This is one of the biggest items on your todo list
Debt is a vice around your wrists that is slowly cutting off your blood circulation, if you don’t release the pressure you’ll be dead before thirty... the Prime of your life
If you are able to spend money on assets that depreciate in value (cars, clothes etc.) you better be debt free and saving large amounts of cash.
2. CHANGE YOUR FRIENDS
The biggest mistake is not upgrading your social circle as you move on
We know, you read the word upgrade and immediately thought the word is heartless
It is not
You need to surround yourself with like minded individuals, even if you have known a childhood friend for 15 years
if they begin using drugs for entertainment purposes and falling off of the grid you have to say goodbye
Your life is too short to spend catching falling knives.
3. LEARN TO HELP OTHERS
This sounds contradictory to point number two, however it is paramount that you learn to help those that wish to improve
The key is their interest in improving
if you attempt to convince a man of growth when he does not care, you’ll burn a bridge
Hyper competitive and intelligent young men tend to develop a “put down” mentality where you compete at each others throats 24/7
This is not sustainable and healthy
Instead, pass along helpful information and you will find your friend count increasing
4. COLLEGE SHOULD BE TOUGH
Everyone else goes to college to drink and try to sleep with hundreds of women
These guys usually end up unemployed or making $40K a year at a soul crushing job with no skillset to jump into another industry
Their entire life is now 100x more difficult to fix and you’ll be shocked at how difficult it is to come back when you’ve built no foundation
Build a foundation
You can have fun in your spare time
5. INTERNSHIPS (yes plural)
Even if you have a 4.0 GPA from a top univ, no one will care if you have zero work experience
In addition to obtaining line items on your resume you will realize that your network expands drastically
You’ll be in contact with people in their 30’s who are well outside of your current social circle of 20 somethings
6. FIND MENTORS IN THEIR 30s
By the time you are in your low twenties you should have a handful of men to speak to regarding life decisions
Each man does not need to know every aspect of life, however the more the merrier
You’ll quickly realize that your peer group is older than you as soon as you receive your Diploma (MBA or Bachelors)
This is a good thing
Generally speaking, older men make hiring decisions
7. YOUR COWORKERS WILL SCREW YOU
Most common miss
If you are in the same peer group, none of your co-workers are out for your best interests
If you party with your direct co-workers, as soon as layoff rumors begin making the rounds, be certain you’ll be thrown under the bus
8. READ BOOKS DAILY
If you are not reading books outside of the classroom you are allowing the collegiate system to have more influence on your upbringing than it should
The topic of interest is less important than the act of reading
You can read about anything
Reading is similar to investing as the payoff is far in the future, one day you’ll have a chance to make a connection with a higher up on an obscure topic and ideally you’ll have the ability to add to the conversation
9. LEARN ABOUT BASIC FASHION
Before we get comments about books beyond finance, you can simply start with learning about basic fashion
Learn what colors work for your skin tone, eye color and hair color
Once this is mastered find the right brands to accentuate all of your positive features and build a sustainable wardrobe
Better to learn and earn before you have some cash and see it burned
10. EXERCISE 5 DAYS/WK
Unless you are forced to burn through 100+ hours a week for several weeks straight, you should find time to lift weights five days a week
No excuses
Your health is the only thing that will outweigh your aspirations for wealth
A man who has a healthy mind and body with a heavy wallet is free
There is nothing more valuable than complete freedom to do as you wish
11. PROCRASTINATION IS VALUELESS
If you find yourself procrastinating on tasks it means that you have nothing to do with your free time
In an ideal situation you are constantly moving and improving your life
You don’t have time to procrastinate because you’re too busy taking action
The day you find yourself sitting and staring at a computer screen for 2-3 hours in a row is the day you either walk outside to exercise or immediately buy a book online
This is the minimum.
12. IGNORE THE LAZY
You'll meet many people who suggest you simply relax and live in the moment
Avoid these men like the plague
You should live in the moment for a calculated risk not to simply feel good for a short period of time at the detriment of your future
Much like investing, 20 years from now they will have a hard time getting by while your life is already on cruise control because you’ve built an unbreakable foundation
13. DON'T GET MARRIED
No matter what you do, do not tie the knot in your 20’s
The truth is that many women in their twenties are most attracted to men in their low thirties
Run the math
Your future ex-wife is still in high school right now, so don’t fret over anyone within ear shot for a long-term relationship
We recommend not getting married but if you decide to keep one, wait until your 30’s
14. GO INTERNATIONAL
By the time you’re in your mid 20’s you should have some international exposure that will wreck a lot of your current beliefs
By experiencing a new culture you’ll quickly see how many of your ideals are based on a US cultural phenomenon
You can do this with a single briefcase and you can do it alone
You’ll force your body into survival mode in an unknown city, your confidence level will grow by leaps and bounds
15. FACE A MAJOR FEAR
Heights, snakes, fights, the major fear you have does not matter compared to your ability to tackle it
If you’re afraid of being beaten down in a street fight, you should get into a ring and take a few kicks and punches
You should jump out of a plane if you fear heights and you should even consider purchasing a snake
There is no substitute for repeated exposure to eliminate a major fear in your life
16. TURN FAMILY INTO FRIENDS
For many, your family members are dragging you down and for others they are a positive in your life
The key is to separate your life decisions from their opinions – their opinions should have no weight on your emotions
At this point you should not use your family as a safe haven in life
If you lose your job, if you want to move cities, if you want to take a risk, it is on your shoulders
Remove the safety net
17. STOP COMPLAINING
Maybe you didn’t land that Bulge Bracket job
maybe you didn’t get ranked number one in your class,
maybe you hurt your wrist and can’t lift for a month
no one cares
By the time you’re well into your 20’s your interest in complaining should be zero
Complaining gets you no where
All it does is increase your stress levels
When you are stressed out, no one wants to be your friend
If no one wants to be your friend, your contact list is not improving and if your contact list is not improving.... you’re dead
18. WAKE UP EARLY
Unless you’ve obtained a job in investment banking where you’ll eat garbage for multiple years straight to earn your stripes, you should wake up early to get ahead of the rest
Read, go to the weight room, build a website, it does not matter
Your brain functions well in the morning, use your most productive time to invest in the most important person in the world
Yourself and your future
19. EARN A VOICE
Many men will destroy their careers in a few short years by never earning a voice
When you are in your twenties there is not a single person who will care about your worldview so it is best to remain quiet and diligently improve while waiting for an opportunity
Instead of dishing out advice, take advice and remain quiet
As soon as people begin asking you for your contributions you’re officially of value
You have earned your keep in a specific niche
20. FAIL
The last piece of the puzzle is the most obvious and the most undervalued
Fail as many times as possible in your 20s while you have the time to recover
We don't recommend dropping out of college as a failure or taking up a humanities major as a failure
Instead we recommend you fail at trying to create value
Try to create a mobile app
Try to learn how to code
Try to learn a foreign language in a year
Try everything
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