If you could re-live your 20’s, what would you do?

Here are my DO’s and DON’Ts if I could re-live my 20s.

DO’s

1. I would hastily complete my formal education, avoid getting a 9 to 5 job, and instead get a side-hustle either offline or online. Since it’s a side-hustle, I wouldn’t expect much pay, but it would give me the time freedom, space and leverage I need to set myself up.
2. I would read every success book I can find, including biographies of the old rich (Jakob Fugger, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Henry Ford and Cornelius Vanderbilt), including the new rich (Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk and Jack Ma), and some of the younger generation millionaires like Nick A’loisio, Brian Wong, Robert Nay, and Chad Mureta.
3. I would extend my study to biographies of young millionaires who made their first million dollars either offline or online before they were 30 years old and how they did it.
4. I would quickly study the top high-paying professions that would give me the highest leverage at the least possible time, like software development, selling, marketing, growth hacking, online entrepreneurship and e-commerce.
5. I would set some SMART financial and life goals to achieve at my early 20’s, 25, 27 and 30, and so on, and break those goals into achievable milestones.
6. I would find at least 5 role models or mentors who are more successful than myself for an example to live by.
7. I would find 5 friends who are more knowledgeable than myself whose goals are more or less in alignment with my own, and spend more time with them.
8. I would save at least 20% of my income and start investing in myself. I would also start investing a little money in stocks.
9. I would defer gratification, unnecessary spending and impulsive buying. I would buy only cheap clothing, use cheap transport, and take my girlfriend to cheap restaurants.
10. I would start an IT company and develop mobile apps for Android and iOS. Judging by the current trend I would expect the company to grow to $1 million per year in turnover within a year or two.
11. Going by this growth trend, I would expect the company to be worth about $2 billion in a few more years. I would then cash in before age 28 and move on to become a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Then I would travel the world and meet some interesting people and maybe marry the love of my life by the time I’m in my early 30′s and then decide where to settle.
12. I would then spend the rest of my life teaching young and upcoming entrepreneurs how it’s done, become a motivational speaker, life coach and role model and maybe write a few books.

DON’Ts

1. I would not touch tobacco, alcohol, drugs, illicit brews and porn. I would avoid anything that would waste my time and my health and my life.
2. I would avoid wild parties, sex orgies and bad friends. In fact, I would cut most of my social life except simple birthday parties where no alcohol is served.
3. I would avoid toxic relationships and illicit sex that slows me down. I would definitely, avoid early pregnancies and unwanted babies if I were a female and avoid making a female pregnant if I were a guy.
4. I would not overspend. A large chunk of my income would go to self-education, personal-development and other worthy causes.
5. I would avoid making friends with people with habits or people whose goals are not in alignment with mine.
6. I would avoid going to places where my life would be at risk. Since such places are almost everywhere, I would ensure I’m always accompanied by a good friend, a trusted friend or colleague, and avoid going to such places when I’m alone.
7. I would not blindly follow the crowd. I would prefer following a few people who may be right than follow a large crowd of people who in most cases, are wrong.
8. I would avoid gossip and time wastage. Time is essential and precious.
9. I would not do anything that would jeopardize my goals, and before I do anything, I would first ask myself: “Is this in alignment with my goals?” OR “Is it worth it?”
10. I would not gamble with my money or my life, hoping for a lucky break. Lucky breaks are not reliable and don’t happen most of the time. Instead, I would direct my finances and energies towards long-term, calculated risks that I’m sure will yield returns in the long run.
11. I would avoid being greedy. Instead, I would be optimistic that success doesn’t come overnight, but only comes to those who work hard and wait patiently.
12. I would try to avoid pessimists and argumentative, negative-minded people.
13. I would not be discouraged or deterred by failure or temporary setback. Instead, I would use every bit of failure as a stepping stone towards my success. In fact, I would be fully aware that many people depend on my success and that many people are cheering me on.
14. I would not forget that family comes first.

IMAGE Credit: GETTY

Author: Flavian Mwasi
Source: Quora