5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your 20s
Set yourself up for success in your adulthood early
Your twenties form some of the most magical memories in your lifetime. You are finally an adult without all the real pressures of responsibility. You can focus on yourself. You world can be limited to work and parties. You can travel. You gain financial freedom. You are no longer a student (for most of us). The world truly feels like your oyster. The twenties are a decade where many of us evolve into the adults we will become for years to come. We start the foundations of our career, mature as individuals and build meaningful relationships. So then how can you make the most of such a sweet decade?
Based on my experiences, here are my top 5 recommendations for you.
1. Don’t Stop Learning
You’re out of college — yay! It can be so liberating and freeing after 20+ years of schooling. For many of us, we don’t want to ever study again. For me, I graduated at 21 and then pursued an MBA a few years later. That being said, I didn’t always emphasize learning things outside the realm of my career. The reality is many of us will do many different things over the course of our careers. One of my good friends from NYU went from an investment banking job to veterinary school after realizing his true passion was animals, not crunching numbers at his desk 20 hours a day.
Life offers us so many possibilities, by prioritizing learning not only do you build on your intelligence, you make your mind more agile to different areas. Learning agility is especially important in the face of ambiguity. We will often times we placed in situations where we require knowledge beyond our domain of expertise.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “learning agility is a set of qualities and attributes that allow an individual’s to stay flexible, grow from mistakes, and rise to a diverse array of challenges. It’s easy to assume that those qualities would be highly prized in any business environment.”
By adopting a diverse mindset and prioritizing learning, you will open yourself up to many opportunities.
2. Pursue a Side Hustle
This is something I always wish I emphasized when I was younger. As someone who is a present day entrepreneur, the best way to get your feet wet is to start early. And to start on the side. I hear it so often from my friends in their thirties that they want to start a business but don’t know what or how. Often times when you wait this long, you become more entrenched in your job and more structured in your approach to life. Trying something new feels too unknown and highly risky.
Hence, if you have an interest to do something of your own one day (or maybe even if you don’t), try something on the side that interests you. It may be a very small portion of your income but treat it as a paid hobby. Maybe you have an interest in e-commerce and start a small online shop with Shopify or you explore your creative side and make handmade cards to sell at an art fair. Now more than ever, we have the tools to do everything from the comfort our homes. It is easy to try new things with a low upfront cost and a variety of low cost subscription services to get ourselves up and running — from social media marketing to website templates.
By doing this you get to explore a side of you that you may not even know exists. You may actually create a business doing something you really enjoy. The reality is startups/small businesses take a long time to get off the ground. The best way to ease the pressure is by starting on the side so that the income from it is not a priority. Come worst, you may realize it is not for you, which is also acceptable. You’ll have no regrets for trying.
3. Care for Your Health
It’s easy to take health for granted when you’re young. A few more shots of tequila one weekend and a lazy weekend playing video games all seem so normal. Of course, it is important to have fun but remember to care of your body and mind. Hydrate often. Don’t sit in front of your laptop for hours. Do some form of exercise for thirty minutes a day at least 4 to 5 times a week.
When I graduated from college, my habits felt like a continuation of college life. I worked out but it was never that important. Now that I am older I realize how our metabolism slows down. Take advantage of your youthful metabolic rate and get in shape now. It will only get harder to shed pounds as you age. When the calendar strikes 30, you’ll notice a change in how your body reacts to excessive food or drink.
In addition, meditation may seem like a hobby for another time but training the mind with good habits should start early. Even if for five minutes a day, find time to take deep breaths away from the pressures of daily tasks.
4. Don’t Worry About Your Job Title, Focus on Fit
It’s easy to graduate from college and want the best job at the best firm in the exact field of your study. The reality is life does not work like that. When I graduated in 2008 in New York, Wall Street faced the major blowup of the subprime crisis. Banks that had extended me offers no longer existed. A catastrophic mess for any new grad entering the workforce especially in finance. I eventually found my way into financial advisory, which later lead me to an MBA because I really didn’t enjoy my job. It was an escape to reinvent myself!
Through this journey I realized that fit and cultural alignment are so important. You may be the best at your job but if you are in the wrong organization it can make your life miserable. If you land a job that is not exactly what you want but the firm’s vision and values really resonate with you, go for it. In the long run your title really does not matter. The experiences you gain and how you evolve through them will lead you to avenues that are aligned to your individuality. It’s easy to follow the crowd — at NYU Stern everyone wants to go into investment banking (or at least they did at the time), but not everyone is made to handle the pressure of 80 –100 hour workweeks in highly bureaucratic organizations. Remember to do what is right for you. It always catches up sooner or later.
5. Adopt A Long Term Mindset
It’s easy to get carried away and to think about having the perfect career straight out of university. The reality is that our career is a long journey that will take us into many unknown directions. Don’t limit yourself from trying something that you are not sure of. Nothing is forever.
In my twenties I was impatient and always wanted results right away as a typical Type A personality. Throughout my journey of moving between the finance and technology industries and trying different roles, I realized what I really enjoyed, which eventually led me to create my own business. I found fulfillment in creating something where I could have an impact. It is for the same reason I write — to empower others and share my knowledge. I was never sure of my success when leaving corporate in my late twenties but I viewed it as an opportunity to grow in my evolution as an individual.
Looking back, I had some of the best days of my life during my 20s, I got to graduate from university, explore, make new friends, have a cushy job and travel, all without worrying about buying a house or having children. It’s a decade made of equal parts growing up and having fun.
