{"id":1887,"date":"2022-10-03T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T13:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tremhost.com\/blog\/?p=1887"},"modified":"2022-10-03T15:00:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T13:00:20","slug":"what-are-some-tips-life-lessons-i-should-know-before-im-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/what-are-some-tips-life-lessons-i-should-know-before-im-30\/","title":{"rendered":"What are some tips\/life lessons I should know before I&#8217;m 30?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I turned 30 two days ago. When I was 18, I thought by 30, I\u2019d have it made.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">My 20s were a long, slow grind of realizing \u201cmade\u201d does not exist. \u201cMade\u201d is past tense\u200a\u2014\u200abut you\u2019re never done! The only finish line is death, and, thankfully, most of us don\u2019t see it until we\u2019re almost there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Instead of the binary made\/not made distinction, I now see life as round-based. You win some, you lose some, and different rounds have different themes. There\u2019s a carefree-childhood season, a teenager-trying-to-understand-society season, an exuberant-20-something season, and so on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">At 30 years old, I\u2019ve only played a few seasons, but each round feels more interesting than the last. If that trend persists, I can\u2019t imagine what one\u2019s 60s or 90s must be like. By that time, you\u2019ve seen so much\u200a\u2014\u200aand yet, there\u2019ll always be new things to see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Most seasons last longer than a year, and there\u2019s plenty to talk about with respect to the important, defining decade from 20 to 30 alone, but today, I\u2019d like to do something different: I want to share one thing I\u2019ve learned from each year I\u2019ve been alive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">1. You\u2019ll fall down a lot, but life is about getting back up<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You must crawl before you can walk. The first time you try, you\u2019ll fall down. But you\u2019ll get back up. You won\u2019t think. You\u2019ll just do it. It\u2019s natural. Getting up is the only way. There is no alternative. Getting up is what humans do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">This is the first literal lesson most of us learn\u200a\u2014\u200aand that pattern never changes. In everything you do, you\u2019ll have to crawl before you can walk. You\u2019ll fall down countless times, but it\u2019s not the falls that matter\u200a\u2014\u200ait\u2019s that, every time, you get back up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">2. Talking solves everything<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I watched Planet of the Apes the other day. That movie will give you a new sense of appreciation for our ability to speak. At first, all we\u2019ve got is one-word commands. Hungry! Thirsty! Tired! As we grow up, we get so much more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">My favorite quote from Albus Dumbledore is this: \u201cWords are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic\u200a\u2014\u200acapable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.\u201d It\u2019s true. Words can mend anything. Use your words.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">3. The world is big\u200a\u2014\u200abut there\u2019s always light at the end of the tunnel<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">When I was three, the hallway of our small apartment seemed huge. The carpet seemed to stretch forever, and the walls were as high as the sky.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">We had one of those plastic crawling tubes for kids. It had black and white stripes, like a zebra. I would crawl inside, and, sometimes, I got scared. I felt lost. Even that tiny tube was too big. Where do I go? Forward? Backward? How do I get out of this thing?<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Eventually, I learned that there\u2019s always light at the end of the tunnel. All you have to do is keep crawling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">4. Everything you need is in your head<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I used to sit on the floor of my dad\u2019s tiny office for hours. I built things. Lego, Playmobil, Duplo train tracks\u200a\u2014\u200ayou name it, I made stuff up with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Sometimes, my dad helped me. We made the train go back and forth between rooms, transporting candy. But I was perfectly happy being the master of my own little universe\u200a\u2014\u200abecause I could already tell: There are no limits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Everything you\u2019ll ever need is in your head. Sometimes, other people will help you get it out\u200a\u2014\u200abut even if they don\u2019t, it\u2019s all there. Trust in yourself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">5. Life is better when you share it<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">When I was five, my parents had my sister. At first, I didn\u2019t want a sibling. Who\u2019s gonna get all the attention? \u201cI don\u2019t like her.\u201d Those were my first words.