Leaving high school, I was pretty clueless. I had my entire adult life ahead of me, with endless possibilities but no clue about where or even how to get started. I had no life, work and limited women experience, but there I was, faced with decisions that would ripple through the rest of my life. My parents were around, but they were completely disconnected from the reality that I existed in. The world they grew up in a time that was completely different to mine, hence the advice I got was pretty generic, outdated and uninspiring.

The decade or so since then was a roller coaster ride. I traveled a large portion of the world, studied and had a few different jobs. I learnt new skills, hobbies and put on a considerable amount of muscle. I had plates, dates and LTR's, going through a few honeymoons and heartbreaks along the way. I've made friends, lost friends and moved cities. I built a business, lost it and started others and made successes of them.

Today, I find myself in a really great space where I'm doing fairly well but more importantly living well and enjoying the challenges that life throws at me. I enjoy what I do, the people around me and how I get to spend my time.

I certainly don't know it all but through the journey I've become alot wiser, knowledgeable and more competent than I was back then. I thought it would be useful to share some of my learning over the years, particularly the key points that I wish had known when I started out. Things I learnt through trial and error by banging my head. Things that would have saved me and hopefully will some others a whole lot of pain and struggle through the years.

I'm also in a position age wise where I'm not so far away from my teens that I can't relate to the youthful experience, while at the same time being far enough to have lived and learned somewhat.

These are the most important lessons:

Friends

When you're in high school, you think you and your friends are gonna be tight forever, I know I certainly thought so. The reality is that people have different goals for their lives and take different paths. Some will go to different colleges, some will get different jobs and some will move to different countries. It's almost inevitable that some of you drift apart at some point.

Others you'll find are simply in congruent with what you want out of life, sticking around with them will only hold you back. Who you are as a kid isn't necessarily who you'll be as an adult.

Don't have oneitis for your high school friends or be afraid of leaving some behind to pursue your goals. Some will stay, some will go. You'll meet different people along the way, make new friends and build new connections.

Money

Save/Invest money, stay out of debt.

You can never start saving/investing money too early. If you start saving/investing money when you begin earning it, you will build a healthy saving/investing mindset, if you start spending it recklessly when you earn it, you'll have a hell of a tough time breaking that habit.

The amount of guys I see in mountains debt or with absolutely no savings in their mid to late 20's is astounding. This shit plagues you into your 30's and you're always playing catch up. Enjoy yourself here and there, but use your excess money and not your savings.

If you do things right, you'll reach financial independence far quicker and be able to invest in opportunities that you feel passionate about. This can literally make or break your entire career and how long it takes you to get where you want to be.

College

I'm not a die hard college advocate, you can be successful with or without it. It all depends on who you are and what you want out of your life. If you want a career or to specialize (STEM), then it's a fairly necessary foundation. If you want to be an entrepreneur, then it can be useful but it's not necessary. Far more depends on your attitude, work ethic and grit. One thing you should absolutely not do is study a piece of shit degree just to make up the numbers, then rather go work or travel.

The other factor to consider with college is that it's a great environment to interact with women and build a strong male networks. It's probably your last stop before full blown adult responsibilities, so enjoy it and make the most of it, but don't fuck around. How you approach life then spills into your post college behavior and you want to build strong foundations.

Work

If you're studying, I recommend working part time alongside your degree, waitering worked wonders for me, but anything will do. It get's you interacting with adults and customers on a professional level, teaching you how to deal with clients, bosses and colleagues. It teaches you about how to manage your time and energy, while building work experience and finances, which will all be exceptionally useful when you hit the job market.

I earned alot of cash (sadly blowing alot of it too) as well as being offered a management position at my place of work while simultaneously studying. I eventually used a lot of this money to kick start one of my businesses when the time came.

If you're going directly into the work market, find a field of work that resonates with you and work your ass off. Stand out from the crowd and push yourself. Don't job hop a thousand times, build goodwill, progress yourself and build a solid skill set. Employers notice good employees and invest in them. Get far enough down the line that you're able to start something for yourself if you desire.

Network

Sadly, your success is seldom determined solely by what you have to offer. A massive part of it is who you know and how you interact with them, particularly in business.

You wan't to build up a solid network of people who can open doors for you. Befriend and nourish relationships with people who are motivated and competent. When the time comes, you will get opportunities or investment ahead of other people because of the goodwill you've built up.

