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The one thing all you folks have not addressed is the difference in people. Are you a type A or B ? What is your creative interests and skills, your mental capacity( some are gifted). Its these things that will influence your path through life. All this mumbo jombo talk I here on these threads may or may not work for that 20 year old, or that 60 year old as well. We all like to toot our horn from time to time, even more so we we are retired it seems.
My observations seem to follow right in line with ones ability to be creative, and , these days takes money. Are you supposed to just stop at retirement ? I do not think so. I have tried it and have been very unhappy the last 6 years that I have been retired. It all revolves around money, the lack there of.When I was working full time, I came up with ideas, projects, experiences, ...things I wanted to do. it took money and time. It was not all that difficult, I just worked harder, longer, and than I could spend more. simple. You can not take these inherent things away from anyone, and not all of us are that sharp to turn straw into gold ether..... We are what we are, nothing ever changes, things just get magnified as we go through life.
I would have spent a one half a day a month thinking about what was going on in the world, markets, inventions,social changes, cultures and educations. Then I would spend the remainder of the day thinking about how these trends, inventions,etc. would change our lives and create financial opportunities for those interested. Occasionally I did stop work and look up at others in the community. All seemed to be focused on the task at hand. Little focus or view into the next day.
I would say something that my father told me and has stood me well. There are two ways to learn ;the hardway by making mistakes or the easy way by listening to other that have lived longer maybe making the mistake. Even then you will make mistakes but move on to solving the problem created knowing that some mistakes are just part of life.I basically found that setting goals in life is important altho life can throw some things in the way.Most can be overcome;others you have no control over.You solve them best you can.Do not underestimate the value of making true friends; good family in both your life and theirs.
The challenge is, would I have listened to my older self. At 20 years old, I would not have listened and I am pretty confident that I would have said "calm down old man, you worry too much." With that said, I would not say anything. I am very stubborn and was even more stubborn than today's version.
If I could go back to the 1960s and 1970s and give the advice, I'd say "Look at the reasonable, practical, responsible, admirable thing to do for a living--then realize if you follow that path you'll have both NO quality of life, AND no financial security."
My husband and I both had Depression era parents who pounded into us to get an education, get a job, and save and don't buy it unless you have cash. We pretty much stuck to it. It worked for us.
I wish we had been told to be less serious at a younger age... and to have more time for ourselves every once in a while.
But, basically, the advice we got worked and in our late 40s, we told our daughters (now 34 and 32) to :
-finish their education
-get a job
-start saving whatever they could and not spend all their money
-that we were not the ATM machine
and
-to enjoy life, based on what it handed them and make time for themselves when they could
One did and has her house & car (both paid for) and a good job and great friends and lots of fun with minimal monetary outlay due to her common sense decision to enjoy things which don't cost and arm and a leg.... but the other has strayed from that common sense mold in which she was raised and is always broke (evidently, she just tuned into the "enjoy life" part). She has multiple jobs, no savings, nothing owned, (and the same education as her sister). But .....she has fun, fun, fun....
At 20, you aren't neccesarily going to LISTEN to what anyone tells you. So, down the road, if you regret that you didn't listen, figure out not WHAT you should have listened to but WHY you didn't.
I was given this advice at about 22, and I will always remember it because it changed the way I treated people - keep people that love you close to you- even if they live far away - even if they annoy you sometimes - keep them close because you won't find that many people that truly love and care for you throughout your life. Keep that in mind. I'm grateful I realized this at a young age because I did make more of an effort to keep people in my life, especially older people who I didn't think were cool in my twenties. Some of these connections have gotten me jobs or helped me when I've been in difficult situations.
OMG You're a baby. Go out there act crazy. Do age appropriate things lest you regret missing that stage when you're old and it's to late. You can't avoid mistakes and only you can live your life. Just try to think about what you're doing and the consequences involved, and remember you do have two heads thinking for you at that age. Try to listen to the smarter one! Life is a wonderful adventure. Go live it to the fullest.
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No wonder
