I’ve only earned $200,000 in my lifetime. That includes my job first job as an umpire, being a manager at the batting cages in high school, working for SHAPE as an undergrad, working for SHAPE full-time post-undergrad, and working for MLT for a year and half. My career strategy has basically been to:
- Seek and accept exceptional opportunities despite pay or prestige.
- Take as many risks as possible before buying a house or starting a family
- Develop one or two extremely valuable skills through dedicated practice
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t. I love my life the way it is, but for those of you who wish you had a do-over or are preparing to raise children, check this out:
Train Your Parents (Age 0-5)
Use crying and other tactics like playing using mother against your father to get your parents in the habit of giving you what you want. This will be important later. When you do this, make sure you impress them when you get it.
Ask Your Parents (Age 6-14)
Ask your parents to expose you to as many things as possible until you find your passion. If it interest you, ask. Make them say no. Offer to do chores and get straight As if they say yes. Find friends who do cool things and mention that “Jonny’s parents said it would be educational”. Once you find your passion, stop playing with it and start practicing and studying it like it’s homework. This is how you can crystallize it into a skill. If your parents don’t come through, as a kid, you can raise money from all of their friends at work, church, and in the neighborhood. Raise half the money for that trip or those lessons on your own and then ask your parents to match it.
High School (Age 15-18)
Commit to being great something…anything. Nobody in the Guinness Book of World Records got in there by chance unless it was biological. Everyone made a conscious choice to be great at whatever they chose. Choose something! Use your free-time after-school and in-school to develop your passion. No matter how obscure, if you become a expert at a subject or skill, you’re almost guaranteed to get paid in the long-run. Continue to tap your parents’ bank accounts until they encourage you to get a job. If you end up getting a job, don’t take any old job. Do minimum wage work for a person or organization that you’re passionate about.
Community College (Age 19-20)
Live at home and go to a community college for your first two years and save up to $20,000 in tuition and living expense. Do the minimum necessary to get the grades you need to transfer. Use the rest of your time to develop your passion. To become an expert at something requires 10,000 hours of practice, which equals 20 hrs/week, 50 weeks/year, for 10 years. If you start now, you’ll be an expert by 30.
Top-Tier Public University (Age 21-22)
Transfer to the top in-state public university for your last two years. Get out of the house for a second. Apartments are cheaper than dorms. Continue developing your passion during this time. Join clubs, national organizations, and activities that will develop your passion. If you can find classes that support your passion, then great, but in most cases, your college won’t have any. Maximize your student loans (it’s the cheapest money you’ll find) and use it invest in yourself and/or your business.
Post-Undergrad (Age 23-26)
After graduation, move back home and defer your loans. If you’re an entrepreneur, get a part-time job (20 hours max) that covers your living expenses and allows you to invest in your crazy ideas or save a little bit. At this stage of life, time is your most valuable/expensive resource. While your friends work, you should be creating. If you’re the employee type, commit this four-year period to entry-level grunt work FOR YOUR DREAM JOB (not just any job, especially high-paying ones). Get so great at what you do, that you have the skills to start your own company or advance in the organization. When you have the option to leave, that’s when you get the highest pay.
All Eggs In One Basket (Age 27-30)
Move out! By now, you should have a little bit of savings to buy some real estate or an idea developed to the point where it’s generating revenue on the side. For the employees, take a risk in your career and go to business school and/or pick something specific to get great at based on where you see the industry you love going. If you’re at a Blockbuster-like company and see a Netflix-like company on the rise, jump ship. For the entrepreneurs, take it to the next level and commit to following your passion full-time. Use the intellectual, social, and financial capital you’ve gained since college to making a living doing what you love.
