Advice for My 20-Year-Old Self

Someone turning 22 asked for advice as they turn a year older.

Here is what I wrote for them.

  1. Become financially free as soon as you can, so that you are free to do whatever you want to.
  2. Don’t delay working on your dreams.
  3. Don’t play status games.
  4. Take time to hang out with those who energize you. If possible, do that every day.
  5. Maintain a regular sleep, wake up, work, relaxation, and entertainment routine.
  6. Timebox what you do – don’t overwork yourself – develop passions, and interests outside work.
  7. Try new things once every 3-4 months, until you find something you love.
  8. Take pride in doing things that are not mainstream yet and may look weird to others.
  9. Be kind to your parents. They are living life for the first time like you, so they can’t be right all the time.
  10. Take ownership of your life. Don’t blame others when something goes wrong.
  11. Ask for help when you need it.
  12. Find an internal anchor, something you do every day no matter what. This will keep you sane when there is chaos in your life.
  13. Give up money to work with those who are doing the work, and living the life you dream of.
  14. Learn every day. Better if learning is focused, helps you build on what you already know, and lets you go deeper.
  15. Get out of concrete jungles (modern cities) and live amidst nature as often as you can.
  16. Don’t sit in one place too much. Move as much as you can and break a sweat every day,
  17. Spend time under the Sun daily. Also, watch the sunrise and sunset.
  18. Learn to cook, sew, paint, dance, and more to be self-sufficient.
  19. Once in a while, live where no one knows who you are. It will allow you to live life in the most carefree way possible.
  20. Get good at sales even if you don’t intend to be a salesperson. Start by cold emailing random people then get good at getting people on call and meeting people face to face.
  21. Learn to leverage past success to create even bigger success in the future.
  22. Believe that good things will happen to you.

Hope you’ll find it useful.

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