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">My grandma took me to the mall to calm me down. We bought two teddybears\u200a\u2014\u200aone for me, one for her. When I reluctantly gave it to my sister, she held my finger. In that moment, I was cured. To this day, she is family, and that will never change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It\u2019s easy to get lost in your world. Your life spins around you. Life in general, however, is much broader. Share it. Don\u2019t hog. A lot of things multiply when we divide them. Joy, achievement, laughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Our best memories are reflections of the people who were there to see them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">6. When you know, you know<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I learned how to read before I went to school. I still remember sitting in a sea of red, plastic letters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">\u201cApple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">\u201cApple!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">\u201cAPPLE!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">\u201cMOOOOOOOOM!\u201d I ran around the house for about 15 minutes. Then, I read everything I could get my hands on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Some things in life are just made for you. When you find them, you\u2019ll know. Don\u2019t ever doubt that feeling\u200a\u2014\u200aand don\u2019t ever let them go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">7. You cannot find without looking<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In second grade, I walked to school every day. It was exhilarating. Ten minutes. Just me and the world. There was so much to see!<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Sometimes, my neighbor\u2019s son walked with me. He was a few years older. Right outside our street, there was a cigarette machine. Every time we passed it, he reached into the coin return slot to see if there was any money. One time, he found a bill! 20 Deutsche Mark, or however much it was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">For a long time, I then did the same. Checked every coin slot I passed. Finders, keepers, you know? But in order to find, you first have to look. I\u2019ll never forget that lesson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">8. Goodbyes are hard but necessary<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">We moved in 1999. I was devastated. My second-grade crush still had no idea I existed. Hello?! I\u2019ve got plans here!<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Sometimes, life doesn\u2019t care about your plans\u200a\u2014\u200aand sometimes, that\u2019s exactly what you need. An unplanned change of plans. It won\u2019t make saying goodbye any easier, but in time, you\u2019ll realize some goodbyes were necessary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In hindsight, I\u2019m glad we moved a few times while I was in school. It taught me how to adapt and make new friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">9. Not everyone you don\u2019t like is your enemy<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">My third grade teacher was an old lady\u200a\u2014\u200aFrau Blum. She was strict, grumpy, and more of a drill sergeant than a teacher. At first, I thought she was mean and bitter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Years later, I appreciated every bit of discipline she taught us, especially as the modern classroom seemed to completely unravel as a good learning environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Maybe, Frau Blum was just desperate to preserve something she had learned to value as a child: good manners and a sense of duty. I\u2019m grateful she passed some of those values on to us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Not everyone you don\u2019t like is your enemy. Some people enter your life to prepare you for things you can\u2019t see coming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">10. Believe in things before others can see them<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Pok\u00e9mon took our school yard by storm. All recess long, we were trading cards, playing Game Boy, and talking about the anime. Eventually, our school banned everything. Imagine the outrage!<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">15 years later, Pok\u00e9mon Go got more people out of the house than the Super Bowl gets in front of the TV. 20 years later, some Pok\u00e9mon cards sell for $200,000. It is one of the most successful franchises in history\u200a\u2014\u200awe always knew.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">With Lego, it\u2019s intuitively clear that you must first imagine before you can build. With many other things in life, it\u2019s not\u200a\u2014\u200abut the same principle applies. Believe in what only you can see, so that, one day, others will see it too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">11. You\u2019re at your best when you\u2019re with friends<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In 6th grade, my best friends and I joined the choir. I have no idea why. All we did was goof off. We made fun of the girls, the songs, and each other. We got called out a million times. I\u2019m a terrible singer, but, eventually, going to choir became my favorite thing to do. Not because of the activity\u200a\u2014\u200abecause of the people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You\u2019re never as good as when