But that doesn’t mean that the twenties aren’t an important decade for personal and professional development. Instead, they are a time when character development occurs and choices set a course for the future. Let’s look at 20 life changes highly successful people made in their twenties.
1. Try Different Industries like Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart worked as a model and then as a stock broker on Wall Street before beginning the catering business that led to her eponymous company. All of that experience led her to be successful. Of course we know she met uber-success with her lifestyle brand, but those early experiences in modeling and stock brokerage imparted important lessons. So don’t be frustrated if you aren’t in your permanent profession yet!
2. Build Sweat Equity like Oprah
It might be hard to remember a time when Oprah wasn’t a superstar. But she paid her dues as a radio television news reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and Baltimore, Maryland, bouncing between different stations to learn the craft after college. After 5 years, she was given her own show in Baltimore, which lasted 8 years. Next came a morning show in Chicago. The Oprah Winfrey Show wasn’t nationally syndicated until 1986, after 15 years of work in broadcasting. Don’t be frustrated by being the “low man on the totem pole.” Everyone needs time to learn and grow outside of the pressure of the spotlight. Even Oprah.
3. Learn from Hitting Rock Bottom like Tim Allen
For some people, hitting rock bottom puts the future into clear focus. Comedian Tim Allen, now starring in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, was arrested for cocaine possession and drug trafficking in 1978. If you’ve recently made a mistake, remember that a little perspective and humility go a long way! Turning that mistake into a learning experience shows maturity as well as personal and professional development.
4. Find the Right Life Partner like Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos married in 1996 when they were both in their twenties. She went on to huge fame, starring in the Regis and Kelly Show (now Kelly and Michael Show), and he starred on All My Children and now Alpha House. Finding the right partner offers a foundation for both your personal and professional life.
5. Make Your Own Education like Steve Jobs
Staying in school is clearly the safer path to success. But for some young entrepreneurs, college is not necessary. Steve Jobs famously dropped out of Reed College and started Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak in a garage. At his 2005 commencement address to the graduates of Stanford, he explained:
6. Take a Risk like Marissa Mayer
Marissa Mayer was given 14 job offers after graduation at Stanford University. One of those was from Google – at that time the company only had 19 employees and no women on staff. But she went on to be a part of some of the most successful Google products before transitioning to Yahoo to act as CEO.
7. Start a Business like Jay-Z
Sean Carter had rapped under the nickname Jay-Z for many years, but it wasn’t until he founded Roc-A-Fella Records with two friends that he became a star. Under his own label, Jay-Z released Reasonable Doubt, which is now widely thought of as a classic hip-hop album.
8. Take Advantage of Compounding Interest like Warren Buffet
Putting a few hundred dollars a year away now and letting compounding interest work its magic for decades until retirement will result in more money than trying to play catch-up with the same amount later in life. And with our collective credit scores hovering below average in a lot of places, that’s advice we should take. Warren Buffet had that figured out, since he started investing right after college.
9. Work in Sales like Howard Schultz
There is a lot that can be learned in sales that will teach lessons for future success: how to make a good first impression, how to persuade and convince others, how to take rejection well, among many other things. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz started as a Xerox salesman. That led him to a job as a coffee machine salesmen, which is how he crossed paths with his current career. In his book, Pour Your Heart Into It, Schultz writes:
10. Find a Mentor like Condoleezza Rice
Long before she became Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice took a class at the University of Denver taught by Dr. Josef Korbel (father of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright). His leadership and passion for Soviet and eastern European politics inspired Rice to change majors and pursue that career path. The two stayed in touch, the mentor encouraging his mentee to pursue a doctorate, which led her to a professorship and placed her on the radar of federal government agencies. According to this NPR story:
11. Go to School like Eric Schmidt
If dropping out of school is part of the story of success for some, staying in school and learning as much as possible is a more common and sure path to achievement. Eric Schmidt, former CEO and now executive chairman of Google, is among the richest people in the world. Schmidt spend many years studying, including an undergraduate degree at Princeton, a stint at the International House Berkeley, then an M.S. degree for designing and executing a campus-wide network of computers at UC Berkeley. To cap it off, he got a Ph.D. in computer engineering. In an address to Berkeley students many years later, Schmidt explained that part of his inspiration came from campus life.
