Living in your early twenties is fun.
…A lot of fun.
From 18 to 25 you’re constantly moving around, meeting new people, and testing the waters as a newly independent adult.
It’s honestly a pretty sweet gig.
The downside, of which we are all obtusely aware, is jobs are currently at an all-time low.
College grads are returning home to live with mom and pop, towing a mountainous pile of dirty laundry and clutching a fancy looking piece of paper but no salary to speak of.
It’s a sad sight and, quite frankly, I’ve had enough of it.
Rather than complain, though, I’m going to offer a solution. To help put an end to this ridiculousness (yea, it’s a word), I’m going to give you a detailed overview of the top 13 ways to succeed by 25 years old.
Take it or leave it, the tips provided below will help you make more money, have more fun, and live the independent lifestyle you’ve always wanted.
Never Minimal. Never Maximal. Always Optimal.
-J
PS want to start your own reputable and lucrative online personal training business?START HERE.
1. Define Success in Your Terms
“Success” – and whatever it constitutes – is a subjective term that represents something different to each individual.
While some people equate success to a large annual income, others might view it as an overall state of happiness, the ability to remain in good health, having a secure and loving family, the freedom to travel the world, or any number of other possibilities.
The important thing to remember is that there isn’t a single “right” or “wrong” definition of success. Rather, all definitions are equally valid as each and every person has different needs, goals, and preferences.
That being said, it is absolutely necessary to define YOUR version of success.
Why?
Without a concrete definition of success you’ll have zero clue what you’re trying to achieve. Without knowing what you’re trying to achieve you can’t possibly create a plan. And, well, without a plan…you’ve got nothing.
This doesn’t mean you need to know exactly what you want to do in 10, 5, or even 3 years down the road. Rather, it just means you need to have a solid understanding of your core values, what type of lifestyle you want to live, and how hard you’re willing to work to make that happen.
As a brief example, at 19 years old I knew upon graduating college I wanted my online business to be successful to the point where I could travel at my own expense while working solely from my lap top.
What have I done?
Exactly that.
I now make more than enough money solely through my online business to the point where I can travel the world at my leisure.
So what’s your next step?
Define Success in YOUR Terms!
Take 20-minutes out of your day (trust me, it’s worth the time) to physically write your personal definition of success. You can do it on a word document, scrap piece of paper…hell, you can even carve it into a cave wall. Just write it clearly, honestly, and as specifically as possible.
2. Quit Giving a Shit about What Other People Think
There will always be haters.
Always.
The sad reality is people who hate on you for working hard to achieve your goals are jealous. More importantly, they’re embarrassed that they lack the motivation to put in the work to do what it takes to succeed.
The most important thing to remember is their hate is a reflection of their own insecurities…NOT of your knowledge, character, or quality of work.
Don’t let the hate bother you; it’s not worth your time or energy.
Embrace the hate. Love the hate. Thrive on the hate. Use it to fuel your motivational fire and achieve even greater levels of success.
3.Stop Worrying about Your Grades – They’re Meaningless
I’m going to get a lot of hate for this one but, taking the above point into consideration, I don’t really care.
Grades are worthless and mean absolutely nothing outside of the bubble known as our educational system.
All through University I witnessed fellow students stressing over their GPA’s to such an extreme that many developed legitimate anxiety disorders. Maintaining a high level of academic performance – as represented by a letter grade – was made out to be a severe cause for concern that, if not upheld, would lead to a life of despair, poverty, and subsisting off of food stamps.
I call bull shit.
From my University experience, grades represent a student’s level of proficiency in memorization and regurgitation of [often outdated] information.
I’d note, there’s nothing wrong with working hard to perform well in school; I’d be a fool to say or think otherwise.
However, issues arise when the main focus switches from high level learning to getting good grades for the sake of getting good grades.
My points being:
- Learning doesn’t only take place in a typical educational setting. If you truly want to learn you will continue to learn throughout your entire life. You will continue to read, research, and stay up-to-date with the latest information regardless of your GPA. Learning doesn’t end with school…it begins there.
- Apart from Doctors, Lawyers, and others progressing to higher levels of education, grades are meaningless. Rarely will you ever need to submit your GPA in a job interview because employers don’t care about your grades; they care about who you know, what you know, and the value you can bring to their company. It’s not as glamorous as magna cum laude but it’s the truth.
