Post: #26

Find a mentor, either at work or in your personal life? maybe a friend of the the family who is older but has it all together. Upper level manager.

My dad was a great mentor to me, successful, very educated and a good guy. Though his biggest piece of advice I didn't follow.

Getting married, his advice NO!!!!!!!



A good friend of mine is a high level vice president and listening to how he approaches life and has approached like has been eye opening.

Find a good mentor and not one just to better get pussy LOL

Post: #27

A mentor would be nice, but I've never met an older person who I respected or admired.

Post: #28

(09-06-2014 02:55 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  .

If I could give the greatest piece of advice based on my own experience about one thing every man should do in his 20's, is travel abroad solo. For me it has been a life changing experience and one of the best forms of self development there is.

I'd like to chime in on this one.
I agree, going solo out in the world for a year or longer is something you will learn a lot from.
But be prepared that you are in for a big game changer. Uncomfortable truths may be discovered about yourself.

It's almost like in the Matrix when he is taking the pill. There is no turning back and things will never be the same. Usually for the better side.
You will have so many new different experiences under such a short time so you might end up confused. These things affects you more than you are ready to admit.

I'm speaking for myself and I didn't see it at the time, but looking back now I see I came back from my long trip as a confused sheep.


What happened to me?
I adopted a nomadic character. I get restless fast now and I always want to change place. This is something I necessarly don't like. It's hard to get adapted.

I became a minimalist. When you are travelling longtiime you will realise how little things you really need.

I became less happier with some stuff, ONLY for that reason that I'm much harder to be satisfied these days. I had so many awesome moments so it's not easy to enjoy the small little things like I used to.

However I HIGHLY recommend everyone who feel an urge to discover the world to go! I can't imagine any better form of self development.
But be prepared, it's exactly like in Mstrix when he is swallowing the pill.

Just my two cents.

Post: #29

Things to achieve before 30???

Having a lot of money would be nice.
Happiness and peace of mind are probably just as important.

A skill or knowledge base that you can be paid for is nice.
Knowing what you want and how you will get it is also important.

As strong and healthy body is awesome.
A strong and healthy mind is just as important, if not more.

Sex is nice.
But, my sex life was better in my 30s than my 20s.

What should you achieve before 30?

Whatever the fuck you want to achieve!

Just achieve something!

Try to become great at something! Something healthy and productive, ideally!

As other intelligent posters have noted, the most important thing is to avoid major catastrophes.

(09-06-2014 02:00 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  To me, having a well-rounded intellect is worth more than any amount of money.

I respect your position.

But, I respectfully disagree with it.

I think money is much more important than having a "well rounded intellect".

You mentioned:

Quote:the Peloponnesian War, or astronomy, ....., the behavior of insects, the primary grapes used to make Bordeaux and Burgundy, an appreciation for Art Deco architecture, and on and on.

I can "Google" any of these topics and get a basic understanding of them.

Money, I can not get so easily.

Information is easy to come by, nowadays.

Money is harder to get, It takes much more labor to produce money.

That is why I feel that money is more important than a "well rounded intellect".

If you have Google, you have access to much infinite intellectual sources..

But, Google will not allow you to print cash.

I would rather have a billion dollars + Google than be broke and have a "well rounded intellect".

Just my opinion and I present it only as food for thought.

Post: #30

Bumping this. Invaluable to have such a thread on the front page.

Post: #31

I want to be self employed by the time I'm 30.

Other than that, I want to visit 10 different countries, reach an elite amount of strength, and have read over 400 books.

Post: #32

-

This is a good thread. I like these kinds of threads.

My two cents:

LAUNCH A STARTUP/BUSINESS, FAIL FAST AND OFTEN

If you have an entrepreneurial itch and you think you have a good idea, launch your startup idea NOW whether you think you are ready or not.

Experience is nothing more than learning from a series of calculated risks and temporarily setbacks and failures that you can pivot away from towards success.

