30 things I would tell my 20-year old self
After recently completing a second decade, I wondered what would a younger me have appreciated to hear. Without much further ado, here are some ideas:
Living with too many rules rarely leads to
happiness.
Say yes to invites - it shows you care and you never know who else you will meet.
Hard conversations, easy life. Easy conversations, hard life.
Seek mentors early. Keep seeking them.
Don’t chase the hype.
The greatest source of energy is curiosity.
Doing high-status activities rarely leads to interesting outcomes.
Venture further. You can always come back home.
Be more weird. Weirdness attracts interesting friends.
It’s ok to not be a founder.
Read broader. Before reaching for another self-help book, ask yourself whether you want to be more like the author.
Read physical books. And keep them. They become part of your mind.
It’s ok to let go of people if your values drift apart.
Lean into your roots. They will help to keep you grounded.
Move to the US. The slope is especially important at the start of your career.
See your best friends at least once a year in person. You both will appreciate it.
Revisit friends you have drifted apart from. Sometimes you will be surprised.
Work on interesting problems to attract interesting people.
Not every company succeeds. Every founder succeeds at some point.
It’s not easy to build a reputation. It’s very easy to ruin it. Keep it in mind especially during tough times.
Your best friends should be your harshest critics.
Never lose the ability to make fun of yourself.
Keep most of your money in ETFs. Stock picking is an expensive hobby, not fixed income.
You will never regret investing in your health. It’s probably even more true when you feel like you lack time or money.
Before making big decisions, ask yourself how your future self would look back at it in five years.
Verbally saying out what’s the worst case scenario often takes away half of the stress.
Burnout comes from working on something you don’t care about, not from working too hard.
Don’t save money on high-quality beddings. Paying for high-end pillows and covers guarantees a happy moment before falling asleep.
Trust people generously until they give you a reason not to trust them.
Embrace being a beginner. Not wanting to look stupid will otherwise hold back a lot of personal growth and funny experiences.
I am sure that the current version of me will appreciate lots of these points going forward. I am not sure whether every point would hold true in ten years of time. Let’s live and learn.