How to not waste your 20s (this may sting)

Learn how to learn, how to think, and how to earn

The video version of this letter if you prefer that:

---

When I was a teenager, I was scared to death at the thought of wasting my 20s.

Not because I didn’t believe in myself, but because of how common it was.

Yesterday, I went to the gas station before the gym and was reminded of what the average college experience looks like.

When I walked in, there were 4 dudes in polos, boat shoes, and kaki shorts, each with messy hair that looked unwashed as if they just woke up (at noon).

Each had a case of beer, one had a mega pack of Fireball shooters.

I couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of how they were going to feel that night, the next day, and possibly the next week.

I get it though.

I’ve been in their position multiple times.

But they weren’t in college. They were easily closing in on 30 years old. And I couldn’t help but think that, if I didn’t decide to fully commit to living a good life, I would be right there with them, as that is one of a few default outcomes in today’s society. Different people have different lives, sure, but I do not see how a clear thinker can justify that type of behavior.

The truth is, by the time most people turn 23, they repeat the same 6 months for the rest of their life.

The same job. The same bars. The same video games. The same raves. You have a few euphoric experiences because you’re now over the age of 21 and want to do things you’ve been told not to do for your entire life, then you try to make most of those experiences a consistent part of your life. And unless you started pursuing some form of higher goal before you fall into this trap, you do not understand what a fulfilling life is, so you do not try to make that a priority. All you know is going to school and “having fun.”

• Unfortunately, everyone wants you to go down this path, even if they say they want great things for you, because this is what happens when you only pursue the goals that others have assigned to you.

• Unless you make the conscious decision to never live like the average person, which is difficult to do because you are surrounded by average people who feel threatened if you don’t stay average, you will end up average.

• The default path in life is so mind-numbingly repetitive yet mentally demanding that it only becomes harder and harder to make the decision to change.

In this letter, I want to discuss what you can do as someone entering into or journeying through their 20s.

I want to provide a look into the mindset, habits, skills to acquire, and principles that lead to an overwhelmingly high quality of life in today’s world.

If you actually read it (and burn it into your brain) I do not see why you can’t completely change your life.

---

Before we begin, Superhuman90 (a 90 day life reset and intense dopamine detox with lifestyle, training, and nutrition protocols to get your life back on track) goes live in 3 days.

The pre-order price will increase at that time.

If you want your mind and body to be more energetic, creative, confident, and ready to take on this world of temptation and distraction, consider enrolling here.

---

What Would Socrates, Tesla, or Krishnamurti Do?

The advice I give in the next section will be the advice I would give my younger self.

So, I want to start with a few different perspectives. That way, you benefit from this letter whether you like my advice or not.

If we could go back in time and talk to some of the greatest thinkers, what advice would they give to make the most of your 20s?

Socrates

It is better to be a conscious fool than an unconscious success.

The most radical thing you can do in your 20s is not to “get ahead” of everyone else, but to discover who you truly are beneath all the noise of society’s expectations.

In your 20s, you possess the dangerous combination of energy and ignorance. You mistake confidence for wisdom, activity for progress, and accumulation for fulfillment.

You say you want to become “who you were meant to be,” but do you truly know who that is?

Before you can make the most of your twenties, you must first discover what “most” means for you specifically.

• Question everything, especially your own assumptions about what success, happiness, and the good life are.

• When someone tells you to build a business or make more money, why? For what purpose? What kind of person will that make you?

• Embrace not knowing, because the beginning of wisdom is knowing that you know nothing. Your 20s should be spent in experimentation and discovery.

• Reflect daily, why are you doing what you’re doing? If you don’t do this, you will find yourself in a life you didn’t intend.

Beware of replacing one form of unconscious living (mindless pleasure seeking) with another (mindless goal-chasing).

Krishnamurti

The problem that young people face is not that they lack ambition or goals, but that they are living entirely from psychological conditioning.

Their goals aren’t their own. Instead, they were programmed into them by what society, family, education, and culture want for them.

They mistake this conditioning for their own authentic desires and intelligence.