Launch a business NOW with as little capital as possible. You will learn a lot.

BUILD A GLOBAL NETWORK, DON'T HANG OUT WITH SCRUBS

Build a network while you travel.

I can't emphasize this enough. I didn't travel aimlessly in my twenties - every place I went to, I made sure that I met the alumni of my university there to gain a foothold of trusted influential contacts in the local scene. I also scoured Linkedin for contacts in my industry and randomly messaged them to see if they were willing to meet up with me. More often than not, especially in emerging markets, they were willing to do so.

This has now provided me with an environment in which I can show up to any major city in East Asia, West Europe, and North America and immediately have a base of contacts to hit up whether I just want to hang out or get something from them.

You have 24 hours in each day and you can choose to spend them with scrubs or with people who will push you forward. Choose to spend your time with people who are better or more skilled than you are and it will automatically improve you because it will push you to be better.


BUILD YOUR UNIQUE VALUE ADDS AND ASSETS

Build useful assets that you can use as a value add to others.

As a result of this, whenever I want to get in touch with someone important in the tech startup scene, literary world, media, etc - I can basically just say to them:

"I'm getting in touch for two reasons. First, I'd like to know if you'd like to promote anything of yours across my social media channels. Second, I'd like to set up a time to skype so I can understand how to best help you promote your stuff and also to discuss (whatever I need to discuss)"

It's a no brainer for whoever that person is to get on a call with me.

I've met dozens of important people by using this method. More importantly, once we get off of our initial call, they owe ME a favor instead of the other way around.

I can replicate this strategy infinite times, as long as the people find value in what I'm offering. Sometimes, even if they don't have a need for my particular assets, they find it so refreshing that I am popping in with a value-add, instead of a value-take, that they want to find out more about me anyway.

Important people usually get hit with lots of emails from people who are trying to extract value from them.

When you come forward offering value, you will be amazed at how very busy and important people will bend over backwards to give you their time of day.

I'm not saying you have to do what I did but make sure that you have some sort of leverage instead of just being another value taker. Setting up these assets now will make life a lot easier for you later on.

-

Post: #33

32 myself, spent a year in Asia when I was 29-30. Best experience of my life, and now trying to go to Asia at least twice a year, preferably solo.

So yeah, go out and travel for a while, it's awesome and you learn a lot from it.

Post: #34

Here are some in no particular order.

-Collect 15-20 different flags.
-Master a foreign language.
-Skydiving.
-Have the equivalent of 100,000 US$ invested or ready to invest.
-Own some property in your home base to be rented when abroad.
-Have a passive income stream or FUCK YOU money.
-Develop some kind of artistic skill: writing, dancing, singing, playing an instrument all come to mind.
-Travel on a very tight budget.

Post: #35

100 lays,
100 k
Traveled to 10 countries
Career
Always be pushing self

Post: #36

I think the ultimate goal is to become a Rennaisance man. Well rounded, well versed, skilled and connected. Be a master at life.

- Learn how to do things for yourself, like fixing things, giving yourself a haircut, cooking modest meals
- Hit the gym and eat healthy. Leading into game.. Fornicate with beautiful women however put minimal merit into becoming a player. (Some may disagree... However just working on yourself overall will make you confident and someone people will generally want to know, including girls)
- Read important books and articles related to self development, money etc.
- Plan to "Retire" before 30. If you're like me (19) you can modestly save at least a few hundred thousand by 30. A few hundred thousand doesn't sound like a lot however if your expenses are 2k monthly, 24k yearly. 400k would last you 16 years barring inflation. Read "Early Retirement extreme".
- if you want to earn 100k from your business aim for 250k.
-Don't sell yourself short
- Don't play video games, don't watch porn, and only watch valuable TV and documentaries
-Surround yourself with valuable people, network and cherish those aroundnyou that offer help and consult
-Do not complain about ANYTHING, EVER. You could have been born in a mud hut in Africa and died from intestinal problems. Conversely, always be hungry for more success and never completely satisfied with what you have.
- Understand your emotions

I have more but that's already pretty long...

