What's the best advice you could give your 16 year old self?

[JackMakesMovies]

I'm currently 16 years old and interested in entrepreneurship, investments and film-making. So far my businesses have pocketed me around $20,000 and I'm looking for advice about what to do, mindset, money, health or in any other regards. I love this forum and I can't wait for some advice!

 

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[kimchey44]

It's tough to say. I'm 37 and when I was 16 I was this mumbling bumbling guy who wanted to be rich, but just didn't know where to start. I think by the time I was 20, I knew I'd have money. But when I was 16, I didn't have the desire quite at that time.

But, surrounding myself with other business owners is something I'd tell myself. Actually when I was 16 I started a company that I run to this day... maybe I'd tell myself to scale that harder, earlier. Trust myself. When you know what you're good at, you can scale that to the limit and it just gets more and more fun.

 

[Maxadv]

Start now. Stay focused. Don’t waste a minute. Tomorrow you’ll wake up and you’ll be 65.

 

[Mathuin]

Trust your gut

 

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[KAIZOS]

The greatest advice I can give you is to be aware that your brain is not fully developed yet and hormones have a strong effect on behaviour. Being young is like being drunk without knowing it or feeling it.

The best thing you can do is simply to avoid being stupid. A major key is simply to survive your teens and early 20's without ruining your life. Avoid ruin at all cost.

DONT:

• go into debt
• get anyone pregnant
• do drugs
• break the law
• get into physical fights
• get married
• be friends with people who are ruining their lives
• drop out of school
• get into a relationship with someone you wouldnt marry (personality wise)
• sacrifice yourself for other people
• join multi-level marketing schemes
• drunk driving

Simply don't ruin your life. You can always bounce back from setbacks that way, which will happen.

 

[Angler]

Go read all the gold threads on here that apply to what you currently are working on in terms of mindset & business.

All the threads on here are "gold" because they will open up your tunnel vision and let you see far past what is currently possible. And to that, you will feel inspire, invigorated, and knowledgeable enough to see what's worth doing, pursuing, and dominate.

20k at 16 Y/O from your businesses... that's miles ahead of people your age. NICE!

 

[fastlane_dad]

Best Advice from someone who has been 16, 26, 36 and is currently almost 40 years old?

Same as my advice on similar threads -- learn and stay invested. That should really be step #1 while you are planning on and building up your business. You need to go through the ups and downs and market cycles as many times as possible to get used to the ride. Learn the financial markets, and read up all you can on it. Take $500 and make a small portfolio to invest in.

You will never GET rich doing this, but you will STAY RICH once you learn how to generate excess cash flow from your business and how to make the markets work to your advantage.

Spend majority of your time on investing in yourself , trial and error, reading, networking etc all the good stuff that's all over these boards but if I had to do it all over again and tap myself to do something as early as possible it's to open an investment account (myself) and invest very minimal sums to pay attention to what happens as the market swings up and down. You can't just 'learn' this in a year as I found out - it takes decades of learning, patience and mindset refining to know what you are doing.

See here: Investing

GOOD LUCK!

 

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[Andy Black]

I'm currently 16 years old and interested in entrepreneurship, investments and film-making. So far my businesses have pocketed me around $20,000 and I'm looking for advice about what to do, mindset, money, health or in any other regards. I love this forum and I can't wait for some advice!

Well done on making $20k so far. Not many 16 year olds have done that. Can you "grow what you know" and scale that up?

Other advice:

1. Have manners.
2. Give thanks.
3. Smile first.
4. Treat people how you want to be treated.
5. Put your hand up.
6. Get as fit as you can ... your body's still growing so help it along.
7. Work on your positive mindset and don't let other people's poor mindsets affect you.
8. Consider providing a B2B service and get paid to rub shoulders with business people.
9. Appreciate your family and friends.
10. Have fun!

Maybe check out this post too and the thread it came from:

• Learnings from 700+ PMs with fellow forum members - Post #5

 

[Andy Black]

The greatest advice I can give you is to be aware that your brain is not fully developed yet and hormones have a strong effect on behaviour. Being young is like being drunk without knowing it or feeling it.

The best thing you can do is simply to avoid being stupid. A major key is simply to survive your teens and early 20's without ruining your life. Avoid ruin at all cost.

DONT:

• go into debt
• get anyone pregnant
• do drugs
• break the law
• get into physical fights
• get married
• be friends with people who are ruining their lives
• drop out of school
• get into a relationship with someone you wouldnt marry (personality wise)
• sacrifice yourself for other people
• join multi-level marketing schemes
• drunk driving

Simply don't ruin your life. You can always bounce back from setbacks that way, which will happen.

^^^ And this!!!

 

[JackMakesMovies]

Thanks for these words of wisdom Andy!

Well done on making $20k so far. Not many 16 year olds have done that. Can you "grow what you know" and scale that up?