• Learn to observe without choosing. Watch your own fears and ambitions without immediately acting on them, rejecting them, or accumulating something to numb them.

• Question everything you’ve been told you should want. You’ll be surprised at how many options you eliminate, giving you immense clarity.

• Understand that psychological time is the enemy of living. The mind that is always living for the future misses the extraordinary nature of what is actually happening now.

If you want to make the most of your 20s, understand there is no path to uniqueness. The moment you follow someone else’s formula (start a business, make money, or self-actualize), you are living secondhand. Copying. Imitating.

Nikola Tesla

Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.

The fundamental problem in young people is not laziness or distraction (though these are symptoms) but rather intellectual cowardice. They fear being thought a fool more than they fear mediocrity.

Develop an unshakeable faith in your ability to see what others cannot.

Tesla was called mad for envisioning wireless communication across oceans. For believing alternating current could power the world. For seeing energy patterns that existed only in the mind’s eye.

Yet these “impossible” visions became the foundation of modern civilization.

Young people have accepted other boundaries that others have drawn around possibility.

• Cultivate magnificent obsession by choosing one great work, not a career, but a mission that could take decades. Let it consume you.

• Learn to think in systems, because everything is connected (electricity, magnetism, matter, consciousness). Train your mind to see invisible connections.

• Embrace solitude, because the crowds will never understand true innovation until it arrives fully formed. Learn to work alone with your thoughts.

Young people today have unprecedented access to knowledge, yet lack the patience for deep contemplation. They seek quick results rather than profound understanding.

How To Not Waste Your 20s

If you can learn how to learn, how to think, and how to earn, you become an unstoppable force.

The issue with the advice of wise teachers is that they often believe they are “above” prescription.

Rather than giving you something to try, test, and fail with, they simply tell you to try, test, and fail. That’s fine, but I do not think the problem is prescription. The problem is the inability to see a prescription as a tool that, if it does not work for your situation, can and should be dropped. The problem is not understanding that there is no “one right way.”

Personally, the advice that has helped me the most has always been harsh. When a friend looks me dead in the eye and says, “You’re fucking up your life. Stop it. Do this instead.” I’m much more inclined to do the thing.

That said, I want to focus on the actions that will (1) teach you about yourself (2) help you think for yourself (3) aid in the discovery of your own path and (4) set you up for some form of success in today’s world.

Your Ideal Lifestyle Always Comes First

Every year or so, I catch myself taking on too many responsibilities.

I say yes to multiple projects or business opportunities. I fill up my calendar with meetings and events. I tell myself that I can handle it, that I’m capable of doing more.

But then I ask myself, “Is this the life I actually want to live?”

Most of the time, the answer is “no,” and I realize that I was either persuaded by another to adopt those goals or that there were rogue ideas in my head that influenced my decision-making.

This is when I let everything go and attempt to completely reset my life.

Now, I have become quite clear on my ideal lifestyle over the years.

I want to wake up, go on a walk, write about my interests for about 2 hours, go to the gym, read new books, build creative projects, eat great food, and feel as if I am making consistent progress toward my goals.

I’ve determined that when that lifestyle is maintained, my mind, body, spirit, and business have ample space to grow, and I do not bog myself down to the point of life becoming repetitive and mundane, because I leave space for the novel.

• Walking keeps you lean, maintains circadian health, improves creativity and productivity, and pulls you away from the fast-paced world that everyone wants you to participate in.

• Writing is the crux of thinking, learning, and attracting an audience to your work. My entire business stands on 2 hours of high-leverage writing per day.

• Reading new books based on genuine interest improves mental metabolism. When new ideas come in, they need to come out, and they can be used as fuel for creativity.

• The gym and creative projects provide structure for mental and physical progress. Without them, the natural tendency is for mind and body to decay.

I’ve discovered that without these habits, life becomes substantially worse. My mind narrows. I feel as if I can’t birth new ideas for my work, so my work starts to suffer, and I think on the surface because I am only worried about survival. Nobody built anything great in survival mode.

Here’s my advice:

Before you make a decision that could impact your future, consult with your ideal lifestyle.