Post: #37

Can you give us some details on why going solo is the move?

Post: #38

You travel solo because you won't have anything that's familiar to "keep you safe". You rely on yourself for everything and spending time alone, you can understand yourself better.

If you're surrounded by people the noise around you can dictate how your life unfolds. If you turn off the volume and listen to your heart you discover a lot.

Post: #39

A few hundred thousand in the bank will sound great when your 20 / so will the idea of living on 2k a month forever. You will probably by the time you are 30 want more. Remember inflation will take place during your 11 years of saving. I somewhat adhere the ERE model at the model. I bank close to 50% of my gross. For me it seems i'll be between 35 and 40 when I hit a number sufficient for me to contently leave Canada.

Keep in mind at some point you will likely have a kid. Your costs will go up a lot from that single incident alone.

Post: #40

While I'm inspired by Lizard of Oz's post about what NOT to have done by 30, I think there are also some key things that you need to have in your portofolio by your 30th b-day:

1) A job/gig/career. Whatever it is, you should have something that you're dedicated to, that you're good and confident at and get economically compensated for it. It becomes very hard to explain yourself if you're over 30 and still dithering around, unemployed, working at McJobs, living paycheck-to-paycheck. Going back to school or switching fields naturally becomes harder as you get older because of other priorities, and you lose some of the youthful passion/idealism of your 20s. Tap into that stream of idealistic energy in your 20s and channel it into a good career path.

2) A few good friends you plan on keeping. It also gets tougher to make new, genuine friends as you age past you're young teens and twenties, and you can't afford to waste anymore time on temporary/superficial sort-of-friends. So, you need to surround yourself with a few decent, like-minded guys to roll with in your 20s that you can at least still be genuine with beyond 30. We all evolve over time, a few of my best friends from my 20s aren't exactly on the same frequency as me anymore, but we can still connect on some stuff and still look out for one another. I'm even recently meeting new people now in my 30s, but it was a lot easier to socially pipeline and sprout friends when I was a 20-something.

3) Passable Game/Moderate experience with Women. If you are not yet married, you at least need a basic understanding of women/Game and a few positive/confidence-reinforcing experiences with women, whether it's pleasurable encounters, mini-relationships, or an LTR that you can at least look back on with some fondness. During your 20s, do not allow yourself to become stuck in a dateless rut or into terrible, soul-crushing LTR(s). Due to a few key factors, I more or less missed out on Game in my 20s and, though I've made big strides in the past couple years, the early 30s is an awkward age to be learning things I should have learned a decade ago. It's the same uphill battle as guys who are trying to find a career at 30 are probably facing: you've become more realist and have to balance other priorities of the 30s with the self-improvement of learning Game and getting a supply of women into your life, which, similar to point #2, is tougher to do over 30.


To summarize, I think, in addition to the points brought up by Lizard about how to not fuck up your life before 30, you need to spend your twenties getting wild in your young enthusiasm and testing yourself, making a few solid friends, getting into a job/career path, and studying women and having some positive experiences with them.

Post: #41

(01-28-2015 05:18 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  A few hundred thousand in the bank will sound great when your 20 / so will the idea of living on 2k a month forever. You will probably by the time you are 30 want more. Remember inflation will take place during your 11 years of saving. I somewhat adhere the ERE model at the model. I bank close to 50% of my gross. For me it seems i'll be between 35 and 40 when I hit a number sufficient for me to contently leave Canada.

Keep in mind at some point you will likely have a kid. Your costs will go up a lot from that single incident alone.

What I detailed out was basically to me a worst case scenario situation. Simple solution to all of your concerns:

- Earn more money
- Learn how to invest to get enough returns to beat inflation (at the bare minimum)
- Get a vasectomy
- Don't become a consumer whore and buy shit you don't need (ie: expensive cars, jewelry or clothes)... Don't spend more than 10% of your liquid cash on anything unless it will have some sort of long term return or investment value.