you\u2019re with friends. Together, you\u2019ll feel unstoppable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">12. Sometimes, you win only to lose<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">On the year-end school trip before yet another move, the hormones among 12-year-olds really started flying. We played a game of kiss-or-pass. My crush gave me one. Or, maybe, she only became my crush once she did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Either way, she left her sweater in our room. It smelled nice. Four boys were swooning. We argued about who she\u2019d pick. I don\u2019t remember how, but she ended up being my girlfriend for a few sweet weeks of summer. We held hands in school. We went to the movies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">After the move, she came to visit one time. Then, it quickly fell apart. Even a 30-minute drive can be too far for clueless 12-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But, sometimes, you lose what you have won right afterwards. Those times stink\u200a\u2014\u200abut those too are necessary for your growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">13. Never hide your power<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">One time in history class, my teacher asked for the name of the big, wall-covering carpets you\u2019d see in places like the Palace of Versailles. No one knew the answer, except me\u200a\u2014\u200aI had heard it on an episode of King of Queens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I raised my hand: \u201cGobelin.\u201d Our teacher was beaming. \u201cThat\u2019s right! Great!\u201d My classmates thought it was great too: \u201cOoohhh, go-be-liiiiiiin, look at Mr. Smartypants!\u201d They laughed their asses off at my (correct) French pronunciation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Being a good sport about it, I laughed with them, but, deep down, that incident taught me: Never hide your power. The world wants you to be cool, not smart. But if you\u2019re smart, you\u2019ll win. So don\u2019t try to be cool instead of being smart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\"><span class=\"q-inline\"><a class=\"q-box qu-cursor--pointer qu-hover--textDecoration--underline Link___StyledBox-t2xg9c-0 dxHfBI\" title=\"ngoeke.medium.com\" href=\"https:\/\/ngoeke.medium.com\/if-youre-an-intellectual-act-like-one-1d5ee8083068\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Whatever power you have, use it<\/a><\/span>. Do not let the world bully you into hiding your strength.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">14. Everything is art if you bring your true self to it<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I hated art class. I sucked at drawing, painting, and crafts. Mostly, I hated it because we all had to do the same thing. \u201cPaint a wave.\u201d \u201cUse different-colored tracing paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Actually, we were free to use our imagination. The teacher gave us constraints, not goals. I just didn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I did, however, spend hours doodling on my pencil case, sketching anime characters, and turning my planner into some kind of Harry Potter book of worship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It was easy to express my creativity in some ways but not others. Eventually, I learned that everything has room for your ideas. You just gotta bring them\u200a\u2014\u200aand then figure out how you can contribute to the task at hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">15. It pays to be early<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In 2006, I discovered football freestyle. The community was tiny but growing fast. I spent hours practicing each day and, for about 15 minutes, I was world-class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I also uploaded some animated music videos I made on Youtube. Some of them got 100,000+ views. Eventually, the channel was shut down for copyright issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I got a lot of GamerScore on Xbox too. I ranked relatively high compared to the world\u2019s number one. Maybe top 200 or so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">The lesson here is that as long as you\u2019re early, you can achieve a lot with effort alone. I wasn\u2019t talented enough to be a hall-of-famer in any of these things\u200a\u2014\u200abut if I\u2019d stuck with them, they all could have been real careers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Don\u2019t stop dabbling. You never know when you\u2019ll strike gold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">16. You can fall in love with places, not just people<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Our 10th grade school trip was to Munich. It took me all of ten minutes after getting off the bus to declare: \u201cOne day, I\u2019ll move here!