If it does not align, tread carefully.

If you do it anyway, be ruthless in eliminating it when the time comes.

If you do not know what your ideal lifestyle is, forget everything I’ve said and take on any opportunity that comes your way. Gain experience, reflect on that experience, and slowly start to make decisions that move away from the parts of that experience that you never want to live through again.

Start Building The Business Now

Everyone and their mother is telling you to start a business.

So much so that “buy my course” has become a meme.

Which is unfortunate, because it turns many people away from it. People can smell the sales tactics from a mile away, and everyone has a course nowadays (I have multiple, lol).

Yes, some courses suck, but to completely close yourself off from an interest-based education (you know, the thing that actually leads to an effective skill stack and unique life) because a few people on the internet made it “uncool” is the mark of stupidity.

That said, I’m not here to sell you on a specific business model. I simply want to lay down some ideas and let you make a decision for yourself. Here’s why I hold the belief that everyone should start (but maybe not continue with) a business:

• Autonomy (making independent decisions that align with personal values and goals) is fundamental to the psychology of enjoyment and fulfillment. Many jobs promise “autonomy,” yet you are still being assigned projects and tasks.

• An increase in challenge and skill is necessary for growth. Growth is necessary for developing the complexity of the self. The complexity of the self is necessary for the depth of experience. The top 1% of careers allow for this type of development, but it is baked into any level of entrepreneurship.

• Any objection around needing startup capital, connections, or knowledge are irrelevant in the digital age. If you can’t start your dream business, you can start a business that eventually allows you to start your dream business (i.e. a personal brand + freelancing, digital product, or coaching - as cringe as those may sound to you).

• Your brain is wired to hunt. Entrepreneurship facilitates this part of your brain. You weren’t meant to be a monkey in a cubicle. I apologize if that stings, but that metaphor is beyond an accurate representation of body + mind + today’s environment.

• If your ideal lifestyle comes first, it creates the constraints that allow for creative solutions. You do not have to work 12 hours a day. If you move the right levers (like having the skill to write a post that reaches millions) you can work 1 hour a day and make more than many top paying jobs.

• Credentials are dying and people crave authenticity. AI creating content as an excuse signals a lack of critical thought and time spent in the game.

I have many more, but I’ll spare you an entire book, because I already wrote one, and you can read it free on my Substack (Purpose & Profit).

I realized early that I hated working on other people’s dreams. My life was always better when I chose a project that aligned with my ideal lifestyle. Motivation became intrinsic, obsession was almost inevitable.

Here’s the thing through...

There is a barrier to entry. Any form of success will require 1-3 years of sustained trial and error. Most of your effort will not bear any fruit until you go through this period of having no idea what you’re doing.

You can either spend 4 years to get a degree and maybe get the job you want, or you can spend 2 years lost in the unknown with exponentially higher upside and a skill stack that makes you unemployable.

Go To The Gym

No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.

– Socrates

You live in your body.

It should be considered your full-time job to learn about it, train it, and take care of it.

I don’t care if it’s bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, running, yoga, pilates, or water aerobics.

Most people neglect their bodies, and it reflects in their minds, spirituality, and creative work.

It seems as though everyone loves the idea of creating art in their hobbies or work, but when it comes to the entire plane of physical existence, they don’t see the importance of doing the same.

If the biosphere were wiped out, the noosphere would lose its foundation.

In other words, if the world were destroyed, everything built on top of it would follow suit.

If you disrespect your body, you disrespect everything it provides for. Your mind. You creativity. Your projects. Your relationships. Your finances.

I do not believe that you can only do one thing well.

I believe that intelligent, high-leverage routine design around 3-4 fundamental habits (learning, building, training, socializing) is what provides the substrate for greatness to be born.

