How to Make the Most of Your 20s

culled from:grassrootssuccess.net

There’s currently a trend Megan Jay discussed in her TED Talk where 30 is considered the new 20, and how behind that leaves so many people when they do hit their 30s. Your 20s is the time when you can make big things happen, or you can waste them and end up way behind the 8 ball when you’re ready to settle down and get serious. Here are some pieces of advice taken from my own and many others’ experiences that will help you not to waste a very important decade.

1. Find a skill you like and get really good at it.

The worst thing you can do is hit your 30s and not have any kind of in-demand skill. This is how people end up in shitty, go nowhere office jobs. People that are very good at a certain skill can demand good job conditions and pay because of that skill. A colleague of mine went to university for a couple of years out of school, then quit that and studied something else. Then they did nursing, but after 2 years couldn’t handle the blood. Then they got a year into something else before deciding they wanted to start earning money, so they left it on hold. That person is in a dead end admin job, but if they had just picked one of those degrees and kept going they’d have specialist skills and a better paying and more fulfilling job. You can make money off the internet doing so many things now, but the catch is that you have to be really good at it if you want to differentiate yourself.

One option that is becoming more and more lucrative is to get good at something and teach people how to do it online. With sites like udemy.com, you can make a lot of money if you have an in-demand skill that people want to learn. I know someone that made a “how to make a top rated podcast” course that sold for $200 – he’s sold 1,000 of those so far in the last year. You do the math.

2. Chase experiences

Experiences are what make life worth living, not material things. If you have things you want to do or try, get out and do them! Your 20s is the time, because you aren’t tied down with a spouse and kids. If you want to go heli skiing in Canada, go and do it! Don’t let other people tell you it’s unreasonable. By the time I hit 30 I’d been to several countries overseas, served in the military, earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree, got a scuba diving licence, been bungee jumping out of a suspended cable car, surfed 15 foot waves, went snowboarding in Canada, trained with and been taught by Olympic judo champions, and that’s just what I can remember off the top of my head. No expensive item is worth anything close to those experiences.

3. Go on a hero’s journey

Also known as a rite of passage before we urbanised a few thousand years ago. Mine was joining the army. I grew about 20 years in maturity in the 6 years I spent there. I was pushed to my limits many times and I learned and experienced things most of the population will never have a clue about. If you can do a year program like they have in Australia, absolutely give it a shot. If not, find some kind of adventure and go on it. Don’t live your entire life in the city or suburbia. There are a lot of programs of this nature popping up all over the world – sure, they aren’t as hard as the military, but you also don’t have to give up 6 years of your life either.

4. Be smart with your money

I know people that saved throughout their teens and early twenties, bought property by the time they were 23 and are now on easy street. That approach isn’t for everyone, because it limits your chances to do what you want to do early on, like travelling. You don’t have to buy a house in your 20s, but you do need to save as much money as you can. If you’re going to blow $10k on a trip to Europe, your bank account shouldn’t be cleaned out. A big part of this is not going out and getting wasted all weekend, every weekend because it costs a bomb. I get it, you’re young and you like getting drunk. That’s cool, but you don’t need to do it all the time. Cut back on the partying a touch and use that extra money you haven’t spent to…

5. Invest & save

This obviously goes with number 5. Start investing as soon as you can in your 20s, even if it’s a small amount, because the magic of compound interest means that the amount is going to grow bigger as you get older. Put $50 in a good investment account (not just a bank) per month and keep doing it for the rest of your life. The payoff at the end will be massive. Start contributing to your 401k (known as superannuation in other countries) as early as you can. I highly recommend you read Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which is written specifically for people in their 20s (I’ve read it, it’s brilliant) and isn’t dry or complicated. It teaches you exactly how to do this kind of thing. When it comes to investing, the very best time to start is as early as possible, so do it now.

