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- 10 Life Lessons
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Reading time: 6 min
It feels like it was yesterday.
I was fresh outta college, ready to take on the world.
Engineering degree? Check.
Full-time job lined up? Check.
Woman of my dreams? Check.
I thought the hardest part was over and I could just coast from there. Keep my head down at work, play video games when I’m off, save some money for retirement, repeat.
Yung Fifty felt like he had life all figured out.
Boy was he wrong.
Fast forward 6 years later and life looks nothing like I imagined it’d be.
I did a complete 180 and left my comfy civil engineering job to be a web3 content creator. During the last few years, I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone and experienced more challenges, doubts, and personal growth than all of my younger years combined.
It’s been a hell of a ride.
I recently celebrated my 29th birthday and it feels surreal to see how far I’ve come since my early 20s.
In today’s newsletter, I’m going to share 10 life lessons that I wish I had known when I was younger. I hope you find some of these valuable.
Let’s get into it.
1. Stay a student of life
Never stop being curious or seeking knowledge.
Learning doesn’t end after you graduate—that’s where the real learning starts.
Over the years, I’ve explored DJing, programming, cooking, writing, marketing, psychology, and more. Right now, I’m learning how to speak basic Japanese.
While I didn’t become a master at everything, it was fun to learn about different interests at my own pace.
And there are so many free resources on the Internet you can take advantage of. Podcasts, eBooks, YouTube videos, Twitter threads, you name it. It’s all out there right at your fingertips.
Knowledge is power. Keep learning new things and stacking new skills.
Speaking of skills…
2. Learn to write
Writing is such a powerful skill.
I encourage everyone to work on their writing skills, even if you don’t plan on becoming a writer.
Writing helps reinforce what you learn.
Writing helps you become a better communicator.
Writing helps you store, organize, and understand all those thoughts in your head.
Writing helps you become a better thinker and that applies to every aspect of life.
Writing is like physical thinking and you’re improving your thinking skills every time you write, even if you never publish anything.
3. Do everything you can for your first $100,000
Charlie Munger, a famous investor, once said:
The first $100,000 is a bitch, but you gotta do it. I don’t care what you have to do—if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.
Damn, was he right.
Investing gets much easier after you cross a $100K portfolio.
When you start investing, the biggest growth will come from your contributions. But after you’ve built up your portfolio, your investments will do all the work for you.
It took me 4 years to get my first $100K. But it only took me 5 months to get the next $100K.
Do the heavy lifting up front and the power of compounding will take care of the rest.
4. Don’t feel bad about leaving others behind
This was something I struggled with a lot around my mid-20s.
I started drifting apart from my homies and outgrowing them. Convos felt awkward. I didn’t care to go out drinking or hitting the club. Topics they cared about weren’t important to me, and vice versa.
You’re going to grow apart from your friends when you start on your self-growth journey. And that’s okay.
Some aren’t ready to grow yet and you shouldn’t hold yourself back because of them.
It’s tough to let go, but you’ll find new friends who share the same vision and energy with you on your journey.
5. Don't compare
The comparison game is never ending.
There’ll also be someone who’s:
Taller
Richer
Stronger
Whatever
Fuck em. The only metric that matters is being better than who you were yesterday.
6. Value your time
Time is our most scarce resource.
Not enjoying a book or show? Don’t feel obligated to finish it.
That thing you’re mad about? It’s probably not worth being upset all day, let alone 5 minutes.
Or that thing you’ve been wanting to do? Life’s too short for what-ifs. Do it before it’s too late.
No amount of money can turn back the clock.
Live intentionally and make sure your moments are spent on what truly matters.
7. Celebrate small wins
It can be tough as hell to stay motivated while working towards a big goal.
You feel like you’re not making progress or you try to do too much at once and burn out. I’ve been there.
Instead of chasing a large ambitious goal, break it down into manageable chunks and focus on stacking small wins.
The Power of Tiny Gains by James Clear
Working towards a $100K portfolio? Celebrate when you hit $100, $1K, $2K, etc.
Stacking small wins builds momentum, boosts confidence, and keeps you going. And all those small wins stack up into a big win over time.
Every step forward, no matter how small, is progress.
8. There are no rules
There are many social norms that we live by.
“You need to go to college so you can get a good job.”
“You need to be married and have kids by X age.”
“You need to own a home.”
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to follow some preset script.
There are no rules to life. You get to pick the game that you want to play and write the script for yourself.
9. It’s never the right time
Before I started this newsletter, I kept waiting for the “right” time.
I wrote a bunch of drafts that I kept editing over and over again, trying to perfect them. I consumed copywriting books, email marketing books, courses, podcasts—always finding one more thing to "learn".
6 months went by and I had 0 progress.
While I sat on the sidelines waiting to be “ready”, I saw other writers getting straight into the game and growing to thousands of readers.
At some point, learning becomes an excuse to procrastinate. It’s easier to stay in the comfort of “getting ready” than to face the unknown of actually starting.
40 newsletters in, and I still don’t feel ready. But I’m figuring it out as I go.
Whether it’s switching careers, starting to invest, or learning a new skill—there’ll never be a right time.
You’ll fuck up and make mistakes at the start but that’s a lot better than sitting on the sidelines and never getting into the game.
10. Get out of your comfort zone
Our brains are wired to play it safe.
Comfort zones provide a sense of security and stepping outside of it can be scary as hell—but the biggest risk in life is not taking any risks.
I’m a hella introvert. But If I didn’t put myself out there and be okay with failing then I’d still be stuck at a job I hated.
You need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you don’t challenge yourself, you’ll never grow.
Who knows what you’ll discover about yourself or where you’ll end up.
You might find an unexpected new career you love.
Or a hidden talent you never knew up had.
Hell, maybe you’ll even find yourself writing to strangers on the Internet for fun.
Peace,
Fifty Sat
P.S.
This one was longer than usual but I hope you enjoyed it. If you found one of these lessons helpful, reply to this email and let me know!
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