The 20's Roadmap to Success Ep 511

In this insightful discussion, the speaker outlines a strategic approach to career and personal development through one's twenties, emphasizing the significance of this decade. Describing it as a period of laying foundations and making pivotal decisions, the speaker, who is on a mission to build a billion-dollar venture with acquisition.com, shares his personal journey of amassing over $20 million in earnings post-taxes in his twenties, setting the stage for a $100 million net worth by 32. He segments the twenties into distinct 'seasons': avoiding major life pitfalls from high school to 20, building foundational skills from 20 to 23 by prioritizing learning over earning, honing skills through repetition from 23 to 26, and finally, leveraging skills and gaining perspective from 26 to 29 to maximize lifetime earnings. The speaker advises against complacency and underscores the importance of learning from mentors, gaining broad experience, and seeking leverage to amplify one's value and career trajectory.

• This period is when individuals experience significant wage increases due to gained perspective and understanding of their professional landscape.
• It's a time when one can make informed decisions about their career trajectory.
• The metaphor of a tree is used to illustrate the importance of early decisions and their long-term impact.

"26 to 29 is the season of chunking up. So the reason your lifetime wages increase the most in the season is because you finally have a lay of the land."

The quote emphasizes that the age range of 26 to 29 is a critical period for career growth, as individuals have gained enough experience to understand their professional environment and make strategic decisions.

• The speaker is in the process of building a billion-dollar business and wishes to document the journey, much like they believe Bezos, Musk, and Buffett should have.
• The goal is to provide a roadmap for others to follow.

"I'm trying to build a billion dollar thing with acquisition.com. I always wish Bezos, Musk and Buffett had documented their journey. So I'm doing it for the rest of us."

This quote highlights the speaker's ambition to create a substantial business and their desire to share the experience with others, providing a documented journey that can serve as a guide.

• The speaker argues against the notion that "30 is the new 20," advocating for the importance of the decisions made in one's 20s.
• They present statistics to support the significance of this decade, including marriage, childbirth, brain development, and wage growth.
• The speaker shares personal success to emphasize the potential of this period.

"Your 20s are the most important decade of your life and I'm going to prove it to you."

This quote is a direct challenge to the common saying that one's 30s are the new 20s, suggesting that the actions and decisions made in one's 20s are crucial for setting the foundation for future success.

• This stage is about avoiding major mistakes that can have long-term negative consequences.
• Charlie Munger's advice is referenced to avoid what you don't want in life.
• The "success sequence" is introduced, which includes finishing high school, obtaining full-time work, and not having children until marriage or planned.

"High school to 20. These are the years of don't."

The quote summarizes the speaker's view that the late teen years are critical for avoiding life-altering mistakes that could hinder future opportunities.

• This is the time to build foundational skills and set a direction for one's career.
• The speaker advises focusing on acquiring general skills that are transferable across industries.
• Emphasis is placed on learning over earning in the early years to maximize long-term earning potential.

"20 to 23. This is the foundational season."

This quote introduces the period of 20 to 23 years old as a formative time for establishing a career foundation, learning skills, and setting a trajectory for future growth.

• The speaker distinguishes between compensation in terms of learning and earning.
• Early in one's career, the priority should be on learning, which is an investment in future earning potential.
• The metaphor of snipping off a tree branch is used to describe the limitation of focusing solely on immediate earnings.

"You're compensated in two ways, learning and earning. And in your early years, you want to be compensated with as much learning as humanly possible because it'll set you up for far more earning later."

The quote underscores the importance of prioritizing learning opportunities over immediate financial gain in the early stages of one's career, as it is an investment that will lead to greater earnings in the future.

• The speaker explains that combining adjacent skills over time leads to higher earnings.
• The broader the foundation of skills, the higher the peak of potential earnings.
• An example is provided using the progression from math skills to understanding complex financial structures.

"The more adjacent skills you can rope together over time, the more money you make. In other words, the broader the foundation, the bigger the peak."

This quote encapsulates the speaker's advice on career development, suggesting that a broad skillset, developed over time, can lead to greater financial success.

• Foundational skills in a field are crucial for understanding and succeeding in more advanced aspects of that field.
• Skills acquired in one area can compound when combined with other skills, increasing overall value.
• Understanding basic accounting is given as an example of a foundational skill necessary for progressing to mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
• Broad exposure to general skills is advised to ensure transferability across different industries.