Other advice:

1. Have manners.
2. Give thanks.
3. Smile first.
4. Treat people how you want to be treated.
5. Put your hand up.
6. Get as fit as you can ... your body's still growing so help it along.
7. Work on your positive mindset and don't let other people's poor mindsets affect you.
8. Consider providing a B2B service and get paid to rub shoulders with business people.
9. Appreciate your family and friends.
10. Have fun!

Maybe check out this post too and the thread it came from:

• Learnings from 700+ PMs with fellow forum members - Post #5

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JackMakesMovies]

Best Advice from someone who has been 16, 26, 36 and is currently almost 40 years old?

Same as my advice on similar threads -- learn and stay invested. That should really be step #1 while you are planning on and building up your business. You need to go through the ups and downs and market cycles as many times as possible to get used to the ride. Learn the financial markets, and read up all you can on it. Take $500 and make a small portfolio to invest in.

You will never GET rich doing this, but you will STAY RICH once you learn how to generate excess cash flow from your business and how to make the markets work to your advantage.

Spend majority of your time on investing in yourself , trial and error, reading, networking etc all the good stuff that's all over these boards but if I had to do it all over again and tap myself to do something as early as possible it's to open an investment account (myself) and invest very minimal sums to pay attention to what happens as the market swings up and down. You can't just 'learn' this in a year as I found out - it takes decades of learning, patience and mindset refining to know what you are doing.

See here: Investing

GOOD LUCK!

Hey, you seem very experienced in the space of entrepreneurship, and I'd like a bit of advice. I wrote down some things I was great at, some areas I see people struggling (for example: my grandparents can never work out how to use the internet to hire a cleaner) and areas I thought were profitable. I then took that list and came up with a few ideas that match the CENTS principles (I may not be entirely correct with a few of them, CENTS is a new principle to me). I'd like the opinion of an experienced entrepreneur on which one I should pursue.

1. Ad booking platform for email lists/newsletters
2. Email newsletter tracking large abnormal volume moves in crypto/stocks from whales
3. Cryptocurrency newsletter covering swing trading technical analysis (already did this successfully with ASX stocks)
4. Funnel building agency
5. Online comparison website for different money management funds in the crypto space
6. Vacation rentals website (Pretty popular area because I live in Australia on the gold coast)
7. Phone lines for elderly people to get at home care and chores done (like cleaning, it support, etc), these could be distributed by fridge magnets. Once they call up, it automatically reroutes the call to the desired business and I charge pay per lead.
8. Marketplace for general lifestyle influencers

Let me know what you think of these different ideas!
Sincerely, Jack

 

[DB1]

I'm currently 16 years old and interested in entrepreneurship, investments and film-making. So far my businesses have pocketed me around $20,000 and I'm looking for advice about what to do, mindset, money, health or in any other regards. I love this forum and I can't wait for some advice!

Great post! I'm 18 and if there's one thing I'd say is that you should make this forum your friend. The value you can both receive and give is incredible. I'm just starting out but the Gold threads are invaluable. May I ask what were the businesses you started to get you to 20k? Or at least in what area/niches? Cheers

 

[JackMakesMovies]

Great post! I'm 18 and if there's one thing I'd say is that you should make this forum your friend. The value you can both receive and give is incredible. I'm just starting out but the Gold threads are invaluable. May I ask what were the businesses you started to get you to 20k? Or at least in what area/niches? Cheers

Hey DB1, I started swing trading stocks when I was 12 or 13 (obviously with very little money), over time, as I've honed this craft, I've gotten better and better. I also work at Mcdonalds so i can see what work is like and get used to the different processes, I'm obsessed with their business operations. And about a year ago, I took what i knew about stocks and made an Newsletter covering my technical analysis of interesting stocks, I was doing what 99% of traders couldn't do, so naturally this business grew like wildfire. Unfortunately, my local government updated their rules about this sort of stuff and I decided to shut everything down because I didn't want to be committing any crimes! And absolutely, this forum is awesome!

 

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[Supa]

Self-awareness and vulnerability.

Try to learn as much about what's going on inside of your mind as you can. Without being aware of your own thoughts and feelings a lot of what's going on in there can feel like an absolute mess. Learning to understand your own thoughts and feelings can significantly improve your quality of life. Especially of your inner life.

Something else I learned quite lately. Don't try to be or do anything to impress others. Don't hide who you are deep down or try to change you for others. Be you. For you. Sure, work on yourself and improve yourself, but do it for you. Be open about who you are and what you like and want (Mark Manson and Brené Brown have a lot more to say about vulnerability, and in a better way).

 

[DB1]

Hey DB1, I started swing trading stocks when I was 12 or 13 (obviously with very little money), over time, as I've honed this craft, I've gotten better and better. I also work at Mcdonalds so i can see what work is like and get used to the different processes, I'm obsessed with their business operations. And about a year ago, I took what i knew about stocks and made an Newsletter covering my technical analysis of interesting stocks, I was doing what 99% of traders couldn't do, so naturally this business grew like wildfire. Unfortunately, my local government updated their rules about this sort of stuff and I decided to shut everything down because I didn't want to be committing any crimes! And absolutely, this forum is awesome!

