You Are 22 And Want To Save The World, So Do This

The anxiety of being 22. A friend wrote: “I’m 22, I want to start a business, I want to write, I want to help entrepreneurship in my country. I can’t decide.”

I’m paraphrasing. But 22 year olds have lots of things to say. And lots of things they want to do.

“What should I do?”

I responded…

You are 22 so:

1. No rush. Cut in half the speed of everything you are doing.

2. Do it all. Don’t decide anything. Decisions kill 22-year-olds.

3. Results don’t matter. Just do these things.

4. Keep writing 10 ideas a day so you can be an idea machine. Be creative every day.

5. It’s OK that some things won’t work out as you planned. If you aren’t failing at some things then you aren’t doing enough things.

6. When you are 27 you will look back at 22 and think “There is no way I could have predicted what ended up happening.”

7. It’s good to have a big vision like you do. But it’s also OK that the big vision constantly changes. Get good at having a plan. But it doesn’t have to be a good plan.

8. Make lots of friends. This is the time to make friends that turn into lasting connections. Later on it’s much harder. This is more important than saving your country. Every artistic and scientific movement in history started as a group of friends in their 20’s.

9. Don’t forget that you are just planting seeds now. A garden can’t grow if you don’t water it. Learn, listen, love.

10. Every time you want something, try also to be happy not wanting it. Nobody knows at 22 (or 48) what will make them happy at 23.

11. Live life like you are going to die in a month but also at the same time, live life like you are never going to die.

If you live like like you are going to die in a month, you will care for other people. If you live life like you are never going to die you will see everything as just a ripple in the vast ocean.

Most importantly, you can ignore all of this advice. Most people do their thing. It’s poor judgment to give advice.

I’m 48 and this is the advice I follow for myself right now.