What I Would Do Differently In My 20s? [Old Man Advice]

So, I’m gonna be 30 in a couple days. Which is crazy to me cause turning 18 feels like yesterday.

How would I describe my 20's?

My 20s were a wild ride.

A ton of mistakes, hardships, ups and downs. A lot of grinding.

The last 10 years I learned a ton though. On a bunch of subjects: health, money, credit, tech, human psychology, fiction, business.

The following lessons are the best advice I can give to folks in they’re 20’s who wanna survive in the 21st Century.

Especially if you live in a major city in the U.S.

Okay, enough stalling…

Lesson One — Health IS Wealth

I have a physical disability called cerebral palsy. It affects my right side, leaving me with spastic right arm and leg and odd speech patterns.

My disability isn’t as bad as others. Others are in wheelchairs, in crutches and have even worse speech patterns than me. Yet it’s still pretty annoying.

For example, I trip when I walk, so my favorite barefoot style Nikes only last four — six months.

When lifting dumbbells, the right side of my body is weaker so I have to lower the weight by 10 lbs. Also watching myself lift weights looks odd.

In organized sports, I was always the slowest, and I had poor coordination. It sucked.

The only thing I was good at was playing video games and reading books. I was a nerd, still am.

Despite my disability, I still workout twice a week . And actually get compliments from folks when wearing a tank top.

Actually, someone I just met thought I was 23 years old! Wild!

Why am health obsessed?

Because I wanna live long healthy life with minimal sickness.

At the year of the writing this(2022), I haven’t been sick since 2014. Sick meaning the basic flu. I do get seasonal allergies, but I NEVER get sick.

I eat a clean diet.

Kombucha, green smoothies, protein drinks, high quality meat, coffee, oolong tea. Sometimes junk food.

Currently, I go to Orange Theory Fitness once a week (review on that later).

When I used to live in a low income neighborhood with seniors, I would see a lot of hunchbacks with canes walking slow. Hunched back looks like it hurts.

You don’t want that and I don’t want that.

You wanna be healthy well past retirement age since most people are living longer.

The number one best investment in your life is your health — guard it with you life.

Eat well. Go to the gym, or workout at home. Sleep well.

Easy Stuff, right?

Lesson Two — Communication Is An Foundational Skill

I got a crappy degree.

Film Screenwriting. Average Salary for a film major: $45,000.

Average salary for recent grads: $30,000.

Despite my health and fitness success (looking younger), this is where I made a mistake.

If you’re gonna spend a bunch of time, money, and energy on a degree, at least get a marketable one.

Like Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Systems, Nursing, any specialized health degree, Finance, Accounting etc.

You need to get a degree where it’s gonna help other people and it solve problems. That’s why Engineers make a ton of money — they solve problems.

Hindsight being 20–20, I would have got a Computer Science or Information Systems degree.

But this want I got.

A crappy degree, yes.

Yet, my degree wasn’t a total waste.

I took a ton of writing, acting, and public speaking classes. This helped a lot when I got outta college. My resume is well written. I’m not nervous on interviews, and am able to connect with clients fast.

All people need to communicate. It’s a strong foundational skill that you’re gonna need in life — not only for your career.

That’s why my advice to kids with similar degrees is to start a blog. Start posting on social media. Start networking, collecting contacts.

If you have a crappy degree, you have to build value from the ground up. From 0.

Lesson Three — Credit Is Important

This piece of advice is for Americans.

I messed up with this.

I didn’t apply for a credit card until I was 25 years old. That’s WAY to late.

I should have opened one as soon as I turned 18.

By 25 — I should of had 5, at least.

Simple: Open up a credit card. Build your credit.

Why?

Cause I wanted to get a apartment on my own. I couldn’t — I had piss poor credit for a long time.

What if you wanted a car with a low interest rate or even a house in the future ?

You can’t unless you have good credit.

Lack of credit limits your freedom in America — and you want max freedom.

I learned all my credit knowledge from the Ben.

Please, please, please learn about credit if you’re reading this.

It isn’t taught in schools, even the nicest ones. I went to a college preparatory school, and all I learned was Algebra and Geometry.

While your at it, learn about checking and savings (basic finance management)and a bit on Stocks. Jeremy is the Best!

Lesson Four — Learn A Foreign Language and Travel

This is something I started in high school, but never stuck with. I learned Spanish for 3 years and went to Costa Rica and couldn’t speak a lick of Spanish. Wack.

If I was in my 20s and was interested in international travel or a particular country, a least a little bit, I would learn the official language of that country and visit it — ASAP.

Why?

Because traveling opens you up to new people, new cultures, new languages, new food, etc.

For example, I watched a couple videos about Colombia and feel in love with Latin culture and the Spanish language. Then travelled to the Dominican Republic and loved it! I’m drawn to to the social culture of Latin America, and the warm and openness of the people.

You may be different. You may like Germany, and German culture. Or Thai culture. Or Kenyan culture. Or Ghanaian culture.

Whatever it is, I recommend studying it and traveling abroad to that place.

Why?

Because if you grew up like me, (a westerner — American, UK, Canada) raised in a middle class family — going to school, then working a traditional 9–5, you’re gonna become bored of it (trust me!) And may hate your life. Eventually.

So, how do you fix that lifeless boredom?

Travel is that solution. Travel outside your country. Learn a different language. Learn a different culture. Eat different foods. Get a culture shock! You won’t regret it!

As I get closer to 30, it’s amazing how much I’ve been through in 10 years.

I hope this advice helps someone avoid the mistakes that I did.

Later!

P.S. If you wanna connect and network — tweet me @JAKLHC.