To keep the introduction short, let’s go straight to the things I think young people should know and accept at 20. See also: 40 hard truths about life you need to hear, even if you don’t want to.
What should young people know and accept at 20?
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You’ve been told you belong to the best-prepared generation ever. Don’t believe it: you probably have plenty of theory you’ve already forgotten and no real preparation. Most companies will ask for real experience, and you won’t be able to get experience if they won’t hire you for lack of experience. Break that cycle as soon as you can.
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The statistics are against you. 80% of people will fail or won’t reach the life they dreamed of. So look around you. If you’re doing the same as the vast majority, you’re part of the less favourable statistic.
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If you studied law and find yourself working at a McDonald’s, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re not a lawyer but a McDonald’s counter worker who studied law. If you don’t lose sight of that detail, maybe one day you’ll be a lawyer who once worked at a McDonald’s.
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There’s nothing dishonourable about working in undervalued jobs that have nothing to do with your degree. Those jobs provide financial fuel in times of need, and experience you can bring to the table in the future. There’s nothing wrong with it, as long as you don’t settle into a life that isn’t the one you dreamed of. The only way to lead the people at the bottom properly is to have grown up alongside them. And that’s a competitive advantage over those who were raised among the people at the top.
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Never show off what you have, whether it’s qualifications or material possessions. Show what you can do with what you have, because very often what you have is inversely proportional to what you can do.
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We all like praise and hate criticism. The problem is that praise pleases us, while constructive criticism helps us grow. Always try to work under the most critical boss, not the “nicest” one. You’ll become a better professional.
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There are three ways to get ahead in a company: 1. Performing sexual favours. 2. Kissing ass. 3. Working hard and being competent. While I have nothing against practices 1 and 2 when it comes to intimate relationships, the truth is that they can open doors in the short term, but in the long run they’re always overtaken by the person who relies on their own merits, earned through effort and hard work.
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Sales skills help you get ahead in any job or business. We’re all salespeople, whatever our job. Every sale starts with selling ourselves, and there are always potential buyers. (Read: 15 habits of successful salespeople)
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Financial education is one of the most important subjects in life, and one you were never taught at university. Learn it on your own, because it’s one of those things you only realise you needed right after doing something you’ll come to regret.
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Always read the small print in contracts. It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking out a loan or renting a flat. The small print comes “in small print” because if people read it all, in a high percentage of cases they wouldn’t sign.
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Don’t ignore some people’s advice because they lack qualifications or money. It was 80-year-olds with no university degree who said the economy would take a nosedive years before the crisis hit. It wasn’t the economists. Sometimes too much confidence and training cancels out your common sense, and common sense is an asset that’s hard to find these days.
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Don’t blindly follow the advice of successful people. Bear in mind that what worked for them probably won’t work for you. Dedication, enthusiasm, persistence and hard work: that works for everyone.
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It’s very easy to get excited and think we’ve joined the upward line of success when we start earning money from what we set out to do. That’s the time to save and prepare for when bad times come. Bad times almost always come. Remember that success isn’t linear. (Read: 16 hard things we’ll have to do to achieve success)
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Always treat everyone with respect, however far up the ladder you’ve already climbed. You don’t have to like someone to treat them with respect. There’s never any room for rudeness. From the waiter and the cleaner to the owner of Inditex (the group behind Zara), everyone deserves the same courtesy and respect. If you make distinctions here, you become someone who measures people only by the size of their wallet.
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Never be too busy to send thank-you letters, pick up the phone to say thanks, or publicly acknowledge someone’s honourable act. It will make you a better person and an even better professional.
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At 20, there’s only one kind of failure. It’s called inaction. Everything else is trying, failing and learning.
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Avoid building circles of friends and professional contacts where you’re always the smartest person, because while it feeds your ego, your growth is over. Avoid being the smartest person in the room and look for a place or circle where you’re the least clever, so you can keep learning.
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Build habits. They’ll be hard at first, but over time they’ll become part of you. (Read: 15 habits for success)
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At first, to avoid falling into inaction and as a path to success, it’s a good idea to say YES to almost everything (yes to new projects, yes to new opportunities, yes to meeting people). Later, the secret is to say NO to many things (no to distractions, no to unnecessary risks, no to wasting time with certain people…). (Read: 7 things the world’s most successful people have in common)
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Life is short, and you might not be in this world two weeks from now. So you have to enjoy yourself and be happy every day. Don’t stake your happiness on the chance of reaching a goal. Be happy and enjoy the process while you fight for that goal. Remember that happiness isn’t a destination but the road to reaching that destination.
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Many people have wasted their lives, whether through ignorance or bad decisions. Learn from them and don’t criticise them too much. You could become one of them at any moment.
Featured image: Baim Hanif baim, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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