If I only had seven things I could tell myself at age 24; reflecting on all that I’ve learned in observance since then, it might be difficult. Nevertheless, here are seven “gems of wisdom” that I think would help any 24-year-old today, and that certainly would have helped me back then.
1. Stay Positive, it Will Be Okay
Generally speaking, most of the personal concerns that you have at 24 will have long worked themselves out by 30, 35, or 40. Much of what seems to be urgent, or crucial to your future well-being and happiness, proves to be less so with the passage of time. Then, looking back, you think to yourself, why was I so agitated?
2. Maintain Your Health All Along
I’ve had many friends at varying ages, in their 40s, 50s, 60s, who’ve had surgery for this and that, who are limited in mobility, or who have passed away. Health is not something to take lightly even in your mid twenties.
Once you begin the slippery slope towards not maintaining your health, it’s difficult to get it back. If you maintain healthy habits all along, get proper sleep, maintain a good diet, and exercise regularly, even after many decades, you still can be adept at most of what you could do in your 20s.
3. Friends Come and Go
Some stay with you for a lifetime, some are your friends during eras in your life, and some vanish rather quickly. Predictably, somebody who you thought was a close friend will betray you, or abandon you, or otherwise seem distant. You might exert considerable energy seeking to win that friend back, and rarely does it work.
The friends we make by high school and college seem to become more important with each passing year. Yet, you can make good friends, even great friends, at any age. You have to be open to the possibility.
4. Watch Your Finances
The fastest and most effective way to maintain control of your finances is to construct a 12-month cash flow. When you plot your projected income versus your projected expenses, you gain the best picture of your cash position at the end of each month. There is no substitute for doing this.
I have maintained a cash flow projection for myself starting at age 24. Moreover, since becoming an entrepreneur in my mid 30s, and working for myself all these years, my projected cash flow has been an invaluable tool. My daughter adopted the practice after running into some financial difficulties. Now she’s keeps her head financially above water all of the time.
5. Earth Is Fascinating, and Chilling
Altruism, beauty, and grace are all around us, but so is greed, the quest for power, fanaticism, and lust. Some people will do whatever it takes to get what they want: ravage the environment, trample on others, or act as if maintaining what we have for future generations is not important. Such behavior occurs on the left, right, and middle of the political spectrum. Even environmental, civic, and charitable groups are not without their own faux pas. Keep looking for the good in others.
6. Learn to Trust Your Instincts
The intuition and instincts that we’ve developed since we were small lead us well. Many people minimize or ignore their internal feelings in favor of someone else’s opinion, especially in this day and age of social media. However, the wisdom of following “the beat of your own drum” is as good now as ever.
Your brain, heart, and gut all function for you around the clock, and can provide direction without you having to engage in considerable analysis. Once you tap these amazing mechanisms, don’t be surprised if your decision-making capabilities improve. You have it within you.
7. Only You, the Whole Way Through
From now ’til the end of your life, however long it might be, you are the only person who will accompany you every step of the way, on every interview, on every trip, and on every encounter. Your life is a do-it-to-yourself proposition and a work in progress.
Blaming others, or citing nebulous factors that keep you from getting what you want, is a prescription for mediocrity. Fortunately, most people, most of the time, have the power to move from where they are to where they want to be, and so do you.
In the end, your life largely will be what you make it. And that is wonderful news.
– – – – –