Don't just be a leach though, give value if you want to take value, look after and maintain these relationships. I can attribute a large portion of my business success to the assistance I got from other people, who helped me in times of need and gave me the edge in times of abundance. I have returned the favors in many cases.

Gym

Lift, lift, lift, lift. Lifting quite literally transformed my life. As you get bigger people tend to respect you more. You have more of a presence and people notice you. I went from quite skinny to pretty beefy and the change in the way people perceived me was noticeable.

Because of the increased respect and attention you get, you get caught up in a positive feedback loop which enables you to build up much more internal confidence and be more sure of yourself. This spills over into and positively affects all aspects of your life.

It doesn't hurt that it also ramps up your SMV and enables you to get much hotter women.

Health

Going hand in hand with Gym is health. You only have one body, one mind and it has to get you through the rest of your life.

I see so many guys ripping themselves apart in their 20's, at such a young age, drinking, smoking and taking drugs excessively. It won't haunt them now, but it will certainly come back around later in life.

Enjoy yourself, have your fun, but know when enough is enough and realize you're playing a long game.

Appearance

You can be the nicest guy in the world, with the best intentions, but unfortunately human beings will to some degree judge you based on your appearance. You want to make sure you display yourself effectively to ensure you give yourself the best possible chance of success.

I would rock up to meetings and work looking tatty and despite my work ethic, I was overlooked. It was only once I presented myself professionally and looked the part that people took me more seriously.

Dress well, get your clothes fitted, get a good haircut, put on a nice pair of shoes. You'll notice the difference in how colleagues, associates and women treat you.

Women

As is with most young men, women occupy a massive portion of your head space. You think every interaction or relationship is such a big deal, hell, I thought my first relationship was "true love".

The reality is, the pussy you go through now is just going to be a blimp on your radar one day. Your youth should simply be your pussy education. Experience as many of them as possible, have variety and try different things. Try different sizes, different heights, different hair colors and different personalities. Try plating them, FWB them, hell even LTR'ing them(just don't have expectations).

The larger your pool of reference the better you will understand women, their workings and their behaviors. This will enable you to be more effective interacting with them. Always remember that no women is special, no women is irreplaceable and no women is worth selling your soul for, there's millions of others out there that could replace them in an instant.

Enjoy it for what it is, while it's good and when it's not, move on.

Attitude

You're not inherently special, the world doesn't owe you anything, you can't have it just because you want it and nobody is gonna do it for you.

I can't stress how pervasive these attitudes are in larger society. Kids get pandered to so much in school and at home that they can't function once they get thrown out into the real world. They're unable to come to terms with the fact that nobody will ever care for them the way their mother and teachers did.

The truth is you get what you give. If you want something you're gonna have to work for it. If you wanna feel special then you're gonna have to do something special.

Take responsibility for what happens happens in your life, good or bad. It's pointless blaming factors you can't control, instead work tirelessly on the factors you an control.

My life took a massive upswing when I stopped blaming other factors, people or bad luck and instead looked at myself for everything that went right or wrong. It empowered me, I was no longer a victim of my circumstances but rather the master of my own destiny.

Be A Salesman

The product is YOU.

I've seen exceptionally talented people go absolutely nowhere and I've seen some exceptionally un-talented people achieve extraordinary things. The key difference was often in how they sold themselves and interacted with the world around them.

Whether it's women, professionally or with friendships your success will often depend on how well you can persuade and inspire confidence. Learn how to get people to see things from your perspective. Shine light on your successes and own and your failures. Work on your weaknesses in silent and come back stronger.

As a man besides your close friends and family, the world doesn't care about your problems, so don't whine about them, it just drives down your selling price.

Knowledge

Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you see, the more you understand, the better you're able to act. Always have an open mind to new perspectives and new ideas and you'll grow into a more well rounded person.

Read books, learn about a variety of topics, understand and apply them. Travel and experience how people live outside of your small corner of the world. Engage in conversations and get alternative perspectives. Spend time with people more knowledgeable than yourself and absorb like a sponge.

The Game

Life's a game, learn how to play it.

The nicest guy doesn't always get the girl just as the best worker doesn't always get the job because life isn't fair. It doesn't operate on the rules we were taught it does or the ones we wish it does. The sooner you're able to let go of the way you wish the world to operated the sooner you can see the way the world does operate.

This rings true for all aspects of your life from your dealings with work and women to your family and friends. There's patterns in each of them, some actions yield better results and other actions yield worse results.

Observe, recognize and learn these patterns, how to maneuver through them effectively and adapt.