Here Are the 15 Good Shots That the Winners Get Just in Time.
You might think older adults have got it all figured out. In reality, if you scratch beneath the surface, a lot of people are plugging the holes of mistakes they made in their 20s.
While you aren’t expected to get it all right at an early age, there is plenty you can do now that could set you up for life, or at least make life a lot easier.
Welcome to Alux, where future billionaires come to get inspired.
We’ve put together a list of 15 things you can get right today, that will make your future so much rosier. Let’s get started Aluxers.
For this article as well, there’s a way to absorb all the information earlier than you can. Switch to this topic’s YouTube video and have a more vivid experience:
With that in place, let’s check out the first thing to do first in life.
1
Understand the Grand Scale
Perspective is not a little thing, it’s everything. Realising that the universe doesn’t revolve around you is a wonderful, freeing thought. It need not be crushing to your ego, but rather relieve you of a lot of stress and anxiety that you need to “hold it all together” or that you are in complete control of everything that is to be.
Sometimes good things happen even when you don’t deserve them, and sometimes bad things happen when you don’t deserve them. But there is a lot of freedom in knowing that you are just one moving part in a complicated universe of diverse and complex movements.
That way you should realise that other people’s troubles and triumphs are as much your own as they aren’t. It might seem like a real conundrum, but it really makes you remember the bigger picture that we exist in. This is the kind of realisation the depths of which settle in slowly and throughout your life, so take time to explore its safe, deep waters from early on in life.
As in the words of the philosopher, Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
2
Get Used to Letting People Down
You’re never going to be able to please everyone. Sure, it’s nice to be liked, but this can’t come at the cost of your values or drive you to burn out. Find balance and realise that meeting other people’s mark only matters if you are happy with yourself first. Don’t try to please people for self-validation.
In the same vein, not everyone is going to like you. And guess what? That is okay.
If you know who you are, what you believe in and what is important to you, then when people don’t like you, you will be able to identify that it isn’t you the person, but rather something you stand for, or do – not your person in entirety. And it won’t matter as much. Figure this out young and you will have a much happier life.
3
Find Balance in Pacing Yourself
There is no such thing as perfect balance. There will be busy seasons and quiet seasons. Find balance in pacing yourself. Don’t steal tomorrow’s sunshine with habits that rob you of opportunities that might come your way.
If your work is draining 100% of your energy, you won’t have energy to embrace anything else. In the same way if your family is taking 100% of your time, then you know other areas will have to be compromised.
Pacing yourself to be able to deliver what you can, when you need to, will help you find balance between work, life and health. Failure to set realistic expectations of yourself and learn what to take on and when will mean you will never find balance. So, figure out your pace fast!
If you need to know more about how to find balance, try out our course: Mind Mastery: our meditation course. Sign up at: alux.com/mindmastery
4
Understand Money as a Tool
Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy a lot else. But the truth is that thinking of money as “destination happiness” is going to leave you unfulfilled and never quite satisfied.
Develop a good relationship with money as a tool. A commodity that can be traded for what you want or need. But it will never fix your hurt, heal your loneliness of solve your problems.
This healthy outlook will also prevent you from becoming emotionally attached to money. So, your happiness won’t be linked to your bank balance.
For more money advice, watch our video 15 BASIC MONEY SKILLS Everyone Should Know.
5
Find Your Healthy Routine
Good health doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and each of us is different. How we respond to food, exercise and relaxation is different. Listen to your body and be aware of what does and doesn’t serve you.
Once you know, make sure that the vast majority of what you consume and do, works towards your health because good health is everything, and there are so many preventable diseases linked to poor diet and routine. If you make it part of your routine, then it doesn’t become a chore or a fad, it just is! The earlier you start the easier it will be when life gets busy.
6
Be Flexible
They say nothing is certain in life except change, and some people add death and taxes onto the list.
The bottom line is that you can’t take anything for granted, nothing is a sure thing. Ask someone who lost a child, was cheated on or lost their home in a natural disaster.
Appreciate all that you have, look after it, and remember that in a moment it could be gone. That is what makes it all the more precious.
Remain flexible to change, grieve loss and allow yourself to move on with living again. Mastering this will make life flow a whole lot easier.
More on this later on.
7
Save for Retirement
The difference between starting to put away for retirement at age 25 and age 35 could mean having double the savings at retirement age.
Investing in a retirement annuity shouldn’t be your only retirement plan, it’s best to diversify with something like the US 401K, plus most governments offer some form of monthly pension grant.
The benefit of putting money into a monthly retirement annuity is twofold. In most countries it is considered a tax-free investment. So it can increase your annual take home thanks to tax benefits. Secondly, you can put away less if you start early because it grows exponentially, and you secure yourself a monthly income or lump sum when you retire.