\u201d The next year, I came back for an event. Three years after that, I did a 6-month internship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Each time I visited, I loved the city a bit more instead of less, and so, in 2016, I finally moved to where I belonged. It feels nice to belong somewhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">17. It is your job to insist on learning\u200a\u2014\u200athe world won\u2019t force you to<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">My state ran an experiment: They would allow kids to drive at 17 instead of 18, but each time they drove, an adult would have to sit next to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I insisted on driving wherever we went. Five-minute drive to the station? I drive. Quick bakery run? I drive. It was more hassle for my parents, but, most of the time, they let me drive. They thought it was important to keep practicing\u200a\u2014\u200aand they were damn right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">A lot of my friends were lazy. They either didn\u2019t drive a lot after passing their test or didn\u2019t even bother to take it before turning 18. As a result, many of them were insecure drivers for the first year or two\u200a\u2014\u200abut then they had to face their insecurities alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">When I turned 18, I went to our garage, got into our car, and drove myself to school like nobody\u2019s business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It\u2019s up to you to keep learning. Insist on it. School won\u2019t last forever, and the world won\u2019t force you to keep practicing\u200a\u2014\u200abut if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll fall behind just the same.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">18. Know when to quit<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In 2009, I gave up on football freestyle. I wasn\u2019t talented enough, my knees were shot, and the career prospects weren\u2019t all that great. It also just wasn\u2019t as important to me as other things.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It is incredibly hard to give up on something you love\u200a\u2014\u200aespecially if it loves you right back. What in hindsight looks like an obvious endeavor to kill is, often, in the moment, a difficult, not-at-all clear decision\u200a\u2014\u200abut it might still be a decision you must make.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\"><span class=\"q-inline\"><a class=\"q-box qu-cursor--pointer qu-hover--textDecoration--underline Link___StyledBox-t2xg9c-0 dxHfBI\" title=\"youletter.substack.com\" href=\"https:\/\/youletter.substack.com\/p\/how-to-know-when-to-quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Know when to quit<\/a><\/span>, and don\u2019t hesitate to give up on what truly won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">19. If you want to know how far you can go, you must go farther than you\u2019ve ever gone<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I didn\u2019t feel very challenged in high school. I pretty much did the minimum and got straight As. In college, that changed\u200a\u2014\u200aand fast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">We had seven exams in our first semester, each of which determined 100% of that subject\u2019s grade. They were all topics I\u2019d never studied before, or at least not in such depth. Between advanced calculus, accounting, and deliverable programming homework each week, I was drowning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It didn\u2019t feel good. I was overwhelmed. I clung to my friends, who felt the same. We studied from 7 AM to 11 PM each day. Eventually, we all passed our exams, and we learned: You can go somewhere you\u2019ve never been and still return home alive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">The only way to find\u200a\u2014\u200aand raise\u200a\u2014\u200ayour limits is to go beyond them. Do it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">20. Don\u2019t override your principles<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In 2011, I moved into a new-build studio. Before, I\u2019d lived in a run-down, cockroach-infested, the-shower-requires-coins-to-work situation\u200a\u2014\u200awith roommates I didn\u2019t know. The rent was 50% more, but my quality of life rose by at least 300%. Everything was better, and the part I enjoyed the most was living alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I should have realized right then and there: I am meant to live alone, and I should never cheapen out on rent as long as I can afford it. Of course, I went back to living with roommates for another 7 years. That was a mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You can\u2019t know what your principles are before you find them, but when you do, do yourself a favor and don\u2019t try to outsmart yourself. Don\u2019t override what you know deep down in your gut will always, universally be true for you. Stick to your principles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">21. You don\u2019t have to do things the way other people do them<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">There\u2019s always, always room for you to invent a completely new solution. Our first three semesters had a set schedule. After that, we could pick electives. But it was only a suggestion. There were no hard rules saying we had to do our exams in that order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">The third semester was the most brutal, so I did some electives first. I also postponed the two hardest exams\u200a\u2014\u200aMath III and Statistics II\u200a\u2014\u200awhich I ultimately ended up \u201coutsourcing\u201d to my exchange in the US, where I could piece the credits together with multiple, easier classes. I returned home with 2 As in exams I barely might have passed otherwise (in fact, I\u2019d failed Math III once before).<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">There are no rules. Make up your reality, and then fight to see it come true.