed on the same information to my children. God bless you Dad.

This really is my favorite post in this whole thread. I read this post once a day, not even kidding.

I can tell your dad was a great person.

 

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[G-Man]

"Put down the beer, dump that girl, and get to work"

 

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[BlokeInProgress]

I would say this to my 25 year old self:

- stop smoking, you smell really back at elevators and it will give you GERD and almost got your into an accident
- listen to that small voice that keeps you up all night
- spend more time with your parent's, they're getting older
- never trust anyone to handle your money for you
- keep it up with learning about finances
- JOIN the FASTLANE FORUM when it started
- you will fail a lot but learn from those failures
- don't be stubborn, you don't know everything
- expect that people think different as you and when they do, don't get frustrated
- don't forget to exercise
- don't forget the value of meeting new people and networking
- always do your due diligence in anything you would like to invest on

 

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[Jonleehacker]

Learn to ask for, and get help.

 

[SwtSmile_]

Fantastic thread! As someone still in her early 20s, this is some really great advice to read!

 

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[Frances Yun]

From Joi Ito (Director of the MIT Media Lab, Entrepreneur, VC):
“I would liked to have known that the failures and the really really difficult times were the times where I was going to learn the most.”

Full clip here:
Link removed by Runum

 

[chrischapman]

Instead, create a business and HIRE lawyers that work 20 hours a day for $160k a year...

this principle is gold. stuff like: don't climb the career ladder, own the ladder. dont put money into a 401k, manage the 401k etc.

successfully acting on it is the key to power, freedom and wealth

 

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[ArthurDayne]

Self-doubt will bring you nothing in life. There's no point in any view of your own self worth other than knowing you're the sh*t.

 

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[BJBossman]

1) DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL (yes the caps are necessary lol)

2) Focus on giving and creating high caliber relationships with top performers by serving them...and expect nothing in return.

3) Dont' be afraid of the end result unless it will involve bodily harm or death.

4) Take action, just get started. take even one small step each day. The results will move quickly.

5) Don't compare yourself to others at other levels, aspire to learn from their path. You cannot compare your beginning to their end result.

6) Do not try to compare to other paths. You picked yours for a reason, they picked theirs.

 

[S. Brown]

I'm 24 but if I could go back and I would tell my 18 year old self:

1) Always APPRECIATE and LOVE the ones who have supported you through the tough times in life because those are the ones that will always be there for you.

2) Don't listen to your FEAR because FEAR will have you REGRETTING alot in life and give you that forever WHAT IF pain so take action and don't be afraid of the possibility of temporary failure.

3) Putting yourself in VULNERABLE situations is the best and fastest way to grow as a person so be VULNERABLE.

4) Don't look down at someone because of their LIFESTYLE and MINDSET because our world wouldn't function without different kind of people so respect each other as you expect the same in return.

5) RICH isn't necessarily what you see and have materially. RICH is more about how much value you have as a person and how much you can give the world.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

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[oldscool]

Sir stay cool, but, relax on the arrogance.
Sir you still that dude, but, relax on the superiority complex.
Sir save save save
Sir the good times wont last forever.
Sir be thankful for the grind.
Sir you have to learn how to adapt to change.
Sir you wont lose your cool if you ask for help to learn new things.
Sir years from now you'll laugh at the things you failed at so go out there and make a fool of yourself.
Sir dont take no for an answer. I challenge you to be grrreaaat!
Sir, this thing of ours is a learning process.
Sir you're filled with testosterone, if you can control yourself with self discipline the world is yours.

Funny in my early 20's I was already reading self help books, but, I wasn't intensely focused on the words. Kinda like when we went to school and we say we didnt learn anything after graduating. Some of the stuff was over my head at the time. The words in the material were words I didnt even know what it fully meant. I am the sum total of my experiences and I dont think anything would've changed had I been able to go back. Unless, fate intervened of course. Long story.

 

[Bouncing Soul]

stop being afraid.
most of your fears are foundless
take more chances...Z

This. So much this.

Lots of self employed men in my family, and I believed you couldn't take physical risks owning your own business due to being around them. I wanted to race motorcycles, climb mountains, launch off them on my snowboard and travel all over. I believed I had to get all of my "fast living" done in my 20's as an employee...so I did this stuff and chose a fun, but moderate career path that would nominally support it, especially with vacation/sick time and insurance (which I have indeed used to get bolted back together more than once, while getting paid sitting in the hospital).

Now in my 30's with wife, kid, house, some $$$ in the bank etc, finding time/motivation to work on a side project is really hard.

