You should be able to do these 12 things in your 20s

One of you mentioned just how bad drivers are today. I replied with my beef…

I have a short commute to work, dropping off Anna then going to my job. Then picking her up and we go to the gym together afterwards before dinner.

Well, my beef is I can’t believe how many times I have to honk the horn nowadays. No, not at bad drivers. But people who fall asleep at the green light.

You’ll constantly see a green light and cars backed up because one car doesn’t understand green means you go.

So Gentlemen, this is your competition → Zombies.

I strongly suggest you get your health in order first and foremost. Eat right. And find an exercise you enjoy doing.

There’s no such thing as “the best exercise.” There’s the exercise you enjoy doing and that exercise is your best exercise because you don’t need to be motivated to do it. In other words, the best exercise is the one you don’t quit.

So as per the title, here are 12 things you should just know how to do (or be doing) before you turn 30. I wrote these because parents nowadays have done such shitty jobs at raising their kids. I have Zoomers in my family who don’t know how to do any of these. Straight up parental failure.

Doing/knowing how to do these 12 things will give you a leg up on other men your age and prep your 30s to be way better than your peers.

Every jackass Twitter guru says “find a woman who knows how to cook.” Yeah, good luck with that.

Even in the 90s when I was in college, I cooked better than every single girl I dated. Without exception.

If you look at who are the great chefs, the vast majority are men. Not women.

The good thing is between cookbooks and YouTube, you can cook anything. Just get started with something simple and learn to cook one thing at a time.

We avoid nonstick pans, plastics, and aluminum. So I cook in cast iron, stainless steel, porcelain, or glass, and stir with wood. We use wood cutting boards too. You just have to wash them when you cut meat. And be sure to dry them as keeping a wooden cutting board wet is the fastest way to ruin it.

Sports are underrated and some of the best ways to meet cool people. I got three contract jobs from playing beach volleyball in Los Angeles for instance.

Soccer made me an elite wrestler. I had the skills but the one edge was the constant sprints from soccer.

Football (American) is where I got my work ethic from. I was always undersized so I had to work twice as hard as everyone else to get the same results. Which turned out to be a good thing because hard work became my normal.

My son’s baseball coach had friends for life from his baseball teams.

Whether we like it or not, we live in a dangerous world.

My last Silicon Valley job, I had to take the commuter train to and from work. One of my colleagues from my stop got mugged, beaten up, got his arm broken, and his wallet and laptop stolen.

My 2c is it was because his body language screamed “victim.” That said, had he knocked out the first guy, the second guy would have taken off.

Plus, fighting arts force you to think fast. Boxing is the best way on the planet to get rid of anxiety. You’ll learn to move fast. Think fast. Respond fast. Your reflexes will speed up. Everything you do will become faster.

You quickly learn that hesitation means you get punched in the face and nobody enjoys getting punched in the face. So you learn to move fast. React instantly.

And contrary to popular opinion, most of the fighters I’ve trained with were cool people. You put on the “asshole” show for the show. But irl, they’re usually pretty cool peeps.

I had a friend who was a race car driver and you should have seen how fast he could change a tire.

No, I’m not even a fraction as fast. But I’ve helped people change theirs.

Now jumper cables, I’ve unfortunately had to use many, many times. They’re quite dangerous if used incorrectly so definitely watch a video or two before attempting.

You should know how to fix a leaky toilet or a leaky sink.

The good thing about the leaky toilet is replacement parts are usually cheap. And you’d be surprised how easy it is to replace those parts.

Heck nowadays, a lot of those parts come with links to YouTube videos how to exchange those parts.

Just the basics will save you time and money.

You’ve heard the saying “pay yourself first.”

I can’t emphasize how important this is.

I had about $250k in cash in 2002. Went thru it all, because I was just some working class kid who didn’t even know what an IRA or a 401k was. The company I worked for IPO’d and I partied it away.

Lesson learned the hard way.

By 2005, our net worth went right back to $0.

We didn’t get securely back into the middle class until 2014. When we did, I turned to Anna and said “what should we do with all our extra money?”

She said “let’s travel.”

So we did and we’ve since seen half the world.

But it all comes down to basics. I didn’t understand the concept of paying yourself first until I lost everything.

Of course, feel free to put more than 10% if you want. It all depends on you.

But you need to fund your investments with your income. It should be second nature.

