Ask HN: If you are 30+, what advice would you give to your 20-something self? - devchuk
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rman666
Time goes by faster the older you get, so enjoy your youth. I’m 55 and while I
did a lot in my 20s and 30s, I wish I did even more.

Also, don’t let yourself get too far out of shape. It is much easier to
maintain than it is to get back into shape if you fall out of shape.

Lastly, some advice someone once told me: Ask yourself every year, Am I making
20% more than I did last year? Do I like the people I work with? And, am I
learning things I interested in? If not, consider changing jobs.

~~~
jermaustin1
I should expect 20% pay raise every year? At 30, I guess I averaged that over
the last 12 years I worked (well off by $1/hr from it), but I don't think it
is a reasonable expectation.

What I wish I would have done sooner is invest in more alternative income
streams. I spent a lot of my time creating wealth for others instead of
myself. I didn't even start saving for retirement until I was 26.

So I guess that is my advice, put your money to work so that you can weather a
storm.

------
marssaxman
Don't get married; you will regret it. And for heaven's sake don't get married
again; you will regret that even more.

This advice may not scale.

~~~
himlion
I'm married and enjoy it, guess it's not for everyone.

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mettamage
Don't study psychology it's a trap. If you really want to learn more about
humans maybe do acting or anthropology or sales or more meditation/loving
kindness.

Study computer science (I kind of accidentally did this).

Don't diversify academically, try to start up a company instead.

Your people skills, while they can be improved, are better than you think. A
lot of people tell you that your people skills are bad. They are more wrong
than you think, in a lot of cases it's not poor people skills that lead to a
lack of good judgement with regards to people. It could be e.g. different
value systems.

Meet as many people as you can and assess their energy and who they are in an
instant. Become friends with the people you like. You're pretty good at this.
Be prepared to let some false negatives (FN) go, maximize meeting truly
positive (TP) amazing people.

------
baccheion
Increasing dopamine (at D1/D5) in the nucleus accumbens shell increases
motivation.

Start taking a multivitamin stack and trying to create a startup ASAP.

401k

~~~
schappim
How does one increase dopamine (at D1/D5) in the nucleus accumbens shell?

~~~
baccheion
Motivation: SEMAX (+ selank + alpha-GPC), selegiline (+ memantine), uridine
monophosphate (+ DHA), acetyl L-carnitine (+ alpha-GPC + Na-R-ALA), beta-
alanine..

A multvitamin, D + K, and chelated/TRAACS magnesium supplement are usually
recommended when taking nootropics.

~~~
danieka
I'm interested to learn more, could you link to some references?

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CM30
Get working on your startups/side projects now, since your university/looking
for first job years are those where you've got the most free time. There's a
reason so many founders and online creators are uni students; they've got way
too much free time, access to a bunch of other bored people in the same
situation and none the paycheck related stress associated with a full time
job.

Also, learn more about programming. It's not as hard as you may think it is,
and the more you know about it, the more possibilities open up for interesting
side projects and jobs in the future. God, the amount of things I'd probably
have built by now had I really got into programming back in my 20s (or teens).

Then again, you know what? If I was gonna give any advice to my 20 year old
self (assuming the course of history didn't change too much), I'd probably be
more practical and say:

Get making videos and posting them on YouTube/livestreaming sites, since
that's where the money and fame will be in a few years time. People don't care
about text as much as they used to.

As well as provide them a nice list of companies to buy stock in for the
future.

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dorfuss
Learn languages (human languages). Important for mobility. You won't have time
to study a language for 2 hours every day later in life.

Build big projects steps by step, 30 minutes every day (code, write a book,
run a YT channel). Otherwise you'll wake up at 35 not having build anything
significant of your own.

Don't be afraid, take risks, be bold.

Get tech education and study math.

------
GFischer
Don't get into debt. Manage your finances carefully. Exercise more and eat
healthier. Learn to cook.

I can't stress the part about debt and finances enough.

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WheelsAtLarge
3 very fast ones that will make a large difference

1) Adopt a learning mindset. There are no failures or wins just opportunities
to learn. So, learn from them.

2) Make 1, 5, 10 year life plan, follow it and review it. Any plan is better
than none.

3) Open a brokerage account and invest monthly in a s&p 500 fund. Never move
it or withdraw from it so 40 years from now you'll be very happy you did.

One last one, have fun! Life seems long but in reality, it's very short.

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pasbesoin
Guard your health. Your health comes first.

You won't enjoy anything else as well, without your health. And over the
medium and long term, you won't accomplish it without your health.

You will be offered, or coerced into, all sorts of compromises. "Future
payoff" is a ploy.

Very often, your intuition will warn you before conscious thought catches up.

------
coachydev001
Try new things because it gives you the opportunity to see your blind spots.
If you feel uncomfortable taking action in some area, then that's a good place
to start. But also be kind to yourself, and start small. Don't beat yourself
up with stories. And finally, unless you get something in your own experience,
don't believe it. Opinions are a dime a dozen. Whenever possible, investigate
the truth about something yourself. It's much more fun that way :).

Oh yes, and take personal development very seriously, and work towards
becoming more aware of who you are at every level. Invest in yourself when
you're young, don't be stingy about it. Compounding interest works for
personal growth too.

------
simplegeek
Family is the most important thing, you only realise this when you get old.
Respect your parents and love them (tell them you do). Most people you take
for granted today in your family won't be around soon, listen to their stories
and take care of them.

Kids gave me most happiness. Have them some day.

Choose who you work with very wisely. This is going to change your life most.
Choose friends carefully. Once you do, never let sincere friends go away.

Learn how to read. Read a lot. Learn how to write. Write a lot. Experiment a
lot. Don't be afraid to fail.

Reach out to people. This will open up new possibilities that you never
thought of.

Work on your temperament. People who know how to control their nerves achieve
most.

Don't take a lot of stress, it will be mostly fine.

I need to think more, interesting question :)

------
slipwalker
( I'm 45 now, back into a cubicle for a huge consultancy, my working days feel
like payed vacations )

don't bury all your money, time and health trying to be an I.T. entrepreneur
in Brazil. Just get a cozy job and enjoy your paychecks...

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dylanhassinger
start a blog. pay off your student loans ASAP and dont go into any more debt
ever