I'd do the order reversed now. Be fearless in business, learn it, fail if I had to and most importantly, learn how to install systems to replace myself...then do the other stuff.

 

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[GravyBoat]

Dont' marry her!

don't marry him!

Marry eachother!

 

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[seanjohn]

Stop tip-toeing and doing the basics just to "get by" like your parents did. There's a reason they're still in debt and miserable, living paycheck to paycheck.

You're single and have minimal expenses. Even if you fail, rent is cheap and ramen noodles can be tasty.

Now is the time to be fearless. Crush out projects and make a dent in the universe.

 

[Longinus]

you know, i am forty and i wish i had been an a**hole at 25 instead of the good guy


because these guys have the good life anyway. while my youth was a complete disaster

let's do a quick calculation:

the average lifespan of a human is 75 years according to statistics

i have lost completely 20 of my best years. completely and i mean that

at 40, i can count on another 20 years of being able to have a life worth living before being old and powerless.

so i can't afford to remain the nice guy and to lose the remaining 20 years . the price is too high


so if anyone has ears to hear and a brain to think , my definitive advice is

" kick a$$, nobody is waiting for you after your death to reward you for being the nice guy "

and i mean that

Dude, you are rolling yourself in self pity in every message you post.

Get real. The phase you're in now, will probably the next you feel sorry for. Self pity is more "beta" than being a nice guy. You're only 40, are you gonna whine about your past until you're a real old man?

Stop crying and at least become a kick a$$ old man, not a frustrated sad piece of what once was life.

 

[Gary Weber]

Here's what I would say to my 25-year-old self:

Gary, don't spend the next 24 years in a software engineering job, believing you'll retire rich. Don't spend the next 24 years being envious of the freedom your father has as a business owner, and then reflect back with regret that you didn't follow in his footsteps. Find a way to venture out on your own going into business for yourself. Do it now while you're young.

Stop letting the fear of failure cripple your ability to execute, and instead realize failure is the fastest way to learn the lessons you need to succeed. When you don't feel like doing it, do it anyway. When you let things get in the way of your motivation, imagine lying down on a set of train tracks and hearing a train coming, and realize what motivation actually is.

 

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[Roveso]

Great thread! this is what I would say to myself:

1. Don't stop working out
2. Read MORE about business and self-improvement (even guru's stuff, so you don't fall for them later)
3. Party less.
4. You don't need more experience in a 9-5 job to be working by yourself.
5. Depression can be cured as any other disease -just go to the doctor.

And to all the members younger than that: you are so lucky to have found this forum, MFL and Unscripted so early!

 

[socaldude]

My second time chiming in.

Think of success as a standard deviation bell curve.

If you are dumb, lazy and never question your biases, environment or thinking then success is obviously an outlier. A .01% probability of being rich.

If you master the art of decision making, critical thinking, spotting opportunities, self-awareness, learning etc you DISTORT or BEND the standard deviation bell curve. All of a sudden success is something like 33%, 55% ,66%.

It all depends on YOU.

You can bend your own probabilities.

 

[adiakritos]

Now that I'm 30 and started visiting this forum when I was in my early twenties, I may as well update this thread since it's popped up in my email once again.

I would tell myself the following:

Don't try and learn to become a programmer unless it's what you're truly made to do.

Instead, learn how to sell and learn marketing.

Don't try and reinvent the wheel. Just find a business model that is already working and repeat and do it better. Find something you like, and pursue that. Go be a personal trainer who sells online packages if you're super fit. Or sell microgreens online, or maybe even start a web design agency or market agency if you want. Start an HVAC company, or an equipment rental business. No need to go and start the next SaaS wonder single handedly. You'll waste years of your life attempting that.

Focus on sharpening your leadership.

Get and pay a mentor who's much further ahead of you.

Don't go to college unless you want a trade. Instead buy training you can apply immediately from people who have the results you want to have.

Enjoy the process. Don't make yourself miserable on the journey because you'll burn out and you'll start to weigh the suffering you're creating yourself against the success you want... So make your journey fun. Think of it all as an adventure. Risk is an adventure.

Set a long term big goal but also define shorter steps in a concrete plan but don't get attached to it because that plan will change as you learn new things.

Once you have the cashflow, hire a recruiting company to start finding you people to add to your business. Don't be a DIY kind of person. Be a leader who gets others to do the work.

You're probably going to fail a bunch of times until you figure things out, so just fail forward and do it fast.

Also know you're going to have to change as a person from starter and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants to manager/leader if you really want to grow your business.