It is high time to save earlier for retirement. Check out “15 Reasons Why Our Generation Can’t Afford to Retire“.
8
Have a Good Saving Mind Set
You won’t wake up one day and suddenly have an appetite for saving. Nor will you suddenly find yourself with so much extra income that you feel motivated to save. Saving is a mindset. And the sooner you start the faster it becomes a habit.
The first deposit into a savings account might seem a bit measly, but when you add your second instalment something just hits home that this money is growing, and it will be there for a rainy day. It’s a great feeling.
Saving towards a big purchase also means that you don’t buy hastily or make a rash decision and end up with a boat you use once a year. When you have to wait to purchase something you often find that by the time you have the money, you don’t want it anymore.
9
Develop a Law of Attraction Mind Set
No matter who you ask, from Jesus to Tony Robbins, they all agree that we attract what we put into the universe. That the universal source wants us to do well and walking around with a cloud of doom and gloom isn’t going to open that flow of energy into your life.
Whether you believe in energy or god or not, the science makes sense. When you think positive you find opportunities, you take chances and try harder to realise those goals. Like golfing legend Gary Player puts it: “The harder you practice, the luckier you get.”
Figure this out early on and the world’s your oyster.
Get more pearls of wisdom from Gary player in his audible book: Don’t Choke. Available for free on Audible if you use our link: alux.com/freebook.
10
Have a Love for Learning, Be Curious, Make Reading a Habit
If you stopped learning when you left school, then you’re missing out. Our hands are usually within less than a meter to an information highway with a wealth of knowledge we will never exhaust.
Foster a curiosity about the world by looking things up that you don’t understand. Nothing is too complicated that you won’t be able to grasp the basics with some solid reading and a few explainer videos.
Learning is endless fun, but only if you see the merit in it. Surround yourself with people who are fascinating and share ideas and news that encourages you to learn, relook and recalibrate your opinion in a shifting world. This way you will always be young and relevant, no matter how old you are in years.
11
Learn to Listen
The only way to learn something new is to listen. That doesn’t mean being quiet until someone stops saying what they were saying so that you can have your say. It means hearing what they are saying, considering it and relating it to the situation they are referring to, and your own experience or context.
Listening is realising that you don’t always have to respond. That agreement it often a silent nod, it doesn’t have to be your own recount making the exact same point.
By listening, you quickly learn how people feel about a lot of things. You won’t get the same insight from talking.
12
Get Your Credit Score Right and Maintain It
When you need a good credit score to get an important loan… is the wrong time to start working on it. But maintaining a good credit score from young opens a lot of opportunities to you. Sure, a credit score isn’t all that matters when applying for a loan, but it is something that you can pretty easily control.
There is no one way to calculate a credit score, it is a mathematical algorithm applied to the information on your credit report. And even these algorithms vary between banks and lenders.
To get a credit score in most countries you need some credit. That means getting a credit card, or an overdraft, or opening a store account. To get a GOOD credit score you need to make sure you don’t default on paying everything on time. Use an app to track how much money you need to pay at the end of the month, so that you have enough to take your credit balance back to zero.
13
Wear Sunscreen
In the pursuit of stopping permanent wrinkles they say the best time to get botox is when you are 25, and the second best time is today. But really all that botox can be avoided if you just wear sunscreen from a young age. Make it part of your daily routine, and look after the skin you’re in. Avoiding sun damage is truly the only secret to youth, so start today.
14
Free Yourself of Addiction
If you want to make positive changes in your life, you need to form new habits, rather than break ‘bad’ ones. So, for the most part allow yourself to start positive with life and energy affirming actions.
But in the case that something negative is creeping into your life, get on top of it early on in life. It only takes on average 3 days to stop a bad habit. Three mornings of not scrolling on your phone as you wake up until it feels normal. 3 nights of not having a 5 pm drink before you don’t long for it.
If you want to make something a habit use the 21/90 rule. It takes 21 days to make a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
It’s good to know you’re only 3 days from stopping something you don’t like, and 3 weeks from keeping going at something you do like.
15
Plan for the Future, but Enjoy the Journey
While you’re out there making money moves and planning for your future, don’t forget to live in the now. The future is uncertain, so be part of the journey too. Be sure you are being mindful and enjoying the moment. Don’t miss important family events because you’re too caught up making money away for your kids’ future that you miss their whole childhood.
Remember, all you have is now, and this is what you have control over now. So treasure it.
Question:
What have you got right from this list? What do you wish you had gotten right earlier?
