I'm 68 years old, and I can tell you that this is all very good advice. If you are closer to 21, then don't just be a hearer (reader) of these words, but be a DOER! Great advice, great list!
I'm a long way from 21 years old, but I have enough life experience to recognize just how good your list is, and if I had followed it 100% I might be living my best life right now. As it is, I'm only living my better life, ha ha, because I managed to do almost 75% of your list.
Perhaps you've covered this question in previous posts, or in your book, but to whom or what would you credit your wisdom? Not being a suck-up, here. I'm sincere. Since I've been following you, I've read almost nothing of yours that isn't full of common sense, a firm grounding in reality and a lot of wisdom. So, maybe, if you haven't already, you might do a Substack on "Who is John Hawkins"🙂
Since I was very young, I have always had an interest in understanding why people do what they do. I've been reading big books since I was a very small child, speed reading since I was a teenager, have studied psychology, self-help, communications, economics, history & politics and have been fortunate enough to build a successful business, do a lot of traveling and meet/interview a very large number of successful/interesting people. All that being said, I never think of this stuff as some secret fountain of wisdom. It's mostly just common sense and proven wisdom that's out there for anyone to find. I'm just good at organizing, condensing and making it accessible to people.
Thanks for responding to my question. I appreciate your modesty, and I believe you. Reading a wide range of books, including literature, history, fiction, true crime, philosophy, and psychology is about the best education one can get, at least in my opinion. Your ability to write and express the rules for achieving a successful life is truly a gift.
Mr Hawkins alludes to but let me emphasize: Save money. Start saving as early as you can. Yes, when you're just starting out you probably can't save $5,000 a month. But if you can save $100 a month, do it. In the short term, it gives you a cushion in case of emergencies. Longer term, if you save and invest, eventually you can live off your investments. My ex-wife used to complain about my efforts to save money. "But there's so much we need the money for NOW" she would say. Today I am living a comfortable retirement, and she is living off welfare.
It sounds very trite, but: Money will not make you happy. I spent decades thinking that a new car or some new computer toy would make me happy. Sometimes I worked hard and scrimped and saved to buy some new toy. But eventually I realized that most new toys I got, I played with intensively and had great fun with ... for a few days. Then I put them on the shelf and never looked at them again. I have a handful of possessions that I use and enjoy regularly: my laptop, the TV, the microwave oven, a few others.
What really makes me happy is, (a) a relationship with God, (b) my relationships with other people, like my wife and my parents, and (c) accomplishments, things that I can point to and proudly say, "I did that".
It's even more suspicious if someone says, "You don't know me but give me the user id and password of your bank account and I'll deposit a large sum of money to your account." :-)
I'm 68 years old, and I can tell you that this is all very good advice. If you are closer to 21, then don't just be a hearer (reader) of these words, but be a DOER! Great advice, great list!
I'm a long way from 21 years old, but I have enough life experience to recognize just how good your list is, and if I had followed it 100% I might be living my best life right now. As it is, I'm only living my better life, ha ha, because I managed to do almost 75% of your list.
Perhaps you've covered this question in previous posts, or in your book, but to whom or what would you credit your wisdom? Not being a suck-up, here. I'm sincere. Since I've been following you, I've read almost nothing of yours that isn't full of common sense, a firm grounding in reality and a lot of wisdom. So, maybe, if you haven't already, you might do a Substack on "Who is John Hawkins"🙂
First of all, thank you.
Since I was very young, I have always had an interest in understanding why people do what they do. I've been reading big books since I was a very small child, speed reading since I was a teenager, have studied psychology, self-help, communications, economics, history & politics and have been fortunate enough to build a successful business, do a lot of traveling and meet/interview a very large number of successful/interesting people. All that being said, I never think of this stuff as some secret fountain of wisdom. It's mostly just common sense and proven wisdom that's out there for anyone to find. I'm just good at organizing, condensing and making it accessible to people.
Thanks for responding to my question. I appreciate your modesty, and I believe you. Reading a wide range of books, including literature, history, fiction, true crime, philosophy, and psychology is about the best education one can get, at least in my opinion. Your ability to write and express the rules for achieving a successful life is truly a gift.
Mr Hawkins alludes to but let me emphasize: Save money. Start saving as early as you can. Yes, when you're just starting out you probably can't save $5,000 a month. But if you can save $100 a month, do it. In the short term, it gives you a cushion in case of emergencies. Longer term, if you save and invest, eventually you can live off your investments. My ex-wife used to complain about my efforts to save money. "But there's so much we need the money for NOW" she would say. Today I am living a comfortable retirement, and she is living off welfare.
It sounds very trite, but: Money will not make you happy. I spent decades thinking that a new car or some new computer toy would make me happy. Sometimes I worked hard and scrimped and saved to buy some new toy. But eventually I realized that most new toys I got, I played with intensively and had great fun with ... for a few days. Then I put them on the shelf and never looked at them again. I have a handful of possessions that I use and enjoy regularly: my laptop, the TV, the microwave oven, a few others.
What really makes me happy is, (a) a relationship with God, (b) my relationships with other people, like my wife and my parents, and (c) accomplishments, things that I can point to and proudly say, "I did that".
It's even more suspicious if someone says, "You don't know me but give me the user id and password of your bank account and I'll deposit a large sum of money to your account." :-)
My grandson is graduating this month. I'm buying it for him.