- You don’t need good grades to be successful. Hell, you don’t even need to go to college to be successful! The idea that higher education is necessary to live a happy and prosperous life is quickly going by the wayside. With the advent of the internet, tons of new and exciting opportunities are now available for everyone so long as they’re willing to put in the requisite amount of time and effort.
Taking the above into consideration, how can you show employers that you’re the prime candidate for their job opening?
Take a gander at #4 to find out….
4. Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”
Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, is a genius.
In this short book he utilizes his extraordinary gift of storytelling to teach you exactly how to get what you want in this world.
[Spoiler Alert] – It isn’t by cramming for an exam to get a good grade and boost your GPA. It’s about developing simple, basic, and effective skill sets that offer value and display competence – as well as compassion – in our ego-driven world.
If you truly want the best chance of succeeding by 25 then do yourself a favor and read this book. It can be finished in a single weekend and will drastically enhance your knowledge of how to work the system to get exactly what you want.
5. Realize there’s No Such Thing as an Overnight Success
It doesn’t exist.
What may look like an overnight success to the public was likely built on years of learning, preparation, and practice.
Sure, there are a few ridiculous YouTube videos that go viral and push someone to inexplicable stardom…but those successes are few and far between.
If you truly want to succeed then prepare for the long haul because, odds are, it’s going to take a while.
6. Get Up Early
The most successful people work a lot.
Like a lot, a lot.
While they may seem superhuman in that they can accomplish more in a single day than you can in an entire week, odds are they’re doing something that most people aren’t even willing to consider.
Their secret?
They Get Up Early.
By the time most of the world has woken up and made a pot of coffee , they’ve already been up and working for several hours.
Consider this…
During my time in University I woke up at 5:30am every day, Monday through Friday.
Assuming the average college student wakes up and begins work by 8:30am (which we all know is ludicrous), I logged 3 extra work hours each day.
It may not seem like much, but after a single school year I logged 780 more work hours simply by waking up a few hours earlier on a consistent basis.
Want to be more productive?
Get up early.
7. Think Twice Before Getting Romantically Involved
I used to be anti-relationships.
I figured they were all ticking time bombs, doomed to blow at any moment, with the fears of breaking societal norms and being alone delaying the inevitable explosion of a breakup.
Then, when I least expected it, I fell in love and my views on relationships changed.
For a long while I dated a beautiful girl whom I cared about more than words can describe. She was kind, smart, caring, and arguably the most selfless person I’ve ever met.
She was quite the package.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out.
See, at 22 years old I was attending University as a full time student while simultaneously working full time on building my business.
Needless to say, I didn’t have copious amounts of free time (or money) to spend with her which eventually became major issues in our relationship. She, like most people, wanted to spend a great deal of time with her significant other but, at that point in my life, I wasn’t able to meet her needs.
Eventually, we broke up and went our separate ways.
Looking back, I don’t regret starting that relationship as it gave me invaluable perspectives on life and love. However, I now understand that in order to succeed (at least by my current definition of the word) I need to work… a lot.
I have very specific goals and a planned timeline by which I need to achieve them. Currently, until I hit 25, a majority of my goals revolve around developing my business into a self-sufficient and reputable name in the fitness industry.
Getting involved in a romantic relationship is not as high on my priority list.
That doesn’t mean I’d say no if the right gal came along, but I’m not about to go chasing something that isn’t as high on my priority list simply because society says it’s the “right” thing to do.
So what does this mean for you?
Establish what YOU want in life and go after it with everything you’ve got!
If success means building a successful business from the ground up then starting a serious relationship might not be in your current best interest. Not because relationships bring you down, but because developing a strong relationship requires a great deal of time and effort which you may not be willing or able to juggle.
On the other hand, if your definition of success involves finding a significant other and starting a serious relationship, by all means go for it. If that’s what is most important to you then odds are you’ll set aside the time and do what’s necessary to make a relationship work.
Regardless of what you choose, take the time establish what’s most important to you. So long as you understand what you truly want to achieve, you’ll be far more successful in making the best choices to attain your individual goals.
8. Recognize These are NOT the Best Years of Your Life
The notion that there is a specific and limited period of time that constitutes the best years of life is extraordinarily self-limiting.
What happens after those “best” years?
Are you just supposed to accept that life will never be as good as it once was?
Hell no! What a horrible existence….
