10 Success Perspectives for Your Twenties

Set yourself up for successYour twenties are the years where

you have these three things together.

Energy, time and freedom.“I wish I knew that earlier,” are words we often hear. These tips

stem from my own personal experiences over the past two years

in hopes to help other people in their youth realize their potential

earlier.

1. Education vs Experiences

Place a balance between these two. Flocks of young people today are disregarding the value

of a degree, while we also have herds of university students having little creativity and

ambition to their futures.

It is far too easy for the younger generation to jump on the bandwagon in the debate between

university and and practical experiences. Always remember that you don’t have to pick a side. The entrepreneurs may be vocal about the uselessness of the current model of universities,

but the existing system, in most cases, still demands a higher education or degree.

Always ask yourself this question: “How is what I’m doing now going to be relevant to my

future.”

Everyone has different life paths — don’t do something because somebody else is doing it. Find what speaks to your heart and soul. Your

intuition is important.

For your own sake, be strategic in your decisions. Do not generalize with trends. There

is value in anything if you can understand it. Don’t confuse university with education.

University is a platform for education, but does not guarantee it unless you truly open yourself

up to its resources.

Startups aren’t for everyone. Neither is university. Find what platform works for you. Find synergy in practical versus theory. Never place all your cards in one place. You need a

fail-safe.

I believe that school was designed to help make us a better human beings by enabling us dive deeper into subjects that we would probably

never think about on our own.

Only you know what is truly best for yourself. Find that from within.

2. Time & Energy

By the time you reach your thirties — you may realize that you have done completely nothing

remarkable. Make your twenties super productive. You have the time, energy and spirit to pursue the crazy, while typically the seniors

have all the money but no energy. What an ironic concept!

Your twenties are a critical part of your life because you have the chance to discover and take risks. It’s a time when people are more

willing to hear you out. Your failures are more of learning lessons than a life crisis. Take

chances and dive deep.

Think: “Why are we so amazed by these teens changing the world?” It’s because they are way

beyond their usual levels of maturity. Expectations are powerful. Use this to your

advantage.

Our human energy and capacity is much like a fuel tank. You can only do and go so far in 24

hours. Find things that maximize your value and efforts. An intersection of both is the golden key. There is no other time in life where you

will be able to take such bold risks and explore.

Our limited resources as youth help spur creative innovation.

Self reflection and introspection can be just as powerful as your proactive actions. This is what

we call in AIESEC the “inner leadership journey.” This inner journey most often consists

of “life lessons” as a result of a challenging experience that either teaches you a lesson over

time.

Maturing and growing up is just as important as mastery of technical skills.

Time is your greatest teacher and most valuable currency

3. Positive Mindset

Opportunities don’t arise when you kill things before they even have the chance to flourish. Have you told yourself no before you even

tried? We all do it too often, “no.. I don’t think I’m capable.” Try first.

Whether you’re a junior still learning the ropes or in a leadership position leading an entire

organization, we all need a positive mindset to make the most out of what we’ve got and

flourish during the hardships.

View everything as a learning experience that only further strengthens your character. You win in every situation if you believe you can

learn from it. Failure is often one of the greatest ways to gain wisdom.

By being positive, you open up more doors for yourself. Believe in yourself because you’re capable of far more things than you realize.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond

measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.Nelson Mandela

4. Challenge Yourself

There is no better time to take risks. Fail fast, fail hard and recover smart.

It isn’t necessary to be absolutely perfect and prepared. Sometimes the best things in life are

things of spontaneity. Most of the time, the things you believe you are incapable of are

simply mental barriers. They’re barriers that inhibit your ability to say “YES” and take a risk. We often shut ourselves down before we even

get the chance to try.

I would have no way in hell have my job if I believed that I wasn’t capable. I thought to

myself, why not. What’s the worst that could happen. You always win if you try.

Entrepreneurs often say the same thing: “I honestly didn’t know everything, I just faked it till I made it.” This could not hold more truth in

Seek to step out of your comfort zone frequently. Don’t stay comfortable or you’ll

never get to grow to the person you were truly meant to be. Find a place that maximizes your potential for the future. Think long-term and

don’t be blindsided by small victories or losses.

Don’t shoot yourself down before it even happens. Grow and take risks.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

Discover.”Mark Twain

5. Embrace Diversity

Surround yourself with people who are experts in their fields, mentors, and people who are also

younger in experience. Much like a GPS, it requires multiple satellites to provide different angles of information. By having benchmarks

on both sides of the spectrum, it will enable you to have more precision on where you are in life.

Much like a seesaw, you’ll be able to gain from both ends. By teaching the person with less experience, you are further solidifying your

knowledge and nothing is more rewarding than helping others grow. While being mentored by

the experts, you are growing beyond your traditional borders. The person next to you will

always know something you don’t know.

Diversity is powerful. It breaks down tunnel vision that all humans suffer from. It is exactly why people need to learn how to work together with different types of people. We all make up

the human puzzle piece.

6. Smile

It enables you to become positive and also helps others feel more at ease around you. Smile more because it makes others smile too. Be in a place of happiness and find joy in what you do. Smile because things will be tough, and often times,

nobody else will be there for you.

People like happy people and you also live longer. So learn to appreciate life! ☺

“When you smile, others smile. Before you know it, the whole world is smiling with you.”

7. Follow Up

You can meet the most epic person in the world, but if you do not follow up, nothing will come out of it. Always follow up. Always make your messsage relevant and useful. What’s in it for

them? Know the end goal. Meeting someone is 1/4 of the work. Follow up is the rest. It shows

that you don’t just talk to talk, you can also walk the walk.

Don’t be a beggar, build bridges.

Networking is like fishing, you may hook the fish, but if you don’t reel them in, you get

nothing!

8. Be Authentic

If you’re not good at something, don’t pretend to be. Be yourself, because even if there are people out there who don’t like you, they probably aren’t the people you want to be

around. Didn’t get the job even though you were qualified? Most likely it was a mismatch on

culture. You wouldn’t be happy there anyways.

Find things that truly enable you to flourish and be your full self. You’ll perform better and even

be happier.

People like real people. Find a space and place where you are 110% you. Nothing less. Never

compromise on who you are because that’s your identity.

9. Everything will be okay.

Everyone has their time and place.

Think of Lady Gaga vs Susan Boyle — everyone has their different time and places to shine.

Gaga is in her 20's, Susan in her 50's, everyone has different lives and purpose in life. Success

comes at different stages of life and for different reasons.

We’re all born different people and we need to be okay with ourselves. Don’t feel like you need

to know everything, cause nobody does. Find your time and place. We all have our own story.

GEN Y certainly suffers from some sort of anxiety. There is a lot of pressure on our

generation to be the best they can be and get their shit going. It’s CRAZY. And sometimes

they drive themselves into the ground forgetting about their own well-being.

10. Have Fun and Passion

Think about it. We live generally into our 80's. It isn’t a lot of time. Life needs to be lived enjoyable and minor on regrets. Find your passion and purpose. What you choose to

dedicate your life to should resonate with you and empower you.

You’ll also want to document your life. Not like a documentary, but to make memories. Looking back in your life is an excellent way to reflect and realize how far you have come. Nothing is more precious than being able to look back in

time and say.. “wow.”

Don’t take life too seriously, because we’re at our best when we’re having the time of our

lives.

“Be silly, laugh, embrace relationships, because life is best enjoyed smiling.”