@JackMakesMovies Wow sounds like some great experience and skill development! I've been interested in swing trading too, any resources you recommend to learn more? Also, I'm from Australia too (SA) and should definitely come to visit Gold Coast, Cheers

 

[Johnny boy]

If I had asked that question to other people and followed their advice, my life would probably be a lot worse than it is right now.

Food for thought…

Probably the only advice I could ever really offer is that you should be arrogant and follow your gut and let everyone else’s stupid opinions go in one ear and out the other.

You will look in the mirror and be so unbelievably proud of yourself that when everyone tried to infiltrate your mind, you didn’t let it happen.

Nobody knows what to do, we are all idiots. The difference is winners trust themselves and losers don’t.

(This is advice for high IQ individuals. If you are a stupid F*ck you should aim for the middle of society and be happy you aren’t a piece of shit, but if you’re meant for more this is good advice)

 

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[Mattie]

I'm currently 16 years old and interested in entrepreneurship, investments and film-making. So far my businesses have pocketed me around $20,000 and I'm looking for advice about what to do, mindset, money, health or in any other regards. I love this forum and I can't wait for some advice!

I didn't have the opportunities at 16, you all do. I think pretty much, your have a head start may have never had in Gen X and Boomers. I would just keep learning about financial investments, finances in general. The more your smarter about how you use your time and money the better.

There's a lot of stuff you learn through experience as you go along, I'm not sure you can really skip growing up, going through the process, and learning relating skills. This is probably the next best thing is your communication skills with writing and speaking.

Surround yourself with Boomers and Gen X and listening to their life stories about business, family, their ups and downs in life in the business world. I used to hang out with the Traditionalists all the time and they would give you all kinds of wisdom and knowledge about life. While it might be old school, there is still a lot of leadership advice from Boomers since they served humanity in a lot of ways as well as Gen X.

The more you listen to people, the more you learn about life. Go sit in the local community where there are tons of information being spoken about in the business world.

Surround yourself with others your age moving in the same direction and you collaborate with and share ideas, creativity, and innovation.

Remember as well at 16, your still kind of young. You are only young once, and sometimes it's best to have some fun, play, and enjoy life before you have to focus on adult things all the time. Don't be in a hurry to grow up and enjoy the moment for the next two years.

 

[JackMakesMovies]

@JackMakesMovies Wow sounds like some great experience and skill development! I've been interested in swing trading too, any resources you recommend to learn more? Also, I'm from Australia too (SA) and should definitely come to visit Gold Coast, Cheers

When it comes to trading, you want to start off with paper trading, then move to a bit of 'fun' money and then go in with bigger positions once you understand the game. When you learn, books are your best bet, because they are usually people who have acquired knowledge and want to pass it down in the way they gathered knowledge. Courses are usually sold by people who don't know a thing about trading, so be careful who you take advice from.

 

[JackMakesMovies]

golden advice <3

I didn't have the opportunities at 16, you all do. I think pretty much, your have a head start may have never had in Gen X and Boomers. I would just keep learning about financial investments, finances in general. The more your smarter about how you use your time and money the better.

There's a lot of stuff you learn through experience as you go along, I'm not sure you can really skip growing up, going through the process, and learning relating skills. This is probably the next best thing is your communication skills with writing and speaking.

Surround yourself with Boomers and Gen X and listening to their life stories about business, family, their ups and downs in life in the business world. I used to hang out with the Traditionalists all the time and they would give you all kinds of wisdom and knowledge about life. While it might be old school, there is still a lot of leadership advice from Boomers since they served humanity in a lot of ways as well as Gen X.

The more you listen to people, the more you learn about life. Go sit in the local community where there are tons of information being spoken about in the business world.

Surround yourself with others your age moving in the same direction and you collaborate with and share ideas, creativity, and innovation.

Remember as well at 16, your still kind of young. You are only young once, and sometimes it's best to have some fun, play, and enjoy life before you have to focus on adult things all the time. Don't be in a hurry to grow up and enjoy the moment for the next two years.

 

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[JackMakesMovies]

If I had asked that question to other people and followed their advice, my life would probably be a lot worse than it is right now.

Food for thought…

Probably the only advice I could ever really offer is that you should be arrogant and follow your gut and let everyone else’s stupid opinions go in one ear and out the other.

You will look in the mirror and be so unbelievably proud of yourself that when everyone tried to infiltrate your mind, you didn’t let it happen.

Nobody knows what to do, we are all idiots. The difference is winners trust themselves and losers don’t.

(This is advice for high IQ individuals. If you are a stupid F*ck you should aim for the middle of society and be happy you aren’t a piece of shit, but if you’re meant for more this is good advice)

Perhaps this is great advice, but paradoxical in the way you give it

But this seems to connect the most with me, so I'll follow it to an extent

<3