I'm Over 40. If You're in Your 20s, Read This Before It's Too Late
READING TIME - 4 MINUTES
I’m over 40. If you’re in your 20s, read this.
I wish someone had told me sooner.
When I was 25, I thought I had time.
Time to figure it out.
Time to coast.
Time to play it safe.
And I wasn’t lazy.
I was doing what I thought was right.
Work hard. Be loyal. Say yes. Wait your turn.
But here’s the thing no one tells you when you’re starting out.
By the time you realize you played it too safe, you’re already 15 years deep into the wrong game.
So if you’re in your 20s and you’re reading this, this is me handing you the cheat codes.
Take them. Steal them. Use them.
Because this system won’t tell you the truth. But I will...
1. Your boss doesn’t remember how late you stayed. They remember how fast you moved the needle.
I used to stay late, skip lunch, and always say yes.
No one noticed.
Because effort isn’t the same as impact.
If you’re working hard and staying invisible, you’ll burn out long before you get rewarded.
2. You are a line on a spreadsheet. Start acting like your own CEO.
No job will protect you forever.
The only security is what you build outside your title.
That could be your skills. Your network. Your side income.
I learned this the hard way during a reorg.
One day I was valued.
The next, I was gone.
Own your name like it’s your business. Because it is.
3. The best-qualified person doesn’t win. The best-positioned one does.
I’ve watched people who were average at the job get promoted ahead of top performers.
Why? Because they knew how to speak up. They played the room. They had advocates.
Being good at your job is the cost of entry.
Being seen is how you grow.
4. Being quiet is not humble. It’s invisible.
I used to think “low maintenance” made me a dream employee.
But quiet people get skipped.
If you don’t advocate for yourself, no one else will.
Visibility is a skill. And it can be learned. Start practicing.
5. The market moves fast. If you’re standing still, you’re falling behind.
The skills I mastered at 30 don’t matter anymore.
The world changed and I had to catch up.
If you’re only learning what your manager tells you to learn, you’re already behind.
Bet on yourself. Invest in skills outside your lane.
6. No job is secure. The only safety is knowing how to reinvent yourself.
I’ve been laid off.
I’ve seen top talent get cut.
The difference between those who panic and those who pivot?
The ones who built optionality.
They had other ways to make money.
They built relationships that opened new doors.
Never build your career on one income stream or one person’s approval.
7. Playing it safe is the most dangerous strategy of all.
You can recover from mistakes.
You can’t recover from years of shrinking to fit a system that doesn’t reward you.
I wish I had bet on myself sooner.
I wish I had asked more questions.
I wish I had trusted my own voice earlier.
So if you’re in your 20s and you’re waiting for someone to give you permission
This is it.
Take control. Speak up. Learn the rules. Then build your own game.
If this hit home for you
I wrote an entire book for people who are stuck between staying in corporate or stepping into entrepreneurship
It’s called Entrepreneur vs. Corporate
It will help you figure out what success looks like on your own terms
And what to do next
You don’t have to play by the old rules
You just need to understand them
So you can decide when to break them