There’s a popular adage in my culture. It goes something like; “You can always wear your clothes anytime you buy it.” The meaning is that whenever you wake up is your morning, whether it’s 6AM or 1PM. In other words, you can do anything at any time you want and it will still be fine.
I don’t agree with this line of thinking. In fact, I believe the opposite. I believe that people should take care of their youth because that’s where the gold lies. I’ve seen people struggling so hard to do in their 40s what I did as play when I was in my 20s. I’ve seen people being overcome and paralyzed with extreme fear in their 50s, about what I did without even thinking about when I was in my 20s. And that’s why I advocate that people should pay close attention to how they spend their lives when they are still young because, regardless of whatever anyone says, the older you get, the less you can do with your life because the more cautious and careful you tend to become.
In today’s video, I’m going to be sharing with you the 5 things most people waste their youth on and regret later in life. If you’re new here, consider subscribing so you won’t miss other interesting videos like this.
- What other people would say
When I was 21, I was a popular academic genius on my campus. To crown it all, I was a political leader. These two combinations made me so popular that I could have won a title among the most influential students on my campus. But when a few months after my 21st birthday I decided to leave school, I had to do some ugly jobs which were meant to be for slaves or uneducated people in my country because I just had to do that to raise capital for my business.
Today, I see so many young people thinking too much about what other people would think about them. They can’t do dirty things to pursue their dreams because the opposite sex will see them. They use the money they don’t have to buy the latest fashion because they want to look beautiful on social media. They must use new phones because that’s what makes them acceptable among the silly people who are like them.
Listen to this simple advice; you can always think about other people’s opinion. You can always buy the Rolex watches and iPhones. You can always drive Benz and be the CEO, but you have to love yourself enough when you’re starting out to ignore whatever other people might be thinking about you.
If there’s a job you have to do to raise capital for your business but it’s not a white-collar job, go and do it and let your girlfriend leave you. If there’s the latest phone your friends are buying and you know you could invest that money into something better, let your friends leave you. If your parents want you to study law or medicine so as to fulfill their own childhood dream and you know music is the only thing that can make you happy, go do your music and let your parent disown you.
It’s actually very simple; love yourself, first. Think about yourself, first. Do things for yourself, first.
- Pleasure, pleasure & pleasure
In the culture I grew up with, you really don’t have much freedom in your first 17 years. You have to go to primary and secondary school while you’re in your parents’ home. Your parents and teachers tell you when to do what and what to even do and when you’re 15, you start to hate their authoritarianism so much that when you’re finally 18 and you get out of the home to the university, you really want to enjoy your freedom.
The problem with this is that true freedom can only be enjoyed by the people who know how to say NO. So many young people have devoted their lives so much to pleasure that the only thing they seem to be doing with their life is pleasure, pleasure and some more pleasure.
I know people who watch movies in the morning. How on earth can anyone do that? There are people who spend 5-7 hours every day on social media. How can any human be allowed to do that? There are so many young people who don’t miss any party or social gathering. How can you have the time to pursue your life’s dreams?
For anyone going somewhere worthwhile, entertainment is something you do to relax so that your brain can do a better job next time when you get to do your life’s work. Then, someone will ask me, “Is life all about work?” and my answer is YES. Life is all about work, work, and work. Your primary duty is to figure out your life’s passion so that your work will entertain you. If you need 5 hours of entertainment to remain alive, you don’t have a life.
- School without education
Most people I know who are university graduates are not educated. That may be due to the poor educational system in my country but I guess so many other people all over the world simply don’t get education out of school. They simply get degrees. Well, your degree is a mere piece of paper and the best it can do for you is to give you a job. To live, grow and be happy, you need to have a deep understanding of yourself and the world around you and this can only be gotten via personal and determined self-education
- Hanging out with just anyone
I got admission to a polytechnic when I was about 18 years and 5 months. A few weeks on campus, I already had about five friends. Guess how we all became friends? We sat next to each other in class, we met in a departmental meeting or we walked alongside each other, started talking and that was it.
Most young people choose their friends and relationships simply by choosing whoever they see around them. The problem about this is that most people in the world are average so if you choose the guy next to you, there’s a good chance he’s just one average guy without dreams or aspirations. And as the saying goes, you’re going to end up being the average of the 5 closet people to you.
I later learned that my friends had the power to influence my future so I let go of all my negative friends and started to make friends consciously. I look for positive people who don’t make excuses or complain about everything and choose them as friends. What happens when you do this is that, you’ll have fewer friends; but there’s good news, one ambitious and positive friend is better for your life than a hundred negative friends.
- Planning too much
So many people spend all their 20s dreaming and making plans. Maybe you should stop planning. It’s useless. Go out and do stuff. Make mistakes and learn from your mistakes. When you’re on your death bed, you’ll never blame yourself for things you do which didn’t work. You’ll only blame yourself for the things you never had the courage to do so go and do, do, and do.
Try things. Attempt the impossible. Run after a mission that is bigger than you. That’s how to find yourself and be happy.