Paying yourself first simply means you feed your investments before you even pay your bills. Future you > your bills.

When you put that into practice, you’ll build wealth.

I can’t emphasize how important it is to spend some time outdoors. It’s a great way to recharge your batteries and also build lifelong friendships.

Of our inner circle, I used to camp with my friend from 1991. We were both broke at the time but you don’t need much money to go camping.

The sad thing is I’ve lost all that outdoor photography. I shot a lot of it, and some of the shots were outstanding.

Then of course I took Anna and my son camping when he was little. Made him appreciate the outdoors. He still goes camping with his pals.

My son is a better swimmer than I am. Last apartment complex we lived in, he could swim lengthwise and back underwater.

I’m not that good but still much better than the average person. One of my favorite things to do is swim underwater in the Caribbean or the Black Sea.

I won’t do the Pacific because I’ve almost drowned there once. Way more dangerous.

(Never ever swim alone. Swimming alone is dangerous. Even in a creek).

Roxy’s husband is a good swimmer. When we get together, we always race. He always wins, but swimming is excellent exercise so I’ll still race someone, even if I know I’m going to lose.

Unless you’re handicapped, you should be able to run a mile in your 20s. The whole mile, not just part of it.

Heck, I’m in my mid-50s and can still do slightly over 7 minutes. I was under 7 minutes last year but slowing down. Aging ain’t exactly easy.

Everyone has faulty cells. Not necessarily cancer cells but faulty cells.

Your body is supposed to clean them out.

The good thing is these faulty cells are generally weak and fasting is one of the best ways to clear out these fuckers. When you stop eating for a period of time, your body switches from growth mode to survival mode and this helps your body know it’s time to clean house. Which means get rid of the crappy cells in your body.

Fasting has a million other benefits as well. Fasting helps you burn fat, significantly reduces your cancer risks, and helps your organs “stay young.” And in America, Diabetes 2 is way too common. Fasting is one of the best ways to combat Diabetes 2 from developing.

I’ve always said the main 4 components of a “successful” adult are health, finances, relationships, passions. Health is #1. The other ones are tied for second place.

I love money as much as the next guy but money’s no good if you’re super rich and enjoying it from a hospital bed. That’s why I argue health is first.

Anna and I were broke in 2004/2005. But we had a great relationship and worked as a team, and got out of it in 2006/2007. By 2009, we had our debts paid off and money in investment accounts.

Relationships matter. I’m not just talking romantic. Your friends and family matter. If your family are a bunch of assholes, then be sure to build strong relationships with your friends. They matter when the shit hits the fan and the shit will hit the fan in everyone’s life. Bad things happen. Good people help you get thru them.

So once you got those all going in the right direction, learn a musical instrument or an art form. I can’t stress how healthy this is for your sanity.

(And yes, writing counts as an art form).

Maybe I’m a freak. Because I keep hearing public speaking is everyone’s greatest fear.

It came naturally to me.

I took 3 semesters of Speech in college and in the 3rd semester, my professor took me aside and tried to convince me to join his team. He’s been #1 in California before.

I had to decline because at the time, I was in the band that I thought for sure we’d get signed. We never got that top notch singer to push us over the edge though. I learned the hard way you could have the world’s most talented band, but if your singer sucks, your band sucks.

But that’s another story for another day.

Speaking publicly will increase your confidence in almost every aspect of your life, from asking out babes to asking for a raise to securing a business loan.

I made my son take one semester of Speech in high school. He got pissed. I told him he didn’t have a choice.

Afterwards, he thanked me for making him do it because he learned just how powerful Speech is.

I argue it’s hands down the most important class in high school. Period.

Humans are a social species. Speech is everything.

I’m short, blind as a bat, and definitely not good looking. Never had a problem with the babes because I can speak better than almost anyone. It’s one of my greatest strengths.

I can’t emphasize enough how much public speaking will improve your life.

Heck, get on a podcast. It’s great practice.

Anyways, made these 12 a goal to accomplish before you turn 30 and your 40 year old self will profusely thank you. Because by the time you’re 40, you’ll be head and shoulders above your peers.

People don’t think long term. They think in terms of fire drills. Then they wonder why they don’t pull ahead.

If you can think long term, you’ll smoke your peers.

Seriously.

Nothing in the paid section today except for the nudes. I really want to see people improve their lives. So many Americans are BARELY getting by and I see the exasperation on their faces.