Could be health related/ lifestyle/ relationship/ fashion/ monetary/ career advice.
Or it could be to do with pitfalls/ mistakes/ things to avoid in early adulthood...or even what flavour of milk goldman analysts like.
Loads of High IQ chads on here...lets hear it
What would u say to this future master of the Universe?
3 pieces of advice
I would tell myself to stop worrying about looking young. Eventually it will be a great characteristic and it will give you lots of confidence. I would also tell myself not to feel bad about not knowing anything about your religion. You will eventually learn all about it as an adult. I would also tell myself to watch what you eat because even youngish people can get high cholesterol.
Pretty bad advice here. It's really simple. If you don't know about something, go read up on it. Go watch some Youtube videos. You don't have to be a rabbi. It's easier than ever to get good information on your religion and opposing views.
Some great advice that I've heard is that you should try to figure things out as early as you can in life. Figuring out what life is all about 20 big decisions deep is not great.
It's wonderful if someone understands the wealth of their religion at 50 years old, but I can tell you that same person will also look back at their last 50 years with regret when they re-evaluate their previous decisions from a new light.
Don’t wait passively for anything good to come to you, take your shot.
Combine a field of study/work you enjoy and obtain technical skills that make you credentialed.
If you find someone who could be your life partner in college, hold on to them and build a life together (forget about chasing other mates for the sake of). You’ll be better able to navigate the downturns/setbacks in your life and career with your shared life history; and you will have someone to celebrate the ups and know how far you’ve come.
Yeah interesting advice but context dependent on the last one. I think in many ways those who find their life partners in college are lucky, but for many guys they just need to sow their oats a bit before they feel they are 'ready'
That said, you also don't want to e the 35 year old single man (no matter how financially successful) since that will just a sad life for 95% of people who get there (maybe 5% are still happy with that lifestyle)
It is amazing though how much having a good wife does for your resiliency at life / career / etc. Just puts things in perspecitve, even if your career has bumps you'll still have her to go back to. And ofc same thing applies when you have kids
I think this actually speaks to a broader issue, which is that it is hard to distinguish between your career and your life when you're young. So much of our lives as kids are goal-oriented. Get good grades to get into an AP class, so you can get into a good college, so you can get a good job. Be in the top bucket for bonuses so you have the best exit opps. All of this is forward looking, and treats whatever you're doing as a step on a ladder.
In the moment, it is really tough to recognize that having hobbies or interests or even friends who don't revolve around the narrow world of finance (for WSO) is healthy and normal and frankly will be helpful in the long run. Being a sweaty finance bro stops being acceptable once you aren't meant to grind out 100 hours weeks.
Having a wife and especially kids forcibly contextualizes all that. Suddenly it's someone else you have to compromise around (wife) or straight up defer to (kids' needs). And once you're doing it for one facet of your life, I feel like the dam breaks everywhere else, too.
Don't be so stubborn.
Take the chances. You will fail sometimes, and that's ok. It's nerve-racking, but go ask that girl out / join that wacky club (rock climbing or something) / travel a bunch / try different internships in different industries / do more public speaking. It all comes down to caring what other people think of you, so really go out and embrace rejection as a means to build resiliency & self confidence. What helps is working out / being social / playing sports (intramural is fine) / etc
Amen on #1. The extent to which I cared about my job 3yrs ago vs. today (where I am now married) is night and day. Just puts the important things in life in context
Instead of just “drink more caffeine,” you might like trycaffio - it’s a smart bottle + app that micro-doses your caffeine through the day instead of dumping 200–300mg at once.
Why?
I rarely drink any caffeine
When I was 18 I went through a sleep deprivation training program and thought I could hack it without caffeine but was wrong.
How do you stop the min max misery? I feel like there’s always another hill to climb and so on. Especially at an elite school I feel like I’m constantly comparing myself to my friends and people and forcing myself into even more work because I feel like I could do better
You think to yourself “Will I care about this on my death bed?” or “If I got a stage 4 cancer diagnosis tomorrow, is this something I would still do?”
And some of it you will. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying work or various things we have to do. But there’s also a whole lot of bullshit that no one would choose to spend time on if they had limited time left.
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Do the boring stuff daily: the basis of all habits and growth is rooted in consistency. Showing up for every single habit or workout and building discipline that exceeds motivation or emotions is crucial to build any foundation. This goes beyond simply studying or even working out, but something as small as your dental hygiene routine or taking cold showers, stretching to avoid lower back pain, and other small gestures that compound over time.
Don't wait for the world: there is no structured email that will tell you what to do with your personal life or professional life as had been the case in grade school. Waiting to be handed instructions or a signal instead of seeking out insights is an easy way to grow complacent.
This too shall pass: Life will be filled with struggles with some expected, but many unexpected. If you have a negative emotional response to each and every discomfort or discontent situation, you'll find yourself going in circles. Accepting the imperfection and complexity of life and finding a way through it is the greatest challenge of adolescence.
