When I was 20, my future was
right in front of me - a vast ocean with an unending horizon. So many
possibilities, so many roads to take. My whole life until then has been so
systematic, so predictable. In my 20’s, I wanted to “go off the beaten path”
and take time to explore. Now that that time is coming to an end, this is what
I have learned:
1. 4
Years happens faster than you think. Stay in school! The idea of junior
college as a sort of “purgatory” always compelled me. I was seduced by the idea
of exploring different avenues, trying different things, taking different
classes. I took the idea of staying in junior college for 10 years too
literally, that it actually happened. 10 years later, and I’m finally
transferring.
2. 15/15/70.
Give 15% of your income to God (if you don’t believe in God, give it to charity),
15% to yourself, and pay your bills with the remaining 70%. It’s very
uncomfortable at first, and I still haven’t mastered it, but applying it has
already made a tremendous difference in my life. I have more money now (as
little as it is) than when I did before I started applying this principle.
3. Start
eating right, and keep eating right. I’m 31 years old, and I woke up
the other day with a bad foot =/. My eating habits could be a lot better.
4. Start
working out, and keep working out. The last time I was consistent in my
workouts was in 2003-2004. I worked out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week from
9-11am. I went to school from 1-4pm, then work from 5-9pm. I remembered going
up in weight almost every week! I had a rhythm going, and I was consistent. One
day I got sick and didn’t come in. I missed one workout. Then one workout
turned into two. Then three, then four. Before I knew it, I was back to my old
ways. =/
5. It’s
not about “get rich quick,” – it’s about stewarding what you already have.
Man. I’ve spent a good amount of my 20’s chasing money in these “get rich quick”
schemes. I’ll save more of the details about this in a later post, but in
short, one of the many lessons I’ve learned during this period was not about
money, but about stewardship. This ties into the 15/15/70 plan mentioned in #2
above. You could have the best product, service, compensation, etc, but if the
money is not properly stewarded at the end of the day, what good did it serve
in the first place?
6. The
value of leadership camps. I went to my first leadership camp when I was
voted Student Body President in elementary school. I loved it. Since then, I
have been to several camps, and each one taught me more and more about people,
motivation, aspiration, but more importantly, about myself. In fact, the better you are at leading people,
the more money you can potentially make.
7. Don’t
stay in the “friend-zone” too long, or it’s too late. Yeah. Better to
make the move sooner. More on this later. =)
8. It’s
not about your accomplishments, it’s about how you treated other people. Many
people build their lives on how many awards they can achieve, or how many
trophies they can rack up, in their quest for significance. Awards and trophies
are nice, but eventually someone else will come along and challenge that
recognition. Sometimes people even lie, cheat, and steal to get recognized. Something that lasts longer than a title is
the way you treat other people. That is the most lasting impact you will ever
leave on earth.
9. It’s
not about you. This lesson ties into #8. I am definitely going to
expound on this in a later entry, because there is a lot of unveiling required
here.
10. Jesus
is Lord. Once this is revelation becomes reality, life makes
perfect sense.