~~~
marssaxman
Do people still read blogs? I had one for about a decade, but I stopped
maintaining it because it felt like the whole scene had faded away around me.
When I stopped publishing, nobody seemed to notice.

------
abledon
You are not defined by your job or pay level, do not become compulsive about
the ‘social prestige’ 1 job gives over another

Watch more Sadhguru videos on YouTube to get a better view on life.

Don’t learn java as your first programming language.

Start spreadsheets on a bunch of life areas instead of just scrounging
together data every time a form or tax return needs to be filed (job, living
location, investments, etc)

~~~
zer00eyz
> Don’t learn java as your first programming language.

I have to ask why you would give yourself this advice? I know enough java to
know that I dont know java...

~~~
abledon
Public static void main

------
IstAregU
From a work perspective:

1\. Listen, a lot 2\. Understand other's perspectives. For this you need to
know exactly what they do and how protective they are of their turf 3\. Ask
pertinent questions not only to improve your knowledge but also to show your
are listening 4\. Be prepared to bide your time. Opportunities happen outside
of your control but they are coming eventually.

------
_shadi
Don't worry too much about what will people think or say about you.

Read more

Stop eating junk food

"you can only connect the dots backwards"

------
_ah
Travel. Then travel more.

I was very financially disciplined in my 20s, but I now wish I had saved a
little less and experienced more. Now that I have a family and obligations,
it's much harder to go explore.

------
Antoninus
Try not to let life interfere too much with your self-care habits but remember
its ok if it does.

Take time to read and write. (things that aren't code)

Be nicer to people and be there for your friends and family.

Business is about relationships, communication and serving others.

Smile.

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KohgnaK
\- Document / archive everything \- Keep a diary \- If you have an idea, build
around it. A lot of startup started on "nothing"

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tugberkk
\- not to pursue phd, just get a masters and get a grip on research. \- read
more and read about your work.

------
wimgz
Don't choose a job for the money.

Choose a problem you want to solve, and work on this on the long term.

------
tonyedgecombe
Don't trust people in suits.

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itronitron
don't sit down in a chair at a hospital while your wife is pregnant

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bachbach
Even elite University education in STEM is a terrible investment. All the
people boostering it are recipients of multiple selection filters or from
different age cohorts and really have no idea what the fuck they are talking
about.

When you do the math - it's terrible compared to almost any other alternative
- even minimum wage jobs.

This doesn't apply if you have a wealthy family and can be assured of a job
with dad's company or other connections - but for a blue collar kid university
is not a good route to fortune in the UK.

The level of effort required and the wages are simply not commensurate and
everybody who thinks so is delusional because they're not comparing and
contrasting the effort with other options. The stats are all skewed by
confounding factors like half your class will be going to work for Goldman
Sachs.

Modern universities are a way of manufacturing poor people with stunted
ambitions, not upward social mobility.

