Tom Jackson, Marketing and sales channel builder Suggest Bio Votes by Jan Leadbetter, Lecia Bushak, Antonio Jiménez Palenzuela, Tinu Rajan, and 3500 more. I have a 22-year old son, and my advice to him is the same:

Between 16 and about 30, life gives us incredible energy. After that, we have less energy and less time. As Franklin said, "Do ye love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of." You see, one of the great lessons of Western Civ is to delay gratification in hopes of a better reward down the road. Hence, the many compelling time-wasters of our day (mindless internet surfing, video games, texting, reality TV, endless social media use, porn, bad relationships etc.,) --these are all a slow drip of poison for the life you hope to have. You can never get back those many hours wasted.

What should one do instead? Read, study and build skills. Listen to old people. Hone your ability to concentrate. You are now in the 'habit-forming' time of your life, that will carry forward for many years. Guard your integrity: your word, the quality of your friendships, the interests you allow yourself. Be fully in the moment; life is more interesting that way.

My son is a student and a cook. If I was between jobs, I told him, or if I had some days available, I'd ask to work for a week at a few different restaurants as an unpaid intern. Sign a liability waiver, smile, and tell them you want to learn from experts like them, and all you want at the end of the week is a great reference or referral. They may feel complimented, and give you a chance. They may keep you on, as a paid employee. You'll learn to cook other things, and add a new cuisine to your experiences. Think about your young life this way, as an opportunity to pack away experiences. It's hard to find the time to learn them, later.

For those NOT on scholarship and WITHOUT deep parental financial support: A young person should first seriously consider learning a trade, at a tech or occupational school, before their college career. A trade: working with your hands with a bona fide skill connects you to the real world in a way classroom knowledge cannot. Your work at that trade will pay you much more per hour. Paying for college by working full time at a low-wage entry level job is mind-numbingly hard. Besides, this will make you more interesting. "Hmm, an accountant who can weld? I'd better read this resume..." Personally, I use all kinds of skills I picked up while young, which come in handy now.

Ah... but be careful: Peer pressure will urge you toward making that trade into your life. That extra money will be a big temptation. Do you want to stop there? Or continue on to a better place, and a 4-year degree? HAVE A PLAN - don't just putter along. Use the trade as a tool to better yourself, as part of a broader goal, with timelines, a series of objectives and discipline.

Don't be afraid to realize that some of your friends may be time-vampires, or for that matter, emotion-, or energy-vampires. All relationships are a give-and-take, but if your friends chronically derail you from your goals, dreams or better judgment, get new friends.

One should avoid student loans if at all possible. In the US, we're probably looking at the bubble of higher education bursting soon, because the cost of education has risen so much faster than inflation, and because the quality of education is declining. Admissions officers lie. "Oh yes, Modern Dance is a fine major. I'm sure you'll find many rewarding opportunities with this degree, as do all our grads. Just sign here..." And on this subject, look at what starting income is for your proposed field of study. Don't waste your financial aid. If you are going into debt with student loans, know that a new grad will almost certainly be paying huge bills in comparison to their salary - and for decades - if they've chosen a sociology degree, architecture, or fine arts, or womens' studies, or basically anything in the soft sciences, with the salaries tho... (more)

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Tony Gallagher Suggest Bio Votes by Emre Safak, Tom Jackson, Julie Prentice, Matthew Baldwin, and 17 more. I have only one piece of advice, and it comes from bitter experience. While it is important to maintain the supportive relationships in your life, it is equally important to recognise those who wish to hold you back. To limit the potential damage of living your life how others dictate, become as self-sufficient as possible, as early as possible. It is only then that you will come to realise who you want to be, and not what others want for you. Question what you really want and, even if it flies directly in the face of what others want for you, go for it.

Set yourself a goal and don't stop in your efforts to achieve that goal, no matter how difficult the task may be or how long it may take.

In short, this is the time to discover who you want to be, and start taking the steps to achieve that goal. Yes, travel, experience all the different sides to life that you can, and then listen only to that inner voice which is telling you who you really are.