6. Choose your friends wisely

There is a very important saying: “you are the average of the people you spend the most time around”. Think about what your relationships are doing for you at the moment. Are you friends with a whole lot of people that aren’t going anywhere in life? If you’re frustrated that you aren’t moving forward and getting results, there’s your reason. If you want to be rich, you need to spend your time around rich people and other people that want to be rich. Hanging around with stoners is going to hold you back. If you want a magazine cover body, hanging around with people that go to McDonalds all the time will sabotage your efforts. When I decided I really wanted to make a go of writing, I started spending more time around creative people such as other writers, producers, directors and so on, because it energises me and helps me get better. Whatever you want to get good at and succeed in, you need to find those same people and be around them.

I’d also say, regardless of what you want to do, spend time with interesting people. Bored office workers are a dime a dozen and so many people just default to talking about sports. Make friends with people that actually have exciting things to talk about.

7. Spend quality time with them

Life can pull you in a thousand different directions, many of those away from the people closest to you. Build your friendships and really invest in them, because strong friendships make life worth living. Stop interacting online with everyone – get out and do things together. Talk about things, be vulnerable with them. I just gathered a group of friends, many of whom didn’t know each other but who I figured would get on very well because they are all creative people in different parts of the industry. We sat for almost 4 hours in a restaurant and would’ve stayed longer if it wasn’t closing up. When you gather interesting people together you can make incredible memories. It’s nights like that you really look back on and think just how great life is.

8. Don’t try to put on appearances or impress people

Because they aren’t impressed. If you’re average, people will like you. If you’re unsuccessful, people will like you and pity you. If you’re successful, people generally won’t be impressed, they’ll hate you for it. You can’t win whichever way you go. Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and do what makes you happy. You’ll find similar people along the way that make it all worthwhile.

9. Stretch yourself

99% of the Western world lives in a bubble. They don’t try new things, they sit in a comfort zone and decompose from the inside out. All of the things I told you I did above were possible because at every opportunity I got out there and tried something new. Old people make bucket lists of the things that they want to do before they die. Screw that, start doing everything that you want to do when you’re young and can really enjoy it! I heard a great saying a few months back: “the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth”. So don’t spend your time in a rut. If you want to learn to surf, get out to the beach on a weekend and give it a shot. Don’t do the typical “I can’t be bothered” and vegetate on the couch when you can go and do something fun or worthwhile. You won’t believe just how much your life and your outlook can change when you decide to step out of that bubble and try new things.

10. Spend time with your family

Because you only get one. Don’t blow off the once a week dinner with your parents, or skip family events. Families (along with friends) are the ones who will pick you up when you fall down, who will be there when you need them most, and vice versa. Don’t ever take them for granted.

11. Don’t take your health for granted

People leave school where they had to play sport all the time, and then they get out into the real world and let themselves go. Letting your health go is like continually spending big on a credit card – one day the bill is going to come. It might not be today or next week, but the longer you leave it the bigger the bill is going to be when it comes. Join a gym, go running, go swimming, join a local sports team, whatever. As long as you do something that you enjoy and that keeps the weight from piling on, that’s all you need. Make sure it’s something that’s fun too. If it’s fun you’ll keep doing it, but also, why would you want to torture yourself and do something you hate to stay healthy? If you can have fun while you’re exercising, that’s a great double whammy.

12. Live passionately

I saved this for last because I believe it to be the culmination of all the above points and one of the most important on its own. I mentioned that bored office people that talk about sports are a dime a dozen. I mentioned them talking about sports because when they do, they are talking about other people who are living their passion while they live a life of boring mediocrity. Do as many things as you can that make you happy and that you have a passion for, because it will open doors for you that you can’t even imagine. People love to be around positive, passionate people because they are energizing, interesting and have a zest for life. I can tell people that are passionate about life almost as soon as I meet them because they have a fire in their eyes and an intensity in their voice that reveals who they are. Listen to Tony Robbins talk and you’ll know what I mean. We only get one life, so make the most of it and love every second of it, even the down moments because they make the up moments that much better.