Last week was my birthday. Around every time this year, I take a look at my life and take somewhat of an inventory of where I have been, where I want to go and how I am going to get there with the knowledge I have learned from the past. I guess you could call it my personal fiscal year for lack of a better word.
But, this year hit me a little bit differently. I turned 30.
While it is just another year just like any other, I think it is natural to use the ages that end in 0 to look at the past decade to see how things have gone. I have always operated under the assumption that we can not get better without learning from our mistakes, so I tend to look at what I have done wrong more closely than the successes.
Then I started thinking, if I could grab a hold of the 20 year old me…what would I say? Well…here is exactly what I would say to the 20 year old Robb Sutton.
Top 10 Things I Wish I Could Tell Myself 10 Years Ago
- Hang out with people that make you want to be better.
- Get busy doing something. The world is full of grand ideas with no action and you learn the most from doing.
- Place importance on things that really matter. You will come up against a moment when you would sell off everything you previously thought was important for something that really is.
- One day, it will occur to you that your parents are people too.
- Think of life in the context of how you want to live…not how much money you want to make.
- These are not the “best years of your life”. Life is really just beginning.
- Collect experiences. Not stuff.
- Time will start to move faster…not slow down. Enjoy each moment.
- Take calculated risks when there can be a positive outcome…not ones that get you in nothing but trouble.
- Drop the ego. You haven’t done anything yet.
The best thing about this list is that all of them are things that I need to continue to remember over the next 30 years and I am stoked about what is ahead.
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