7 Things I Wish I Had Known At Age 18

1.) A College Degree Was Not Worth The Student Loan Debt.

$46,000 of student loan debt later, at 5.88% interest, and I can say that college was a mistake. I’m not going to go into detail on this, as I already did that in a previous article, but the long and the short of it is that: I was another statistic.

I succumbed to the peer pressure, pressure from family, and pressure from society to ”be a responsible young man and make it through college”.

I was told everything in the book. I was told that without that degree I would be a failure, a bad role model, jobless, career-less, a loser, a nobody. This flew in at me from every direction, my parents, my peers, my teachers, my relatives, TV shows, even people I didn’t know.

You see, people in general are directionless, they need for other people to tell them what to do.

It relieves them from having to think about decisions for themselves. Facing the unknown is difficult, and most people don’t want to do it. When they finally do (IF they ever do), its only out sheer necessity.

College is a way for people to delay having to think about things for a couple years.

So many people are falling for this bullshit of a trap: go to college, take out student loans, get a corporate job, and spend the rest of your life paying back that debt (and the mountain of interest that accompanies it).

I used to meet with people every day, that admit they fell for this trap. Seriously, they would tell me this right to my face.

Don’t be like them, snap out of it before its too late. Or be like me, and realize the error of your ways early enough to change course towards entrepreneurship.

At 18-23 years old, there’s no way you will know what you want to do with the rest of your life.

SOLUTION: Just focus on working and saving up money until the age of about 23. During that time, read as many books as you possibly can (see below), date different young women, and take courses on the internet (from trusted sources) on particular subjects you find yourself interested in. If something really interests you and you think you can make money at, test it out on the side for 4-12 months (or as long as you feel the need to).

If you work 30-40 hours a week, there’s still plenty of time left in the week do take these online courses on the side.

2.) Don’t Fall For A Girl, Keep Yourself Single Until At Least Age 25.

This was one that I can honestly say I did right. I had a girlfriend in high school, she was year older than me and moved to San Francisco to go to college. Within a few months of moving there, she cheated on me and shat all over everything we had gone through together. They say the 1st cut in the deepest, and they’re right.

It took me years to get over that experience, and I vowed to myself: never again, and I meant it. But that was at the young age of 17, and partly because of that experience, I stayed single between the ages of 18 to 26.

I don’t regret that decision one…single…bit. I could not have been happier, or more free. 

It freed up my mind to focus on the things that mattered: my future, and myself. Yes I personally needed a lot of work. I was a much different person then than I am today, and even without the distraction and drama of a girlfriend, it still took me years to really find who I was meant to be.

You see, that’s the part that guys forget about: its hard enough already to figure what your life purpose is, throw another person into the mix and it just convolutes it even more.

That’s because other people have an influence over you.

Even someone as seemingly harmless as your roommate has an influence on you. I talked about this in a previous article, you have to be aware of how other people are rubbing off on you.

It happens without you even realizing it.

In short: keep your head clear, and your mind focused on YOU and no one else. At such a young age, chances are high that you’re still trying to figure out who you are. Don’t convolute the process and delay the time it takes you to figure yourself out.

For me it happened between ages 28-30, but for many unfortunate guys it can happen much later in life (they call that a midlife crisis).

3.) Avoid Credit Cards Like The Goddamn Plague.

This one’s a no brainer unless you’re STUPID. When you play with fire, you get burned. I go into depth on this in a previous article, so there’s no need to repeat myself, but it is worth mentioning on this list however because many young impressionable men get sucked into this hole.

This is a funny video (to me) does a great job of explaining the evils of credit cards.

Bust out those scissors and have yourself a plastic surgery party.

4.) Being A Morning Person Is The Way To Health, Wealth, And Wisdom.

Here’s the bottom line: The vast majority of successful people are are early risers. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are just that: the exceptions to the rule. Unless you know yourself extremely well, you probably are not the exception to the rule, even if you wish you were. Don’t argue with me. This is the truth.

The most successful people in history were early risers, and they functioned on less sleep. Benjamin Franklin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vince McMahon, and Grant Cardone to name a few. They routinely beat the sunrise every morning and got hours ahead of everyone else. 

It’s hard not to start winning at life when you are hours ahead of everyone else on a daily basis. Every day, every week, month, and year (these early morning hours start to add up).

Losers are night owls, winners are early risers. Always have been and always will be. I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to figure this one out. I still figured this out fairly early in life, but it couldn’t have been sooner. You ALWAYS BENEFIT MORE BY FIGURING THINGS OUT SOONER.

5.) Read At Least 1-2 Books Per Month.

