The decisions you make in your 20's shape who you will become and the quality of life you will live. Every decision counts – good ones and bad.
As these trends become the stepping stones for 2018, the technological evolution has led to 5 major trends for 2018, as predicted by Gartner.
“Know that you don’t know a lot, find out what you are good at and become the best at it.”
Start early, start fresh
The earlier you start the more chances of you being successful. Don’t wait for graduation or your next promotion. Just get started NOW!!
Network like crazy, build relationships far and wide. The more people you know the higher your chances of meeting the person who can turbo boost your career and life.
Experience matters more than GPA
My friend Bill (name changed) had a less than average GPA and he was competing with three 4.0 GPA students to get into NASA. Guess who got the job?
It was Bill. Why? Because he had startup experience working for my business, he was elected president of the student government and he also had summer internships to add to his work experience.
This meant that he was a leader, capable of thinking out of the box and most importantly likable. This also translates to the fact that he can be taught and he can adapt to his environment.
Spend Money to Make Money!!
Provided you are earning, saving some is nice. But if you spend it right, you will make more money and also end up living the high life in your 20s itself.
People try to raise venture capital for a whole year hoping that these VCs would invest in our brilliant idea and take pity on us poor college students. Doesn’t work. The pity is always there, but no money comes through.
Then they switch strategy. At the next meeting with a Venture Capitalist, they dress nicely and politely convey the “we don’t need your money” attitude. Then they receive their first 6 figure investment 10 minutes into the meeting!
Externals do matter. Don’t act like a beggar even if you are one. People feel much safer investing in those who are not in need. It should feel like an opportunity to invest in you whether you are seeking investments, jobs or scholarships.
Lease a new car. Old cars may be cheap to buy, but you will end up paying a lot for maintenance. My calculation says leasing is more profitable than buying a car, especially if you have good credit and you can negotiate well.
Invest in nice clothes. Buying a couple of Armani outfits is a way better investment than buying 10 outfits from Old Navy on sale. See how Neil Patel made $692,500 by spending $162,301.42 on Clothes.
I am not saying you should spend that much, but it gives you a pretty good idea how much it matters what you wear.
The whole point is to invest your time and money in building your future in whatever creative ways possible. For example, buy a condo instead of renting and get your roommates to pay the monthly installment in the form of rent.
Compartmentalize your Time for greater Productivity
Watching TV can be addictive what to speak of Facebook. So practice moderation.
Time yourself, how long you want to sleep, how long you want to entertain yourself, how long you want to shower, etc. Use the alarm feature on your phone, to start saving your valuable time.
Saving minutes here and there can add up to saving hours. Now you have more time to pursue your passion.
Early to bed, early to rise definitely makes you healthy & wealthy. Good quality sleep and waking up early makes a huge difference. When I first tried it, I was so pleasantly surprised to find myself already 4 hours into my work day when my counterparts were just getting out of bed.
Learn Meditation & Become Incredibly Efficient
Have you ever tried burning paper using a magnifying glass by focusing the sun’s rays? Meditation is like that.
It helps to focus the mind’s capacity to accomplish incredible things in a very efficient way. It hones our intelligence to prioritize on what’s important and gives it the strength to stop us from distractions.
Love Wisely, Choose Carefully
Bad decisions in your love life can ruin you emotionally, thus wasting some of the most important years of your life!
So men, think with the head located on the upper part of your body before committing to someone, and women, please do the same supported by research and reviews (online activity, friends, etc.) before you decide on your lover.
I know, I don’t sound the most romantic. But I have learned the hard way!
Protect Your Online Reputation
Know for a fact that people are going to look you up on Google and some will try to find you on Facebook and Linkedin. These searches generally take place before important meetings, job interviews and dates.
So why not build a solid web presence from day 1? Sometimes you might have to act like a celebrity and ask people not to take pictures of your dumb moments.
Try to always look your best in pictures. Look dependable, likable, sober and friendly on your social networks. Remove and request your friends to untag/remove pictures of you that don’t fall in the above categories.
Learn Skills Totally Unrelated to Your Field
Read books, go to workshops, watch “how to” videos on Youtube and learn totally new things that your major in college or your job responsibilities will never teach you. You are on a good track if you are learning two new skills every 6 months.
If you are in between jobs, then take it as a gift and go really deep into learning something you love to do. If you can get really good at producing tangible results with your passion, you will figure out a way to make money from it.
Get Guidance and Learn from the Wise
Find a mentor or a set of mentors to guide you in life. Learn from their mistakes so you can avoid them. Read blogs like mine and learn what people like me have figured out from years of social experiments. Why re-invent the wheel?
With proper knowledge and guidance, you can take calculated risks that can propel you light years ahead of your friends and colleagues.