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Entrepreneur James Altucher is an extraordinary person. He worked as a programmer and journalist, trader and investor, created two dozen companies and Internet projects, wrote and published 17 books. Today, he shares his thoughts on how life works on podcasts and blogs. We publish one of his posts.
20 years
My 20s were an absolute nightmare. In fact, everything should have pleased me: I was finally free — no parents, no teachers. I could undress in front of other people, with their permission, of course. I could find a job, make all my dreams come true. But nothing worked out, because at the age of 20 no one really knows how to do anything.
Too late, I realized how useless four years of college had been. I even lost money: I paid for my studies, but I didn’t earn anything and didn’t learn anything. In any case, the knowledge gained did not help me find a job.
In addition, at the age of 20, I was in a hurry — I wanted to become successful as soon as possible and find a life’s work.
Someone told me: «Time is money.» So every missed opportunity has a price. This formula is often repeated in economics classes. I often skipped them, but I know for sure that time is not money. Money can be spent and earned. Time cannot be earned or bought. There is no time vending machine that will give you a few more hours in exchange for five dollars.
At 20, I knew nothing, but I thought I knew everything. But it normal. At the age of 20, I chose a few classes and repeated them every day, because I thought that I was good at it. I wrote and programmed. I was not good at any of these things, but gradually they began to turn out better for me, because I did them constantly.
Advice for 20 year olds
Pick three to five activities and focus on them. Choose only what you are ready to do every day again and again. Don’t wait for a revelation or a breakthrough. Just do it. I would have done it myself, only I had no one to tell me.
30 years
This is also a complete nightmare. The idea of buying your own home is as big a scam as college. Both are legal ways to get you into debt and work. The lending industry zombifies with phrases like «Real estate is a smart investment» or «It’s time to put down roots.»
Mortgage ties you to one place, takes all the money and can drive you to suicide
I’m tired of doing the same thing day after day. All the time I felt that I “almost achieved something”, “on the right track” and “we need to be patient a little more”. And then I gave up. At thirty I learned to lose. At 20, I couldn’t lose. Everyone around was too «stupid», and I just missed one more try and one more.
But at 30, I realized that I underestimated those around me. I learned that the people around me are just as good as me, I realized that you can’t find one thing for a lifetime. You will have to pursue several goals at once, to do what pleases not only you, but also those around you.
Advice for 30 year olds
If you hang out with the right people and work on worthwhile projects, sooner or later one of them will pop. Or, if you’re lucky, two.
40 years
This is a living hell. First, you can no longer eat and experience stress. Food and stress lead to aging of the body. But, of course, you need to eat, but only half of what you are used to. And you will experience stress. But you will need to deal with him, otherwise he will kill you.
To eat less and be less nervous, you need to do what you love. Then you don’t have to stress. Another way to worry less is to stop accumulating unnecessary things around you.
In my 20s and 30s, I constantly made mistakes in relationships, parenting, running a business, just about everything.
And he was terribly worried about it. But now I don’t care, I don’t care anymore. Admitting mistakes is better than constantly worrying about them.
Advice for 40 year olds
At 20, you feel like you know what you’re doing. At 30, you just want to make more money. At 40, do what you love. To find such an activity, remember what you loved at 20, and dedicate yourself to it. Just don’t expect too much.
50 years
The woman brought her son to Gandhi and asked: «Gandhi, tell him to stop eating sweets.» Gandhi replied, «Come back in two weeks.» The woman and her son went home hundreds of kilometers away. Two weeks later they again came to Gandhi. And he said to the boy: «Stop eating sweets.» The woman asked, “Gandhi, why did you make us go back and forth? Why didn’t you say it the first time?»
Gandhi replied, «Before I told your son to stop eating sweets, I had to stop eating sweets myself.»
Advice for 50 year olds
But I don’t know anything about this age. Come back in a couple of years.