11 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Turning 30
As I turned 30, questions like “What is the purpose of life?” and “What do I want to do in my life?” started popping up in my mind. I began really digging deeper, asking myself what makes me happy? What is the meaning of my life and do I spend it well? It seemed that the answer was more challenging than I initially anticipated.
I know that I’m not alone in thinking these questions. If you are reevaluating your purpose and life’s calling too, allow me to share some pearls of wisdom I’ve gained over the last 30 years.
1. There are no rules in this world!
Ok, maybe 2:
- The laws of physics (but we still we don’t understand all of them)
- The principle of karma (what we say, do, or think will create a force that will react accordingly)
My main point here is not to discuss how to defy the laws of gravity but to remind you that whatever you decide to do or be in your life you can make it happen. Whatever business you want to create, idea to conceive, movement to spread or experience to have, there is no one stopping you but yourself. When you change your mindset to “I can do it,” the world will align with your energy and magically adjust to you.
2. Remember that you’re the one setting the rules
Remember the first point! Seriously, it’s trickier than you think. Even though you truly believe you live your life according to with what you hold in your heart, your mind, your spirit, or the Supreme Creator, it’s so easy to copy others. We reflect the rules built by others.
This is especially notable thanks to social media. We live in a world of influencers, filling the little red heart or giving a thumbs up to the beautiful and successful people that “have it made” and share their inspirational snapshots. We subconsciously follow ideas, careers, business trends, and so on, which are set by others. This is because we think there is no other way when the reality is that there are so many other ways it’s simply a matter of coming up with what exemplifies your truth.
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” — Steve Jobs
3. It all starts with YOU
How well do you think you know yourself? When was the last time you had a moment to think about what you really want? Take the time to spend some quality time with yourself. Go travel, explore something unknown on your own, and learn what you really want. Try to find what makes you happy, define your values, and discover what matters to YOU. Consider spending one month with yourself, jump into a different continent or culture, and begin listening to your soul.
“Knowing yourself is the begging of all wisdom.” — Aristotle
4. There is no defined purpose in life
A bit hard to accept and difficult to explain, but true to speak. You are born, you live, you die and that’s it. As long as you’re living and breathing now, this is your chance to do something. When you understand that, you won’t care about the non-essential things. You don’t give a f*ck about trying to be someone else. You don’t care about money, cars, your job title, having the perfect six-pack. Being in control takes on a whole new meaning: you are free to be in control of your own life.
5. Money is not what it’s all about
Money is the biggest misconception in this world. We earn money because we are helping or assisting others in achieving a goal or task. The more we help the more we get. This is something to take as a privilege. You earn a trust from a society and get a contribution for what you did well. You’ll need to give it back in order to use it, so why not use it well?
Use your experience to create more good and serve others. Clothing, houses, gadgets — these are all things that are, well, just things. They don’t make you smarter or happier or a better person. The impact which you create in the world is what will stay when you are gone. Everything else will be recycled, demolished, and forgotten. People will move onto the next thing but a legacy lives on. Maybe one day you’ll wake up and magically have a million dollars in your bank account, but trust me when I say that this day will be like every other.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
6. Don’t choose to work — play
Do what you love! I agree, it’s extremely hard to understand what it is exactly that you really and truly love to do. It took me 18 years to arrive to a point of realization and acknowledge what I am passionate about. For me, I love to build things: software, products, ideas, teams.
That’s why I started Aurity, a team/framework where people can fulfill themselves. A place where you can collaborate, where you don’t follow the rules, where you are your own boss. There’s no CEO, there aren’t any managers, it’s just people playing freely, trying to help others using the latest technology. And what’s even better? It doesn’t matter where you live — the company is fully functioning 100% remotely.
7. You can have results or excuses, not both
Whenever you think something is beyond your power or doesn’t work, it’s just because you don’t understand the real problem at hand. You need to ask yourself, “What am I missing?” Be honest with yourself, don’t look for excuses. Keep pushing yourself to the unfamiliar and learn what you don’t know.
8. Feed your mind well
Every day we tend to scroll Instagram, Facebook, Netflix and other channels that are essentially fillers and timesucks. We feed our mind with rubbish information and pointless conversation, as we discuss our past, gossip, or take a jab at politics. It’s like feeding your brain with McDonalds every day — it’s juicy and fun but in the end it does more harm.
Instead, choose to watch a Ted Talk, get inspired on Medium, chat with creative people, and meditate.
9. Take care of your body
It’s a vehicle that goes everywhere with you throughout all your life. It will take you to amazing places and let you experience incredible things. Drinking all weekend and eating junk food is just saying that you want to fast forward and pass through your life without really living it. Your body is a temple, take care of it.
10. Share, share, share!
Share ideas, thoughts, experiences, and anything you have that could benefit the greater mankind. We are too worried about sharing with others, maybe because we might get less out of it or someone will take our idea and steal our success. That is so year-2000-millenium mentality. We need to trust each other and understand that together we can achieve much more.
This is what we strive to redefine today, redistributing the wealth to everyone and creating/giving opportunities. It’s a task for our generation to shape a new, open world where we can grow and focus on things that matter with full transparency. Who knows, maybe something like blockchain can lend us a hand in making some majorly impactful changes.
11. It’s all about the people
You can achieve a lot on your own but when collaborating with others you can achieve everything. Think of it this way: the best things are made by nature. They are the strongest, pure and can adapt to any conditions. That being said, the best teams are formed organically, not by money, authorities, or rules. People don’t work for others, they work for themselves, for their livelihood.
Find a team which encourages your growth and will be a fan for your flames.This is how you’ll be taken to the next level and achieve greatness. Together is better!
Concluding Actions
If you are at the beginning of your “journey to self,” start right now and start with WHY. Find out your “Why” and keep moving forward. If you’ve already found your green grass and are standing on your patch, water it. Nurture, experience, and keep going. Life is all about the journey — the destination is what you make of it.
Like what you’ve read or thinking you’d like to become part of a like-minded team? I’m here and ready to start the conversation.
I hope you’ve found this piece inspiring. Share your thoughts and let’s connect: it all starts here and now.