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">22. Travel is not the answer<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I spent most of my savings on trips while studying abroad. I also had a rich friend who invited me on the trip of a lifetime. Within 14 months, I went to more than half of all US states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Sri Lanka, and a bunch more places in Europe. It was insane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">It gave me a sneak peek of the freedom I knew I wanted to have, but it also taught me two lessons:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"q-box\">\n<li class=\"q-relative\">Travel is a full-time job\u200a\u2014\u200aand if you have another, you\u2019ll have two.<\/li>\n<li class=\"q-relative\">Travel alone will not make you happy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Since I came back, I never had the same desire to travel the globe. It\u2019s nice. There are some places I wanna see. But indefinite travel pales in comparison to a solid, challenging routine and five lifetime friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">23. Most dream jobs are born out of dreams<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In 2014, I scored an internship at BMW M. They make my dream cars, and so it was a dream job. I lived in Munich. I made new friends. It was summer. I got to drive cool cars and go to insane events. It was the perfect six-month stretch of life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">By the end of it, however, I realized the best thing about these cars was to drive them. They practically sold themselves, and there wasn\u2019t much to do or learn in my department\u200a\u2014\u200asales. That\u2019s when I decided: I will create my own job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Try to get the best job you can imagine. If you do and still find it unfulfilling, you\u2019ll know: Your dream job is a job you must dream up. Don\u2019t be afraid to make your own shoes if none of the ones society offers fit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">24. No one will do it for you\u200a\u2014\u200a\u201cit\u201d is anything<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">What I had seen glimpses of in college and my internship became a hard, full-fledged reality in 2015: You must take 100% responsibility for anything you want out of life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">If you want to have great sex, you must work with your partner until it\u2019s great. If you want to get ripped, you must do the workouts. If you want to make money in a certain way, you have to figure out a path to get there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In my case, no one would make me an entrepreneur. I registered a business and became one. Then, I figured out how to do it\u200a\u2014\u200aone day at a time, through many failures and gigs I ultimately didn\u2019t like. Until, one day, I had a system that worked and allowed me to go after what I want the way I want it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You are your own best asset. You don\u2019t control everything, but you\u2019re 100% responsible either way. Accept it so you can make real progress instead of complaining.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">25. Your space should give you room to think<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">In the US, I lived in a tiny, 90 sqft room. It showed me: You don\u2019t need much. I learned more about minimalism, and when I returned home, I threw away a ton of stuff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Every item you own becomes a mental and emotional attachment in your brain. Even if you forget about it, it\u2019ll still weigh on your mind. Letting go is liberating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">The best part about physical space, however, is that it provides\u200a\u2014\u200aas my roommate taught me in the first semester of our master\u2019s\u200a\u2014\u200aliteral \u201croom to think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Minimalism isn\u2019t about living carefree, it\u2019s about creating space for everything you care about the most.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">26. History doesn\u2019t repeat, but it rhymes<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">When I fell down the bitcoin rabbit hole in 2017, I saw many parallels to the early internet. I saw each generation had its own way of doing things, and, when it came to finance, blockchain could be ours. I spent a lot of time learning, understanding, and failing in that space, both <span class=\"q-inline\"><a class=\"q-box qu-cursor--pointer qu-hover--textDecoration--underline Link___StyledBox-t2xg9c-0 dxHfBI\" title=\"entrepreneurshandbook.co\" href=\"https:\/\/entrepreneurshandbook.co\/what-i-learned-losing-300-000-10b9b8e1c5f5?sk=46a4c7a5b335c22540f0fc85a1d37568\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">financially<\/a><\/span> and <span class=\"q-inline\"><a class=\"q-box qu-cursor--pointer qu-hover--textDecoration--underline Link___StyledBox-t2xg9c-0 dxHfBI\" title=\"medium.com\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-crypto-times\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">work-wise<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Especially as the price went down, everyone and their brother thought I was wasting my energy. Four years later, both