Master These Skills & Topics

If you want to become future-proof, prioritize self-study around these topics

• Epistemology – the study of knowledge, so you can derive truth from known facts, so you can sift through misinformation and prevent poor decision-making

• Systems thinking – the ability to observe reality from a higher, more holistic level, because a whole is greater than the sum of its parts

• Psychology – how to discern and understand the motives of yourself and others

• Persuasion – so you can spot persuasion tactics from others and use persuasion to strive for mutually beneficial value exchange

• Marketing and sales – applied psychology and persuasion as media, so that you can attract an audience to and earn from your independent work

• Writing – externalized thinking, the ability to communicate the unique value of your mind

• Agency – the ability to set and pursue your own goals without permission, so that you become in control of your life

• Research (self-education) – how to chase information on a subject that is conducive to your personal goals, or hunt for knowledge to learn into your survival wired psyche. We survive on the plane of knowledge in today’s world

If you were to pair these skills with your personal goals and interests, you would learn to create your own path in life.

This is where my bias starts to shine.

Writing, specifically, has changed my life. I’ve refined my own system to last around 1-2 hours a day, and it is the source of most of my business success, learning, agency, understanding of psychology and systems, and more. This is why I created 2 Hour Writer.

Above All, Focus On Leverage

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.

– Archimedes

Leverage is the ability to amplify your inputs to create disproportionately larger outputs.

It’s doing more with less.

It’s getting maximum results from minimum effort, time, or resources.

In today’s world, leverage comes from capital, people, technology, knowledge, and network. And if you don’t have leverage, you must invest your time in acquiring it.

Without leverage, your results are directly tied to your time and effort (a linear relationship).

You work one hour, you get one hour of results.

This limits your potential.

But if you spend your time acquiring leverage, you start to break into exponential growth.

Companies can scale beyond what their founders could do alone by leveraging people (and founders can scale beyond what they could 10 years ago by leveraging technology like social media, software, and AI).

Investors make money while they sleep by leveraging capital.

Authors can reach millions of people without speaking to each person directly by leveraging writing (media).

Software can serve billions from a single codebase by leveraging code.

In my own experience, I always knew that I did not want a life where I trade time for money. I knew that some form of entrepreneurship was the only way to create various forms of leverage in my life.

So, I tried to build every digital business model under the sun, made freelance web design work, realized I was still trading time for money, started writing on social media to build an audience, started a newsletter, built digital products, focused on cash flow, and now I can use that cash flow for higher leverage companies like software and ecommerce, which I’ve been building for a few years now.

In short, and if you want to start now, here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Audit your time – note activities where, if you stop doing them, the results stop.

2. Develop a high-leverage skill – invest 1-2 hours daily for 6-12 months into writing, coding, sales, or marketing, and once you have money, investing.

3. Build your own thing – a blog, YouTube channel, newsletter, digital product, app, template library, investment portfolio, physical product, etc. Start the business.

4. Automate and systemize – for repetitive tasks, create templates or checklists, document the process, refine it until it gets the most results it can, and potentially use automation tools or AI to take it a step further.

5. Find your tribe – attempt to help 3 people per month with no expectation of return, join communities where like-minded people or potential customers are, and share what you are learning publicly on social media.

6. Practice hiring and training – hire a VA for basic admin tasks, partner with someone whose skills complement yours, and when problems become too painful for you to solve on your own, bring adaptable people onto your team.

7. Scalable income streams – negotiate equity or commission as an employee, convert a service into a product as an entrepreneur, etc.

8. Distribution = freedom – build an email list, build an audience, make content a dedicated part of your deep work blocks.

No matter where I research more about leverage (in an attempt to ensure that my own bias doesn’t take over here) the “fast track” advice seems to always be: learn a valuable skill, create content, and invest your cash back into assets that compound.

Start with 1 hour of learning a day.

Shift to 1 hour of learning and writing a day.

Build a digital product or service that you can generate cash flow with and validate an idea, then turn it into a more scalable, higher-risk company.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you found value in it.

– Dan

Again, Superhuman90 (a 90 day life reset and intense dopamine detox with lifestyle, training, and nutrition protocols to get your life back on track) goes live in 3 days.

The pre-order price will increase at that time.

If you want your mind and body to be more energetic, creative, confident, and ready to take on this world of temptation and distraction, consider enrolling here.