It's funny a positive response to life in the brain leads to the brain re-wiring itself to expect positive results in the future (neuroplasticity). A negative view on life typically leads to negative outcomes.
pls study harder and aim for better grades, u are doing decent but have so much more potential
Go to college in NYC instead of going out of state, be open to changing your major in college even if it delays graduation, and forget your high school ex sooner than later.
I have a lot of regrets on how I spent my college years and my 20s. Would do things way differently.
Go all in on the things that actually matter to the proverbial you - may take some time to figure out what is truly important and what is noise (i'm in my mid-late 20's and still figuring it out) but life gets dramatically more clear once you do. as an example mine are:
-relationships (family / friends)
-career
-health (myself, see relationships above)
Saw this thread bumped and wanted to spend some more time on a more thoughtful answer.
I just want to share just one piece of advice because I hope sharing only one it underscores its importance.
#1: Continue to work and grind like you know it will all work out in the end
At 18 years old, I came to the harsh realization that I was either mediocre or bad at everything I did. Bad with girls. Bad at sports. Bad in school. There wasn't a single area of my life where I consistently outperformed the majority of my peers.
So I decided to change that. It didn't happen overnight. Quite the opposite actually. Slowly, painfully slowly, I started to put the pieces together. Most of the time I didnt think I was making any progress. Most of the time I felt like a failure, and wanted to give up. Sometimes I did give up, but not for long. The progress came so slowly and it seemed so insignificant that most of the time I didn't even think I was progressing.
When I say that I worked on every single aspect of my life, I truly mean it. I began working out regularly. I started to repair relationships. I started studying like my life depended on straight As. I grinded in the library for 12+ hours regularly.
At various points throughout my self improvement journey life, I failed at what felt like just about everything. I am not going to speak to each aspect of this, but I will touch on my academic and career oriented path, as they seem most relevant. I failed so many times I lost count. Failed classes. Failed final round interviews. Failed at locking in return offers. Even after landing good offers I had multiple times where I was underperforming. Where I worried about being on the chopping block.
There was no linear progression. It was a long and bumpy journey. It was probably comparable to being manic. The highs were so high, and the lows were so low.
But I just kept going. I kept pivoting. I kept trying. In hindsight, calling these failures was too harsh. Yes I didn't succeed, but I learned from each of them. I improved. I recalibrated. The whole time I kept pushing not because I really believed in myself, but because I was too stubborn to throw in the towel. I simply didn't know what to do other than to keep trying.
I wish I could go back and tell my 18 year old self, "Hey man, it really all does work out in the end. In fact, you land roles and opportunities your brain cant even fathom at this age. It isnt because you're the smartest, or because you have the best work ethic, or because you're the most likeable, but it is because you just kept pushing and trying to get better."
If you aren't where you want to be, put your head down and don't pick it up until you're starting to see how bright the world is around you.
>10 years later, I still cannot believe the life I have built. I have more than I could have hoped for, sometimes it doesn't feel real.
Would never expect to read something like this on a site like this. Almost 18 and I could definitely use your words as motivation. Big thanks!
Glad to hear it man.
You know, as a student, I would sit in the back at my not so impressive uni reading all the WSO success stories over and over, hoping on day to be half as successful as those guys and girls. One day I will write my own now. It really is doable if you refuse to quit. That is the key to life. Figure out what you are really motivated about, develop discipline and refuse to give up. At least that is what has worked out for me.
On the point about partying too much I think a big distinction can be made on when you start partying. I started partying when I was 13 and 95% of the people I partied with at that age ended up with horrific life outcomes. The kids who waited until later in high school or college to start partying seemed to turn out ok for the most part. They might not be WSO’s definition of success but they are living productive lives and making a decent living.
I’m not really sure how everyone else’s life got fucked up from that friend group and I ended up a WSO example of success. I think part of it is because by the time I was 18 I saw enough things go horribly wrong for friends of mine that I realized that was not a good direction to go in.
I jumped off the porch at around 11, and most of the kids I was around probably had similar outcomes as your friends. No kid should be in the streets like that at that age. If we are it's because we're being neglected, and if we're being neglected then something isn't right at home and horrific things are going to happen. We're still kids in high school and college, but we're a little more mature. To be partying at 11-13 like that is extreme so the life trajectory is going to be a bit more extreme.
Like you, sometimes I wonder how I survived, but I also remember thinking at times that my friends were crazy (not in a good way). There's levels out here, and I wasn't playing at that level. I had my limits, and they would make fun of me sometimes for being soft. I wasn't a pussy, but like I said, they were crazy and on another level. Seeing what happened to some of my friends really hurt my heart. We were all just stupid kids trying to get through life without much guidance.
I think decisions compound. Sometimes staying home one night and not meeting the wrong person at a party can have some type of butterfly effect. Other times I felt like I had some type of guardian angel because I made it out of things I can't logically explain. I don't know how I ended up on WSO either.
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