These updated 10 crucial self-investment rules will drastically improve your future opportunities if your between 17 - 24 year old. If fact, they can help at any age if you haven't taken the steps below before.
At 39 now, I realize how many unnecessary mistakes my younger self made that caused me much suffering and grief. I did things the hard way.
I lacked maturity, focus and a view of the big picture. I didn’t realize how many opportunities where there for the taking. I didn't realize that I had the power to take control of my future.
So here’s my top 10 tips for 17 - 24 year olds:
1. What is your passion in life? What do you love doing? No I don't mean playing video games and staying up all night. What gets you excited about life? What interests you? No - the answer is not the one that makes the most money. Money and flashy things are really just an illusion called "Status." And status will never bring you real happiness. TIP: Don't worry if you can't exactly pinpoint what the answer is to your life's passion, but if you have a general idea, focus your education around it. Which leads us to the No1 rule…
2. Finish University. For anyone 17-24 university or college or trade school should be your No 1 focus. Finish your school. Focus on school. Everything else is secondary. Doors will be much harder to open without an education.
3. Enjoy your Wins, BUT keep your Focus. Have a new girlfriend - thats great, graduating high school - also great, finishing a semester of university, awesome. New promotion at work, good. But don’t let anythose celebrations overtake your No 1 focus - finishing school.
3. Experience is the Key to Understanding the Beauty of Life. New Experiences will shape you. They will change you. They will help you understand what REALLY makes you happy and fulfilled vs what you THINK makes you happy. But whatever you experience, do not let it be at the sacrifice of school and your education. New experiences will shape you, but know that your focus now remains finishing school from 17 - 24.
4. Work part time, learn to budget your money. Get out of the habit of depending on your parents if you still live on home. Make your own money, budget it. It will build a healthy relationship with money and help you realize that the bank of mom and dad is just a temporary thing. Women love self made men, and you'll feel an incredible sense of pride of being self made, independent and financially free.
5. Save your money and Travel. You’ll realize how big the world is. And how lucky you might be compared to others. You’ll grow up in the process. You'll realize what you need and what you don't. And you’ll appreciate what opportunities await when you’re ready to get back home. Travel will help you focus on your future. It should also show you how hard other people are working for much less, and how happy so many people are around the world without all the materials things you think you need.
6. Work Hard. Nothing in life worth doing comes easy. The happiest people I know, the most fulfilled and successful, work hard each day doing something they not only love, but are willing to work hard for. If you want to be happy in life, if you want the power to control your own destiny, apply hard work to it. And if you think you’ll be happy with a fancy car and big house, hard work is required too.
7. Ask for advice. Talk to your family and mentors about what they recommend. Take advice from your family and mentors around you. It could be your parents or a teacher or coach at school. But make sure you align whatever advice they give to your passion and purpose. Don't let them tell you to become a dentist when you know you love computers and need to be in that field instead.
8. You are the average of the 5 friends you see most often. Keep friends that you 100% trust, respect and feel the same way about you too. Keep friends that have integrity and focus. That have ambition and drive and that know what hard work is. These are the friends you can learn from and that will help push you forward when you need a hand. If your'e friends are lazy, if they have no ambition, if they can't see the big picture, it will rub off on you.
9. Enjoy yourself. Notice this is No 9 on this list. It's not No 1. Enjoying yourself is for those who have a hard time taking it easy, who are pushing themselves too hard. You're 17-24's are a time you'll never have back so make sure you don't spend all your time at home studying. The experiences in life change as you age, and don't let them pass you by.
10. After you finish university - Travel Around the World for Minimum of 3 months or up to 2 Years. When I finished university I went backpacking around Europe for three months and then moved to London, England for an additional two years. Those memories and experiences are some of the best of my life. Sure, it made me financially poor during that time, but I experienced so many things in the process. And guess what, when I moved back home, those experiences added so much to my character that never would have been possible otherwise. You see yourself and world around you differently when you travel.
On the last point No 10 - I have many friends that never took any real time to travel after university. They went straight into buying a house, getting married and having kids. Some of them even said "I'll travel later in life." but I'm not sure if they ever did. Maybe they will when they are 50, but they definitely missed their opportunity to do so in their 20's, which is a magical time to be alive.
Thanks and I hope these rules help you find your focus and reach your goals. And guess what, some of these rules still apply at virtually ANY AGE IF you are looking to make a change in your life.
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Thank you.
Goran Yerkovich
