This article may sting for many people but needs to be written as many people have asked for a blueprint of sorts.
When you really break down life for a man the only four things he is trying to maximize in life are health, free time, money and sex. That’s it. Unfortunately, most people will fail terribly at this maximization process so they’ll hit their late 30’s when it’s actually time to live off the hard work and dedication they put in the past 35+ years and do not have any source of income. Compounding the issue, without marketable skills or knowledge you’ll be playing the catch up game when the game is already over. Sure there are a lucky few who turn everything around but at the end of the day it’s best to have an organized plan of attack.
This site is actually a great example. 30+ year olds tend to ask how to make money, while 20 year olds are asking how to get girls. This is entirely mixed up. When you’re young you should be throwing away health and girls for money as it buys long-term time. When you get into your late 30’s you can’t work incredibly long hours without doing serious damage to your body making the cash flow you have set up for yourself a significant safe haven.
Health: This will always come first. The issue is that people use their “health life span” in the wrong fashion. The best years of your life are not in your 20’s, you are not a high school cheerleader/prom queen, you should not spend this time partying 24⁄7. Once you realize that the phase “YOLO” is really just a way for you to rationalize your flat-lined bank account, you’ll be in much better long-term shape. In your twenties your body can take immense amounts of pain and suffering, unfortunately most people simply quit, watch TV and take a $50K a year desk job. If your skillset is low, go work two or three jobs. If your skillset is high, get a inhumane job that pays the most amount of cold hard cash. At roughly 27-29 years old your overall stress levels tend to decline and this is really your last shot to make good money, at 30 you’re perceived as a man, kill yourself those last couple of years to get that managerial level promote and laugh your way to the bank. If you can’t quite get the jump, kick the insane hours before you hit 35 because your body will slow down dramatically causing serious long-term damage.
Money: This is where you can create a rock solid exit point. Half a million dollars liquid by age 35. Always shoot higher than this but anyone can reach this level even with zero marketable skills. If the two braincells that we have left were destroyed and we’re under 35, the plan of attack would be to take up two jobs with no excuses. Even two average jobs, call them a desk job at $50K and a low end bartending job at $30K you’re going to be closing in near $100K fast, saving $33K a year, clipping 7% rates on bonds. You’ll likely and quickly exceed the mark. Naysayers are going to tell you half a million isn’t enough, these guys don’t know anything so just ignore them. You’re going to be working past 35 but you’ll take a job purely for status which leads to maximizing point 3.
Sex: If you are a virgin and have terrible relationship skills, then you’ll likely take a year to deter from the above money plan and fix this part of your life. Once you have the basics down, put it all on the back-burner and get back to work on creating a 40+ year stress free lifestyle when you hit 35 and your body simply can’t take it anymore. The easiest path to sex is quite simple, fame. Fame is just an extreme version of being “publicly noted ” or “of power” and the easiest ways to be of miniature public note is to take up bartending, teaching or setting up a small business catered to the crowd of girls you would like to attract. Coke anyone? Just kidding – half heartedly.
Before moving onto time, the money and sex importance debate is one that will live on forever. It simply pins up two extremes where one group argues for sex and are generally broke while the rich guys who can’t get laid argue in favor of their vibrating leather seats but could survive on their bank accounts for the next 10 years. As usual, both of these extremes are insane. We recommend chasing cash early because no one can argue that game cannot be learned in 3 years, now ask people around you to wager on them becoming a millionaire in 3 years and zero hands will go up.
Time: Free time is the last piece that men worry constantly about. Am I maximizing this time frame or that, long-term health, current fitness to pull girls etc. At the end of the day just remember that the four categories work together. There are ways to shorten your lifespan, taking up drugs for example, that usually lead to more sex and less money, while there are many other ways to combine – a bartender (money + sex). In this regard simply compare what the general public is doing and avoid them. It really is that simple. If your age group is spending the vast majority of their free time trashed, you should be building a business, if they are getting hitched you should be single, if they are worried about money you shouldn’t be and if they are going through a divorce you should be focused on maximizing your single sex life.
Conclusion: With that in mind, since this article is really meant for someone getting an early start in the game of life, tread carefully as you observe the world around you. The future is bright, brighter than you could ever imagine, since life comes down to decision making and effort. Never raw processing power.
As a final note, remember that there is no such thing “hardwork” it should be renamed “correctly applied heavy effort”, if you know you’ll get results that exceed the effort put in you should not care if it is, in fact “hardwork”.