the price and social acceptance look different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Your life is a unique journey across a small patch of history\u2019s tapestry. It\u2019ll provide you with a singular viewpoint of your time. Others have other viewpoints, so they\u2019ll doubt you when you recognize a pattern our ancestors have documented before. Ignore them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Study history, and when you feel things click, let them click fully into place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">27. You\u2019ll lose friends, but you\u2019ll still have friends<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I\u2019ve lost several friends over writing in public. Some were offended by articles that weren\u2019t about them. Some thought I was arrogant, and some I ditched because they badmouthed me behind my back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Even if a relationship fades, its contribution to our life <span class=\"q-inline\"><a class=\"q-box qu-cursor--pointer qu-hover--textDecoration--underline Link___StyledBox-t2xg9c-0 dxHfBI\" title=\"psiloveyou.xyz\" href=\"https:\/\/psiloveyou.xyz\/your-failed-relationships-hurt-because-you-think-they-ended-9420120d6878\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">never ends<\/a><\/span>. After all, we\u2019ll benefit from the role that person played forever. As you get older, you\u2019ll lose touch with some people you hoped would stay lifelong friends. That\u2019s sad, but others will enter the picture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You\u2019re never really alone, even when you most feel like you are. Look around you, and connect with who actually wants to be in your life at any given time. So yes, you\u2019ll lose friends\u200a\u2014\u200abut you\u2019ll also always have friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">28. Take chances while you can take them<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Two of my favorite musicians died before I ever saw them live. It\u2019s not that I couldn\u2019t\u200a\u2014\u200aI just thought I had more time. We tend to think so for many chances in life, until they\u2019re gone and we must concede: We should have taken them while we could.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I started going to more concerts with my sister, and I hope we\u2019ll be able to continue this tradition for a long time to come.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">29. If you try hard enough, you can adapt to anything<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">No one expected 2020 to go the way it went. No one. Within weeks, we had to re-learn how to work, how to rest, how to study, how to parent, how to organize our lives and how to interact with each other. That\u2019s a lot of learning in a very short period of time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">From one day to the next, life 2.0 was uploaded to the app store, and we were all forced to \u201cpatch up.\u201d At first, we struggled a lot. Now, we struggle a little less. Things are far from perfect, but, for the first time in decades, we were reminded that our capacity for adaptation is astounding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">You didn\u2019t ask for it. You wish you didn\u2019t have to, and I don\u2019t blame you\u200a\u2014\u200abut if you try hard enough, you can adapt to anything.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">30. Tomorrow can be a good day<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">If I could leave behind just one sentence, it would be this one: Tomorrow can be a good day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">I don\u2019t know when or how I picked up this particular lesson. It\u2019s probably optimism by osmosis, picked up from being around my wonderful family for about two out of my three decades on this planet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">There must have been about 3,000 instances in which this sentence saved my mood, time, energy, or any other of a million parts of my life, which, overall, pretty much equates to saving my life altogether.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Tomorrow can be a good day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">This is the message I most believe in\u200a\u2014\u200aand maybe the only one worth sharing. Whether it\u2019s for another 30 years or 30 minutes, I\u2019ll keep yelling it six ways from Sunday: When your boyfriend breaks up with you, your car won\u2019t start, your Zoom won\u2019t work, your grocery store is closed, your doctor says you need surgery, you\u2019re late on rent and your dad won\u2019t fork out 50 bucks, remember that\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"q-text qu-display--block qu-wordBreak--break-word qu-textAlign--start\">Tomorrow can be a good day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I turned 30 two days ago. When I was 18, I thought by 30, I\u2019d have it made. My 20s were a long, slow grind of realizing \u201cmade\u201d does not exist. \u201cMade\u201d is past tense\u200a\u2014\u200abut you\u2019re never done! The only finish line is death, and, thankfully, most of us don\u2019t see it until we\u2019re almost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-general"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1888,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions\/1888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}