2 ms·
IMHO there is a lot of terrible advice here. "Go slow and you'll make it" puts a cap on success and is not very stimulating. If your idea of life is sitting in
by contingencies 8y ago
IMHO there is a lot of terrible advice here.
"Go slow and you'll make it" puts a cap on success and is not very stimulating. If your idea of life is sitting in a room under a roof you nominally own watching TV with an up-with-the-Jones' car, you've already lost.
In youth while time rich invest in yourself to develop skills and experience, focusing if possible on areas others miss and cannot learn effectively through formal educational programs (eg. R&D, deep science, extensive practical knowledge in a trade, languages, travel and worldliness, etc.). Never allow rigid formal education to destroy your innate curiosity - cherish it: it is the most powerful force for learning and achievement that you have.
Be a talented generalist, not a specialist. High value and high growth opportunities do not emerge consistently from one area but rather general industries. A capacity to absorb and manage cross-disciplinary knowledge rapidly and effectively is worth ten times more than extreme specialization, 99 times out of 100. Don't over-skill in areas that age fast (eg. programming frameworks, design fads, many formal qualifications, etc.).
In young adulthood invest in a partner, they will be your strongest asset in times of need and provide strength, a sounding board and risk-hedging as an alternate actor for all future ventures. If you can, find one from another culture and continent with a different passport, perspective and language... this will give you and any children half a world more options in the future.
Take risky career path moves. Following a crowd might help you to survive, but never to thrive. Just make sure you accrue some capital so that you have options.
Finally, invest in high leverage opportunities in potentially high growth businesses in which you hold substantial equity. If you can't find one, start one. By the time you've done a couple (ideally in a couple of sectors or markets) you'll be worth funding by deeper pockets (read: superpower obtained - partially outsource venture risk) and quite capable at executing. Your first successful exit will place you ahead of your peers, who you will feel empathy and pity for realising they have wasted decades conservatively limiting their own life experience.