Here’s the Blunt Truth I Would Tell Myself Five Years Ago.
There are no secrets.
There are no secrets. It’s just about working hard and learning more than anyone.
Surprisingly, you’ll actually find yourself very happy when you’re doing the work. It’s not about not-working and sipping margaritas on the beach all day, it’s about doing excellent work and loving the process.
If you keep comparing yourself to other people, you’re going to hate yourself and nothing will seem good enough. So stay off social media and don’t ask anyone else about how well they’re doing. Just work your ass off.
One more time: just work your ass off.
You’re going to meet some assholes. That’s fine. Just keep working your ass off.
Read a lot. Like, read until people start asking you why you read so much. Seriously, make people uncomfortable with how many damn books you read.
The more you invest in yourself, the better your future will be.
Some good personal investments:
- Anything that helps you sleep better. Buy a ballin’ pillow, a weighted blanket, fancy eye mask, ear plugs. If you sleep well, you work well, which means you achieve your goals faster.
- Good food. Start buying organic eggs and meats when possible. “Your body is a temple,” yada-yada. It’s not about that, it’s about feeling great as much as possible so you can work better.
- Airpods. Seriously, you’ll love those things.
Take time to learn how to write. If you can write well, people will read. There’s a shortage of good writing in this world.
Be vulnerable. Be so vulnerable that your arm hairs stand on end before you click “publish.”
Be picky with your friends. A lot people will try to drag you down to their level.
Don’t complain. Just don’t. Just work your ass off.
Go to therapy. Spend a lot of money if you have to. Work through that junk. $100 for a good hour of therapy is worth tens of thousands of dollars in the future.
When you’re working at your horrible desk jobs, make a real plan to leave. Like, a deadline. Then work backwards from there.
Learn how to sell things.
Ignore the haters. Understand that haters have a valid reason to be here. Just like everyone else. They’re here to help you, if you let them. Learn from them in spite of them.
Read more.
Read old books, books that are still popular today. Read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Take care of your body. You only have one pair of feet, so buy comfortable shoes. You only have one set of teeth, so start flossing.
It’s possible to have an old man’s wisdom by 30, which will piss off everyone in the whole damn world. Most people waste decades learning the lessons they should’ve learned when they were young. Take a couple years and learn all that shit now.
Once you understand the following lesson, your path to success is virtually guaranteed:
It takes 40 tries at something to finally get a little good at it. So just like, fail a lot. A lot.
Don’t be embarrassed. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to intentionally place yourself in embarrassing situations so it loses its power over you.
Don’t worry about looking stupid. This one’s blunt, but true: no one is even paying attention to you. Not yet. So don’t even worry about it.
That’s probably good for now. Good luck.
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