12. Be Willing to Work 24/7 like Richard Branson
Richard Branson, founder and owner of Virgin Group, got his start when he opened a record label in his 20s. For a man who is trying to launch one of the first commercial space flights, it might be hard to picture him pounding the pavement and worrying about making ends meet. His advice? Hard work pays off. He said in an interview of his early years:
13. Work in Retail like John Steinberg
Similar to sales, retail offers a lot of life lessons that will serve you no matter which career path you choose. John Steinberg, CEO of Daily Mail North America, learned a lot working retail with his sister. He ran all over the store, selling lots of low cost items, while his sister stayed in the high-priced section and only sold a few pieces a day. But his sister had higher profits. He also says he learned the importance of technical expertise and responsibility in that retail position.
14. Learn a Trade like Harrison Ford
It’s hard to imagine Harrison Ford struggling like you and me, but he did. After heading to California to pursue acting, the work wasn’t steady enough for Ford to pay the bills. He took up carpentry to earn extra money, learning from books and taking on small projects to begin. Eventually he was recommended to Hollywood and music industry executives and stars, which gave him foray into more acting jobs. So don’t think a particular field or line of work is below you. Consider your talents and think about trade jobs. You never know where they may lead! I had a house at the time I wanted to remodel, a bit of the wreck of a house. I’d invest money in tools but wouldn’t have money for materials, so I realized this was another way of putting food on the table. And allowing me to pick and choose from the acting jobs that were being offered at the time.”
15. Share Your Good Fortune With Others like Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Jobs and is often cited as the person who brought on the personal computer revolution. When it came time for Apple Computers to go public, Wozniak thought some of the longtime employees were being left out of the stock option agreements. Unhappy with the distribution of the stock, he sold cheaply or gave away thousands of Apple shares to those he felt had been treated unfairly. Why? Woz, as he is called, said,
16. Give Yourself A Timeline like Jon Hamm
The Mad Men star had a difficult time getting work when he started in Hollywood. John Hamm shared an apartment with other actors and found it difficult to get cast when he was in his twenties. After three years of no work, he gave himself an ultimatum: get work by age 30, or switch jobs. Of that time, Hamm said: Sometimes a change in perspective is the inspiration needed to be successful.
17. Remember Your Dreams like Ang Lee
Filmmaker Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain), spend his twenties taking on odd jobs related to film and theater: working as an editorial assistant and helping crews with equipment while trying to write and shop his screenplays to Hollywood executives. He took on “Mr. Mom” duties to feel like he was being a true partner to his wife, the family’s primary bread winner. When he was ready to give up, she encouraged him to always remember his dreams, and that inspired him to redouble his efforts. Lee wrote:
18. Pick A Solid Business Partner like Bill Gates and Paul Allen
We’ve already covered the importance of picking a solid life partner, but hitching your wagon to someone else’s in business is also important. Bill Gates started Microsoft with Paul Allen when they were both in their twenties after becoming friends in high school. Said Allen, Despite the unraveling of Gates’ and Allen’s partnership after Microsoft was under way, Allen still admits that, in the early days, “We had an amazing friendship and an amazing partnership.”
19. Overcome Insecurities like Kristen Wiig
Most people who know Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live wouldn’t believe that she was terrified of public speaking. But she overcame that fear in her 20s by taking an acting class at the University of Arizona. So use your twenties to conquer fears head on, instead of letting them grow and cause more anxiety later in life.
20. Let Your Failure Help Set Your Course Like Suze Orman
Most people turn to Suze Orman for financial advice without realizing she’s come by her knowledge of bankruptcy first hand. After waitressing for several years, she decided to open her own restaurant. She got backing from loyal customers, and without personal knowledge about investing, gave her money to a broker to invest on her behalf. A get-rich-quick scheme from the broker failed, and Orman lost all of her capital. Yet this experience led her to learn more about investing, and she went on to become a broker at the same firm. Now, Americans look to her: So if you’ve suffered a setback in your twenties, may you use it as inspiration to forge a new, better career! Featured photo credit: Unsplash via pixabay.com
