7 Things I Wish I Had Known at 25

7 Things I Wish I Had Known at 25

We’ve all had transformative moments.

You know what I’m talking about: those brief instances when you find yourself reflecting on lessons you’ve learned over the years. They may come professionally or personally. Sometimes they’re huge life lessons that really shake things up. Other times, they’re small things that are easily forgotten if not put to use.

I’m a firm believer that no one’s born a leader or expert. It’s the experiences we encounter that help transform us into better, brighter, and more successful versions of ourselves. For me, I started out as an entrepreneur, a move made with little thought at the nontraditional age of 16. Today, my experiences as a serial entrepreneur, CEO, leader, father, and husband have taught me a lot.

But imagine if you could bundle up the key lessons you’ve learned in your professional years and hand them to those just starting out. I want to do just that.

Here are seven things I’ve learned professionally that I was fortunate to gain, but wish I had known when I was just starting out:

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I found this article interesting, and it got me thinking about my own experiences.

Anyone else have advice regarding work and career, for their younger self, or the younger members of this forum? Post them below.

Beaudreaux said:

7 Things I Wish I Had Known at 25



I found this article interesting, and it got me thinking about my own experiences.

Anyone else have advice regarding work and career, for their younger self, or the younger members of this forum? Post them below.

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Great list.

Along the same line, my first three jobs after I graduated college, I discovered that I had been taught all the wrong stuff. Almost nothing that I studied in college was useful to an entry level management job. I felt like I was (somewhat) qualified to have an upper level management job, but totally incompetent as a front line supervisor supervising low skilled employees.

I'd add, find out what you're good at, what your aptitudes are - take as many Meyers-Briggs type tests to discover (or confirm) your aptitudes. Guard your integrity above all else. Compromise once and you could lose it forever. Make friends and contacts wherever you go, whatever you do. Make bridges, never burn them. Be a continual learner; never assume you've "made it." Start your resume today and keep it up to date, logging all your accomplishments and experiences - always refining your resume. Save money religiously; get really good at what you do and your savings could be the aid you need to starting your own business.

Beaudreaux said:

7 Things I Wish I Had Known at 25



I found this article interesting, and it got me thinking about my own experiences.

Anyone else have advice regarding work and career, for their younger self, or the younger members of this forum? Post them below.

Click to expand...

If I could talk to my 22 year old self fresh out of university, I would have told him "stop partying like an idiot and save your money. Sure you have more money now than ever, but you need to save that ****".

Beaudreaux said:

7 Things I Wish I Had Known at 25



I found this article interesting, and it got me thinking about my own experiences.

Anyone else have advice regarding work and career, for their younger self, or the younger members of this forum? Post them below.

Click to expand...

nice tips

know what you are good at. yea, that's good to know. however, the flip side is to be open to learning what skills you need to develop. address your weaknesses and overcome them. many of us tend to do the things we enjoy and put off the things that we do not. sometimes that includes putting off enhancing our needed skill sets

the public speaking recommendation was an excellent one. and a great way to develop those skills is by joining a GOOD toastmasters group. some are weak, while others are excellent. visit a few (they encourage that) and find one that works for you
the corollary to exceptional public speaking skills development is to also develop your written communication skills (says the fellow who fails to punctuate properly). it amazes me how many people in mid management positions are weak writers. that number steeply diminishes as one gets to the higher strata of an organization. average writing skills can hold back an otherwise promising career

Well, my career has been in nursing for the past 30 years. My first advice would be to avoid entering the nursing profession. :lol:

Other than that, learn how to put up with a ton of ****, because you are going to have to.
Learn not to take things personally.
Always do the best you can, and learn how to prioritize.
Expect to be unappreciated, and verbally abused on occasion, and emotionally manipulated frequently, so learn how to avoid responding accordingly.
Last but not least, it's not a great job, and it's a dirty job, but there is always a job to be found.

lizzie said:

Well, my career has been in nursing for the past 30 years. My first advice would be to avoid entering the nursing profession. :lol:...

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Thats what everyone says about their own profession.

I few weeks ago I was talking with a lawyer friend of mine, and I mentioned that my kid had just taken the LSAT. First thing out of that guy's mouth was something to the effect of "you should discourage him from becoming an attorney because there are no jobs and starting salaries suck when you do find one, and it's a big hassle being a lawyer". So I decided to look up what other lawyers were saying about the profession (on a lawyer forum that had a thread posted by a lawyer wannabe), and most of the lawyers agreed that being a lawyer sucks these days.

So I looked up some similar threads about other occupations, and basically found that there was the same sentiment about all of them. Even many STEM majors are having more difficulty finding jobs than they expected, and when they did find them the salaries were lower than expected, and everyone in every occupation loves to complain about the horrible working conditions, lack of opportunity, and the general hassle and frustration.

I think that we just complain about stuff to entertain ourselves.