5 Things I'd Tell My 18-Year-Old Self

1. Take your fu*king time!

I was one of the millions of kids at the age of 18 that decided to take herself off to university. I nailed my A-Levels and spent months researching and picking a university course. I was told by everyone that if I wanted a good job, then this was what I needed to do. The problem was, I knew all along that it didn’t quite feel like the right time to go. I wasn’t entirely convinced that the career path I’d chosen was for me. Here I was at 18-years-old, trying to convince myself that teaching was for me based on four A-levels!!!!!!

I ended up quitting university after just two years. I got up and walked out of a very juicy lecture. I’d failed, and I was okay with that.

I had rushed into choosing what I "thought" I wanted to do as a job/career. Nobody told me that it was okay to take some time out. Nobody told me that it was okay to take a little longer to figure out what I loved to do combined with what I was good at.

If I could offer one piece of advice to young people, it would be to take your fu*king time!!

Don’t be that guy that arbitrarily chooses your career in your late teens or early 20s. Chill. Try shit out. Because as with many of our choices at that age, they are often the wrong choices. It takes years to figure out what we’re good at and what we enjoy doing and we should be encouraged to try as many things a possible to find that "sweet spot." That thing that makes us want to get out of bed in the morning.

2. Having more ‘things’ doesn’t mean you’re more successful.

Everyone loves a new pair of shoes. A new car. A new cinema size TV, a new house, but why does the world's idea of "success" lie within the acquisition of things: houses, cars, job promotions, money? Of course, these visible markers do indicate a level of success, but the problem lies in allowing them to define it. Equating success with money and the things it can buy and then allowing that to define your self-worth is dead-end thinking. Why? Because it offers short-term satisfaction. The stuff you do own and pursue should ideally reflect your vision and if it doesn’t, then get rid. It amazes me that there are still millions of people who are determined never to get off that treadmill despite the cost in terms of their wellbeing. To me, your state of mind is just as important (if not more important) markers of success as the handbags you buy.

3. Patience—respect the process.

Nobody told me that after my formal education, which included years of spoon feeding and passive absorption from uninspiring books, that you enter the most crucial phase of your life—a second, practical education known as the apprenticeship. The goal of this apprenticeship should never be money, a good position, a title, or a diploma. It should always be about the transformation of the mind and character. Choose opportunities and places of work that offer the most significant possibilities for learning. Practical knowledge is the ultimate commodity.

4. Take an interest in politics.

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.

5. Experience as much as you can.

Don’t merely exist… LIVE. Experience as much as you can. Do not fall into an endless routine and become overly comfortable. Try new things. Follow your curiosities and passions. Don’t let fear and complacency stop you from a truly rewarding life.