There's a lot of people living pretty damn comfortably abroad for 2-3k a month. To me, the lifestyle that budget affords would probably be fine, at least for the next 10 years. Even if you were to do a mini-retirement only for a few years, it'd give you the time to learn and brainstorm while having fun and enjoying life.

Will you be leaving Canada to work abroad or just live off your savings?

Post: #42

(09-08-2014 03:54 AM)Chaos Wrote:  You will have so many new different experiences under such a short time so you might end up confused. These things affects you more than you are ready to admit.

I'm speaking for myself and I didn't see it at the time, but looking back now I see I came back from my long trip as a confused sheep.


What happened to me?
I adopted a nomadic character. I get restless fast now and I always want to change place. This is something I necessarly don't like. It's hard to get adapted.

I became a minimalist. When you are travelling longtiime you will realise how little things you really need.

I became less happier with some stuff, ONLY for that reason that I'm much harder to be satisfied these days. I had so many awesome moments so it's not easy to enjoy the small little things like I used to.

It's nice to know someone else experienced the same phenomenon with solo travel that has plagued me upon returning to a very regimented lifestyle, and to be honest has left me confused and in a haze.. at conflict with two very different perspectives on life.

I travelled for two years, needless to say this has impacted me greatly.. i like to think 'for the better'; perspective-wise - yes. But on the other hand like yourself i get restless very quickly.. i tire of people easily and there's an eternal longing for much more.

The hardest part of all however is noticing just how consumed and wrapped up people become in their little bubble realities of daily life.. and been unable to relate therefore been expelled to the sidelines only to regale in past experience's where you felt connected with people on a global scale and shared idea's rather then petty drama between social circles.

I'm not sure what i want to do right now, hence the confusion. But what i do know is i want to connect with people intent on living a life that serves more then their base desires and collaborate with them on projects that serve a greater means.

(01-30-2015 04:18 PM)TravellingSoldier Wrote:  - Don't become a consumer whore and buy shit you don't need (ie: expensive cars, jewelry or clothes)... Don't spend more than 10% of your liquid cash on anything unless it will have some sort of long term return or investment value.

+1

I wish i had come to understand this when younger, i don't find it surprising AT ALL that there is essentially no financial advice taught in schools for how to manage finance's and save money.. most of us have to learn this on our own will.

Post: #43

(01-30-2015 04:18 PM)TravellingSoldier Wrote:  

(01-28-2015 05:18 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:  A few hundred thousand in the bank will sound great when your 20 / so will the idea of living on 2k a month forever. You will probably by the time you are 30 want more. Remember inflation will take place during your 11 years of saving. I somewhat adhere the ERE model at the model. I bank close to 50% of my gross. For me it seems i'll be between 35 and 40 when I hit a number sufficient for me to contently leave Canada.

Keep in mind at some point you will likely have a kid. Your costs will go up a lot from that single incident alone.

What I detailed out was basically to me a worst case scenario situation. Simple solution to all of your concerns:

- Earn more money
- Learn how to invest to get enough returns to beat inflation (at the bare minimum)
- Get a vasectomy
- Don't become a consumer whore and buy shit you don't need (ie: expensive cars, jewelry or clothes)... Don't spend more than 10% of your liquid cash on anything unless it will have some sort of long term return or investment value.

There's a lot of people living pretty damn comfortably abroad for 2-3k a month. To me, the lifestyle that budget affords would probably be fine, at least for the next 10 years. Even if you were to do a mini-retirement only for a few years, it'd give you the time to learn and brainstorm while having fun and enjoying life.

Will you be leaving Canada to work abroad or just live off your savings?

