One of the best things about life is that you can design it to be the way you want and find not only meaning and create the ideal lifestyle, but also have fun and be truly happy.
Unexpected things will keep happening and the future will always be insecure. These are 2 things we need to learn to work with early on with the help of acceptance and mindfulness. But they are not an issue if you’ve taken into consideration the areas in life that do depend on your actions, and have done something to change what you don’t like about your way of living and your environment.
This is the short version of the wake-up call all millennials need. I won’t be talking about the spiritual aspect of growing, learning and accepting what you can’t change so that you can have peace and contentment, although that’s key too.
In this post, I’ll summarize the actions you should start taking and the habits and practices to develop to guarantee a successful future, filled with joy, a career you enjoy, abundance, the right people and all that while living on your own terms.
Here’s what every millennial should be working on right now:
1. Decide where you are and where you want to be.
Let’s start with a self-analysis, a brutally honest assessment of your current situation.
Others have nothing to do with this so do it alone.
Take a piece of paper and start writing down what you hate about your life, what you enjoy, what you want to stop doing, what you wouldn’t want to be in your future, and how you would like to be spending your days years from now.
That’s your starting point. That’s the big picture.
It may be difficult to open up and talk about your failures, laziness and realize you’re full of regrets and disappointment.
Don’t worry. All that can be fixed. For now your job is to get clear about it and to face the negative side of your personality and current life.
Why? Because to change something you need to carefully define it. That’s where you should start. You’ll now know what you need to work on and how you want things to look like for you in the near future.
2. Find what you love doing the most and turn it into your career.
You have a passion. There’s something you enjoy doing more than anything else, something that makes you lose track of time, something you’re good at, something that will be your best work so far if you give it the time needed.
Find it. Look for it carefully. Some people’s passions are in front of their eyes the whole time but they keep avoiding it.
Don’t be like that. Face your destiny. Accept the 1 thing you were born to do as your mission and make it a permanent part of your life.
There’s a way to monetize it. Start looking for it. First, you’ll be doing all this in your free time and as a side project. When there’s progress, and when you figure out a way to give value to others by doing what you love, you’ll also have a way to make money from this and turn it into a business.
Do it on the side until you start making income. Then, once it’s bigger than what you’re making at your current job, boldly quit and turn your hobby into a full-time project.
That guarantees you’ll never need to work a day in your life, you’ll have the creative and financial freedom people dream about, you’ll become your own boss, you’ll design the rest of your life around this thing and will enjoy your lifestyle more.
3. Leverage the power of the Internet.
What better way to start making money online, connect with influencers, do your research, build a community and improve your personal brand than to do it from your laptop?
The digital world has no limits. What’s more, working your dream job online gives you location independence. You can work and live anywhere, or travel the world while doing it. Also, these are the best years of your life so do it now.
4. Fall in love with learning.
Leave formal education to average people, focus on self-education. It will make you a fortune, will turn you into a disciplined person ready to have a business of his own and to invest a lot in personal growth.
That sharpens your brain, expands your horizons, turns you into an interesting individual and makes you love life even more.
But don’t settle for one type of learning. You may be a vivid reader and that’s great, but you’ll also need experience, communication with different people, traveling to different cultures and spending time there living like a local. There are many types of education. Try them all.
5. Build better habits.
Goals are overrated. Habits are better than them.
Habits are the things we repeatedly do, and if we improve what we do daily, we’ll change who we become in the future.
Habits help you build discipline. There are keystone ones that once developed, help you improve all other aspects of your life too.
So start eating right, waking up earlier, going to the gym a few times a week, meditating, journaling, using to-do lists, doing focused work during your most productive time every day, having a bedtime ritual for better sleep, automating some aspects of your business, etc.
Work on one of these at a time, the results will come soon.
A good habit is for life, and the benefits are beyond imagination.
6. Be smart with money.
Learn the basics of finance to get an idea of how money works.
Then, here are a few key things to remember to never end up broke but to live a good and wealthy life:
- never go in debt, there’s always a chance to choose something else;
- never spend more than you earn;
- don’t buy stuff you don’t need;
- save more than you spend;
- manage your money the same way you manage your time – value it, spend it on stuff that matters, enjoy it;
- stop doing the things that will never make you rich.
These are actually the money habits you should build over time. Doing all that will change your attitude towards money, you’ll make smart financial decisions and will have higher chances of constantly growing your income and saving enough to be able to afford any lifestyle you want in a year or a few.
That’s enough to get you started on your way to success.
Forget anything you’ve known so far.
You have time on your hands, you’re young and full of energy, you have all it takes to succeed. Don’t let that potential slip away. Make the most of it.
See also:
Why Millennials Are Trending Toward Minimalism
Why a Purpose-Driven Mission is Key to Motivating Millennials