It’s hard for me to put into words how much reading has influenced and helped me (in a good way). I wish I was able to convey to you guys just how beneficial this will actually be to your lives.

Make reading a habit early in your life.

And yes starting this anywhere between the ages of 17 and 23 I still consider to be early in your life.

Would it have been better if you started doing this sooner? Sure, of course it would have. But the past is irrelevant, just start wherever you are right now. Aim to read 1 book every 2-3 weeks.

When you get to be about 25, I would increase this to 1 book every 1-2 weeks. Reading will do wonders for improving the quality of your life, so much so that, frankly speaking I don’t even think you can imagine it right now. Trust me on this one fellas. You’ll be glad you did. Here’s a good starting point.

Here are a few more books I also read that made a huge impact on me. 

6.) Don’t Concern Yourself With Social ”Status”.

Don’t buy into the hype about the importance of your social status. What other people think of you is bullshit. The reason for that is because no one else knows you as well as you know yourself.

The fastest way to a life of misery and unhappiness, is caring immensely about what other people think of you. Always concerning yourself about how many ”likes” you got on that Instagram post, how many views you got on that Snapchat video, or the number of re-tweets you received.

It’s all just so stupid I can’t even begin to explain it to you. Like I said, it truly is the fastest way to misery and unhappiness.

Other horrible side effects of being too caught up in Social Status and Social Media include (but are not limited to):

-Inability to focus

-Loss of creativity, and

-Loss of a good work ethic.

I’m not saying you can’t partake in social media, in fact, after you’ve been in business for over a year, I think you SHOULD maximize your social media as much as you can (for business purposes only).

Before or after the 1st year of starting your business, you can still use social media on a non-business level if you want, however I would limit your usage to no more than 15 minutes per day, 5 days per week. You DO NOT need to post something every single day in an effort to keep your social status up to par. Even if that’s what you see a lot of other people doing (and they are).

Frankly, I think its pathetic when people do this. I laugh at it, I think its funny. These people’s lives are just completely ruled by the perceptions they perceive other people have of them.

Be grateful that you don’t have the every day burden of having to live up to a crazy reputation or image, one that’s probably a lie anyway. 

7.) Hold Yourself To Higher Standards.

I held myself to such low standards when I was younger. I didn’t expect enough of myself. The funny thing was, I was being told otherwise. I was being told by my family that I was too hard on myself. That started to sink in and after a while, I believed it. I shouldn’t have. I could have done more, I could have done better.

I’m doing more and I’m doing bigger, better things now, but I could have started so much sooner than I did. If I could go back and do it again, I would have started doing the things I’m doing now, much sooner.

10 years from now, you’ll wish you would have started today.

Never forget that. Frame that and hang it above your bed, and stare at it every morning and every night.

Don’t listen to people when they tell you you’re doing too much, the biggest regrets you’ll have in life, will be centered around the inner knowing that you could have done more. That you could have been more, accomplished more.

SOLUTION: Tune people out that try to pollute you with this garbage, you’re capable of so much more than you or they realize. Remember: nobody knows you as well as you know yourself. Go with your gut, if you think you could have done better, then you could have.

When people tell you to chill out, or calm down, that’s just them self-projecting onto you. You are making them aware of their own shortcomings. Even people very close and dear to you will do this, because most of the time its subconscious. Now that you’ve read and are aware of this, you’ll start noticing it when it happens, and when it does, that’s a clear sign to do what you’re doing even more.

I mean this with regard to productivity, and what they call ”being too hard on yourself”. Chances are, you’re not being to hard on yourself and you’re actually capable of doing more.

Now pay attention and and use good judgement when I say that. If someone tells you you’re drinking too much, then please don’t twist my words so you can justify being irresponsible.

Hold yourself to a high standard from a young age.

Don’t say to yourself things like ”I’ll worry about that when I’m older”. NO, worry about it NOW, worry about saving money NOW, worry about having a written budget NOW, worry about starting a business NOW, worry about getting an incredible physic NOW, worry about how attractive you are to girls NOW.

Don’t worry for too long however before you actually take steps to do something about these things. Worry gets that fire lit under your ass to make shit happen. That’s good, that’s what you want. Be that guy, and don’t listen to naysayers.

What I Did Right:

-Developed One Hell Of A Work Ethic From Very Early On.

-Stayed Single Throughout College And For Several Years After College.

-Started Reading Books At A Young Age And Kept At It (Although I Wish I Had Even Read More).

-Didn’t Get Caught Up In The Bullshit Of Social Media.

Take note, heed this advice seriously, and 10 years from now you’ll be thanking yourself.

-Matt Mitchell