6 Things to Do For Your Career in Your 20s

If you’re living your twenties right now, I guess that you’re living a complicated life. We’re all supposed to have life plans and career goals. That’s how the current generation works and thinks. As you’ve probably noticed, you now have access to huge amounts of information only by adding a few words into a search engine.

The previous generations never had these opportunities. You’re lucky to be alive right now, and you’re lucky to have almost everything you need at your disposal. Now…. from a career standpoint, you need to move fast, and you need to do it now.

You see, what you do now, in you 20s, is going to influence your nearest and longer future. Obvious, right? But what you might not be realizing is that you have no time to waste. Life’s pretty short, and you must always think long-term.

During today’s post, we’re going to explore a few important strategies that you can implement in your 20s so that you can enjoy a successful career and lifestyle in your 40s or 50s. Let’s get going:

1. Take Risks:

Every time you’re afraid of taking a shot at something, think about this: you’re super young; you probably have no big responsibilities, no wife/husband, no children, and no debts. Why would you be afraid of taking shots at something bigger? After all, what do you have to lose?

I’ll tell you exactly how I see risks during the 20s. You have almost nothing to lose, but everything to gain. If you’re adopting this mindset, you’re going to draw opportunities towards you and be able to develop the confidence to approach difficult choices, moves, or changes.

2. Make Sacrifices:

We can not have them all. If you want to live a relaxed life, out of worries, stress, and responsibilities, you can go live in the mountains and chop trees for a living. If you want to be successful, you definitely need to develop your knowledge and expertise. I’m talking about both personal development and professional development.

Albert Miller, HR manager at ResumesPlanet has expressed his opinion concerning the relationship between success and hard work:

“The way I see it…every day spent on the beach, living without worries because you’re financially free equals a 90 hours workweek in a small apartment. What you see on TV is purely an illusion of what success actually means.”

So, you’ll have to sacrifice your free time. This is usually the first condition. Moreover, you’ll sacrifice your peaceful state of being by adding countless amounts of stress every day. But…if you truly want it, you will definitely manage to reach it.

3. Seek a Mentor:

If you have never thought of seeking a mentor, now it’s the time to do so. A mentor is a person who mainly resonates with your principles, or works something that you want to work, or excels at a certain skill that you want to master.

Think about what you want to do in life. What is the end goal? How do you want to be or feel? What do you want to do? Start with that, and then seek someone who does that thing that you want.

If you don’t have the courage to approach them, they’ll remain useless to you. But if you truly want it, you’ll manage. A mentor will open up many paths for you, and it’s always worth having.

4. Create and Nurture Relationships:

Always treat people nicely, because you never know when you’re going to need them to be nice to you. I’m a firm believer that resourcefulness (which results out of relationships with other individuals), is what gives a person the power to feel confident that everything’s going to be fine.

You’ll have different persons to jump to your aid when you’re in trouble, you’ll be able to close easier and better deals with your contacts, and you’re going to take advantage of everyone you know to build a better lifestyle.

Of course, you’ll have to pay back the favors, but that shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re a successful person on your own which understands and masters his field. Always try to build better relationships, save contact details, give signs of life every now and then, and offer value in return.

5. Try a Lot of Things While You Still Can:

Purpose doesn’t come if you’re not doing anything to find it. Many people expect life to throw them revelations and breakthroughs, without them participating in the process. Now, when it comes to life and career, you need to experience a variety of things in order to find out what you’re best at, what you love, and what you want to do professionally.

You’re so lucky to be so young. Most people say that when they reach their forties and fifties they would have liked to try different things, but unfortunately, they haven’t. The biggest graveyard in the world is the graveyard of lost dreams and hopes. Fear of failure should never stay between you and the numerous opportunities that can be pursued.

6. Invest in Your Body & Mind:

Your mind and body are all that you have after all, so taking close care of them is usually the best way to enjoy a better life in the future. Don’t eat all the crappy food out there, don’t allow irrelevant distractions to stare your mind away from your goals, and always be aware that you need to treat your body and mind with respect.

If you’re studying, working, and hustling all of your 20s to 40s, and you’re also lacking a healthy lifestyle, by the time you’re fifty you’re going to feel like you’re totally drained. Mentally and physically! Exercise and learn new things consistently!

Conclusion

If you really care about making the best out of your career, I’d highly suggest you start taking action now. Every action you take now will have an effect later (the universal cause-n-effect principle).

If you spend your 20s looking after your personal development process, working hard, and taking smart decisions, you will surely be one of the few to live a better lifestyle on the longer run.

Eva Wislow

Eva Wislow is a career coach and HR expert from Pittsburgh. Eva has a degree in Psychology and she is focusing on helping people discover their true calling and achieve the most ambitious career goals. She finds her inspiration in writing. Connect with Eva on Twitter @EvaWislow