Living off of dividend / capital. I'm 25. For me to leave I'd need atleast 1.5 million preferably 2+ but I also want to live in Havana when I retire which isn't a cheap retirement destination by any means. I may try to get into consulting there / open a small business but it's not really a place foreigners can run businesses. I have around your goal amount right now. I lived there in the summer while I studied law on about 3k a month. Personally I found it a lot better on the months I spent 4500 or so. It would take 6-7k a month for me to live how I'd like to down there though + own a car...(Cars are 3 times the price there typically) I figure 4-5% a year and with 2 million that gets me 100k. Pay some tax but limited due to Canadian Preferential Dividend and I walk with 85k+. Thats the goal.

Unfortunately, without selling a business or 15 years of investment banking getting to have a net worth of 2 million by 35 requires inheritance / excessive amounts of work or straight up luck / beating the odds. Based on my expected savings / investments I expect to reach 1 million at some point between 30 and 32. Could be faster if my income goes up a lot higher than I expect as being a solo it's a bit more difficult to predict. Personally law school will likely be a negative investment if I retire at 35 simply due to the amount of investments I ate away going. (Around 125k + 3 years of time I could've worked)

If you are going to a place where you can work it's a little easier to retire as your investment requirement drops substantially.

Post: #44

Front page again.

Post: #45

Good thread.

I still have a couple of years ahead of 30 but time seems to be moving faster and faster, so to think of this topic gives me some mild anxiety.

Off the top of my head:
1. Be able to make my own hours and be location independent, moving to a new city every 6 months to 1 year.
2. No need to be filthy rich (although it would be nice) but make at least 3-4x what I need to maintain a comfortable lifestyle (save ~70% of income).
3. Related, have ~US$30k in savings and investments.
4. Reach good levels of strength, fitness and mobility with no big injuries.
5. Get my black belt in BJJ.

In many ways 30 is just getting started so I think this is a good foundation to kick ass during the prime 30-40 years.

Post: #46

I turned 27 this year, and 30 is right on the horizon for me. It will be a pivotal moment in my life, feels like a crossroads for me. Aside from not making stupid mistakes that will fuck up your life e.g. get a chick pregnant, get married, go to jail, and etc. FAILURE has been the most important learning tool for me, and has been a stepping stone for building character.

If it wasn't for my materialistic lifestyle when I bought my first car at age 19 which lead me to buying expensive clothing, cell phones, shoes, and car parts. I would of never truly valued the philosophy of minimalism and be able to incorporate certain elements from a "materialistic" lifestyle when I have disposable income.

If it wasn't for me deciding at age 21 years old I'm going to become a rapper as my professional career, it would of never lead me to writing over 100+ songs, free styling for a group of people/friends, listening to a large amount of instrumentals, and discovering the whole world of music production.

After that, I decided I wanted to become a music producer and make instrumentals for hip hop/rnb. I bought the essential music production equipment and built a home studio setup in my walk in closet in my bedroom. I started to study music and listen to other genre's of music. I learned how hip hop/rnb is actually made, created and put together. I started making beats and composing music which helped to build discipline and a certain level of work ethic. I started using my daily planner and became more ambitious with my pursuits. I got exposed to other genre's of music when I got into sampling and vinyl records. I listened to music I never have before from the 60's/70's like Soul/Rnb/Funk/Jazz/Disco/Classic Rock and etc. I also started to get more into vinyl and purchase stereo receivers and turntables which I would of never done if I never was in music production in the first place. I started to reach out to local artists and other up and coming artists and had them rap over my beats. There was this one group in Atlanta that wanted to make a gospel song for on one of my beats and actually one a gospel music "competition" and got to perform that song on stage infront of crowd of 500+. I also attended beat battle competitions and went to music producer conferences where I met 9th wonder, and Just Blaze. I had a chance to have a conversation with Just Blaze who is one of the top 10 greatest hip hop music producers of all times.