Life is what you make it right NOW!
If you decide 20-25 will be the best years of your life then you’re destined to be unhappy.
On the other hand, if you decide that each and every moment, regardless of your age, is the best time of your life then you’ll live happier than most people ever dream of.
The good news is the choice is yours. You get to choose the way you view life and how you’re going to live it.
It won’t always be easy – nothing worth having ever is – but it will definitely be worth the fight.
9. Disassociate Your Beliefs from Your Sense of Self
There will be [many] instances in your lifetime when you will be wrong.
Accept it.
Too often we associate our beliefs with our sense of self and subsequently have trouble admitting faults or errors.
Take for example, the group of people who adamantly claim low-carb diets are the only effective way to lose and maintain weight loss in the long-term.
Despite the surplus of evidence disproving their arguments, dogmatic low-carbers continually fail to accept that their belief is (or even could be) incorrect.
There are a variety of reasons for this blatant disregard of logical reasoning but the most common tends to be a [subconscious] fear of being wrong as their beliefs are so closely intertwined with their sense of self.
If you truly want to be successful then you must learn to disassociate your sense of self from your beliefs.
You are not what you believe.
You are a human and, consequently, are inclined to make mistakes.
To capitalize and grow from these mistakes it is necessary to acknowledge them fully and then proceed to educate yourself further.
It’s easier said than done but, in doing so, you will open yourself to an incomprehensible amount of new opportunities that will help you grow in all aspects of life.
10. Take Care of Your Body
“To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
– Buddah
Success doesn’t only come in the form of a large salary; success also manifests itself as happiness, health, and a high quality of living.
Interestingly, each of those things can be improved by taking care of your body with regular exercise and a healthy diet.
While there are a variety of ways to go about exercising and eating well, I’ve created two resources specifically designed to teach you everything you need to know in order to design an effective strength training and nutritional regimen.
First, my FREE 45-minute seminar entitled The Beginners Guide to Strength Training is the ultimate strength training resource. Regardless of whether you’re trying to lean out, tone up, or pack on muscle, this seminar debunks numerous myths and teaches you exactly how to achieve your goals.
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11. Introduce Yourself to Coffee…Your New Best Friend
Contrary to popular belief, coffee actually provides numerous health benefits.
From cancer prevention, to enhanced athletic performance, to improved body composition…coffee is pretty much success in a mug.
Success in a mug…that’s pretty catchy, huh?
Obviously you don’t need to drink coffee in order to be successful but, off the record, you need to drink coffee to be successful.
Kidding, obviously.
But seriously…I love coffee.
12. Don’t Feel Like You Need to Go Out and Get Wasted…You Don’t!
One of the most destructive norms in our society is the acceptance – or more precisely, the encouragement of young adults going out to get trashed on a consistent basis.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against drinking, partying, or having a good time.
I do, however, have a problem when individuals – who would truthfully prefer to stay in and work – feel obligated to go out and get wasted because society says that’s what “young people are supposed to do.”
Interestingly, during my time spent in University I found a majority of students only went out and got drunk because they felt like it was required to fit in.
Isn’t that crazy?!
How different would college be if students actually felt comfortable enough do what they wanted without the fear of being mocked or ridiculed for not living up to their “responsibility” to get shit housed?
From now on, understand that you are not obligated to go out and get wasted!
If you want to stay in and do work on a Friday night…that’s totally fine! In fact, if you speak to most people who consider themselves successful, I have a feeling many of them will tell you they did the exact same thing.
Granted, you’re always going to have someone saying you’re a work-a-holic and that you need to let loose. When that happens just recognize that they’re hating because of their own insecurities and proceed to ignore them.
If staying in and getting work done is what you truly want to do… do it! Remember, there are always going to be haters so, when they come around, just keep doing what’s right for you. Sooner or later it’ll pay off big time.
13. What are You Waiting For? Start NOW!
“I’m going to wait until I’m done with school.”
“I’m going to wait until I get a job.”
“I’m going to wait until I finish paying off my loans.”
God, I can’t stand the whole “I’m going to wait until…” mumbo jumbo.
Don’t you get it?
There’s No Better Time Than Right NOW!
Every day that goes by to the tune of “I’m going to wait until…” is another day you’ll never get back.
If you have an idea and want to do something then sit down, shut-up, and get to work…
NOW!
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