Around this time I also had friends some of them were on a bohemian groove vibe which introduced me into "spirituality". I learned about metaphysics, Buddhism, and casually got more into meditation. I had experiences I never had when I started meditating, which also got me more curious about enlightenment and self actualization. I got more into new age spirituality with popular speakers like Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer. One of my Mexican friends who was also into music production got me deeper since he was paying people to teach him metaphysics. He got me into this weird cult called the "13th sun cult" , this 13th sun guy on youtube preached about nature, loving yourself, and was a Afrocentric conspiracy nutjob. This also lead to getting deeper into metaphysics with certain popular youtubers like Teal Swan, Infinite Waters, and Phil Valentine. I learned a lot about metaphysics and our relationship with the universe. I started to make a lot of intuitive decisions and my intuition from that put on has been guiding me ever since. A lot of paranormal strange coincidences, and even some supernatural experiences ive encountered. I'm not going to debate this whether it exists or not, so ill just leave it at that. Well long story short I kept following this path and thought I would meet my soulmate, my business I just left on the side would boom, blahblahblah. I ended up facing the real "spiritual truths", and ended up on a completely different course. I was also experimenting with a lot of different diets such as vegetarianism, veganism, raw food diet and etc. I bought a vitamix blender and was literally making smoothies everyday.

I also realized I wouldn't be able to do music production anymore when I moved to Toronto to Ottawa. I was planning on starting a internet business and have a beat selling business online. I made a account with soundclick, I put up a website, got my layouts and everything done. I realized the whole process which I learned from a music producer I became "e-buddies" with online. One thing I liked about having a internet business was the idea of being able to live anywhere I wanted to. It got me studying about different countries in Eastern Europe, South East Asia, and South America. I also had a friend in Forex day trading and got me interested in stock trading.

Well there was some other stuff I experienced in my 20's like a 1 month trip to North Carolina, but all these experiences without being attached to any end result had made me a better person. One thing I realized about success is that its defined by the individual not dictated my societal norms. The mainstream construct will guarantee enslavement and a lack of fulfillment. The only way you figure out what you really want is making it clear to yourself what you don't want at all.

Now at age 27 i'm planning on learning Spanish, Becoming a successful stock trader, getting healthy with the perfect diet and excerise regiment, and etc.

Just live your life, fuck what they say.

Post: #47

Establish good credit. By doing this, I mean actually take on some debt at some point (if you don't have school loans) like a car payment. Showing that you can handle an amortized loan is crucial. Also get a credit card, charge as much of your expenses to it as possible, but pay it off every month.

Establishment of a good credit history will go a long way when you apply for a business or other type of loan.

Post: #48

Yeah I agree travelling is like no other experience.

Post: #49

A pointless experience that is, no offence to those that have travelled. I prefer to stay solidly in one location rarely venturing 20 miles or further from where I am, I can get everything I could possibly need, so why go elsewhere? People confuse living a minimalistic life with just the amount of things they own when really it is about living a necessity led lifestyle and moving around seeing different scenery is simply a distraction for the mind and thus stopping you from being truly alone with your thought processes. Learning new skills daily and working your mind daily on challenges will over a period of time make you a much better person than if you was just to travel around.

Post: #50

(07-26-2016 03:34 PM)bushcraft9 Wrote:  A pointless experience that is, no offence to those that have travelled. I prefer to stay solidly in one location rarely venturing 20 miles or further from where I am, I can get everything I could possibly need, so why go elsewhere? People confuse living a minimalistic life with just the amount of things they own when really it is about living a necessity led lifestyle and moving around seeing different scenery is simply a distraction for the mind and thus stopping you from being truly alone with your thought processes. Learning new skills daily and working your mind daily on challenges will over a period of time make you a much better person than if you was just to travel around.

It depends on your definition of traveling. Going to Myrtle Beach or Paris or Rio de Janeiro and staying for a week isn't the same as living in a small Brazilian/Parisian/Asian city for months. I agree that the former is useless but I would argue that the latter can be life changing.