"But if you didn't have the foundational skills of just understanding basic accounting, then it'd be much more difficult to do m a later."

This quote emphasizes the importance of having a strong grasp of basic skills before attempting to master more complex concepts like mergers and acquisitions.

• It's beneficial to gain experience in various sectors within an industry or to transfer functional skills across different industries.
• Making a career move within the same industry or function is considered a smart choice.
• Changing both industry and role simultaneously can be risky as it might set you back to square one.
• Acquiring general business skills can permanently increase your earnings potential.

"You could either go within your industry in terms of changing direction, or you could go within your function and change industry. Either of those are good, smart, career path jumps."

This quote outlines two strategic moves for career progression: changing sectors within the same industry or applying your functional skills in a new industry.

• The speaker shares their personal experience working at a boutique consulting firm from ages 20 to 23.
• They highlight the lack of formal training but note the valuable exposure to big money and shift in mindset.
• Self-education through reading self-help and entrepreneurial books played a significant role in their development.
• The speaker made a significant industry switch from defense contracting to fitness without following the advice they now give.

"During my 20 to 23 years, I worked directly under the CEO, more like a personal assistant than an analyst, which is my title."

This quote provides insight into the speaker's early career experience, working closely with a CEO and gaining informal but valuable business exposure.

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning quickly as a consultant by interviewing experts to save time.
• They applied their consulting skills to the fitness industry, which they were personally passionate about.
• After reaching out to gym owners, they were able to secure an apprenticeship that later turned into a partnership opportunity due to their general skills.

"Consultants have to learn stuff really fast and the way they do that is they interview experts because experts already have sifted through the information."

This quote explains how consultants accelerate their learning process by leveraging the expertise of others, a skill the speaker transferred to their new industry.

• The speaker promotes their book, "100 million dollar offers," as a valuable resource with a large number of positive reviews.
• Mentioning the book serves as a way to engage with the podcast community and potentially establish future business partnerships.

"I have a book on Amazon on, it's called 100 million dollar offers that over 8005 star reviews."

This quote is a strategic self-promotion, aiming to build credibility and rapport with the audience by highlighting the success of their publication.

• After gaining initial exposure to an industry, one must decide whether to deepen their involvement in that industry or focus on developing the skills they've learned.
• If neither industry experience nor skill development is progressing, the speaker advises switching paths quickly.
• Choosing industries to work in should be done thoughtfully, considering personal interests and market opportunities.

"So now we're talking the next season, 23 to 26, the season of repetition."

This quote introduces the concept of a "season of repetition," a period for consolidating and expanding upon the skills and industry knowledge gained in early career stages.

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of repetition in mastering a skill or craft.
• They suggest that one can develop a passion for any field if they become proficient in it.
• Proficiency comes from starting early and practicing extensively.
• The speaker notes the various roles within the real estate industry and suggests that skills can be transferable within the industry.
• They caution against hastily changing industries due to disliking a small group of people rather than the industry itself.
• The speaker highlights that the enjoyment of a job often comes from the people you work with.
• They underscore the trade-off between immediate desires and long-term goals.
• It is crucial to be in a "major value add lane" and be aware of the skills one is developing.

It's my belief that you can fall in love with anything if you're good at it. And you get good at it by starting early and doing, doing a lot of it.

This quote encapsulates the speaker's belief that proficiency breeds passion and that dedication and practice are key to becoming proficient.

This is the season of repetition. This is where you start to hone your craft through reps.

The speaker refers to a critical period in career development where consistent practice ('reps') is necessary to refine one's skills.

What you want now for what you want most.

The speaker is highlighting the importance of prioritizing long-term goals over immediate gratification.

If you're not sure what reps you're gaining, you're doing the wrong thing.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being conscious of the skills one is developing through their work.

• The speaker recounts their experience of starting a business and the role of mentors in that process.
• They describe acquiring three mentors who took ownership stakes in the business in exchange for their guidance.
• While starting the business, the speaker continued working in sales, gaining extensive experience by closing a large number of sales.
• They learned various business skills, such as dealing with employees, processing money, and selecting business locations.
• The experience culminated in expanding their business by opening additional locations.

For me, this is where I started my first business.

The speaker introduces their personal experience with entrepreneurship and the beginning of their business venture.

I ended up getting two more mentors to take a third of my business each.

This quote explains how the speaker brought on additional mentors to aid in their business development, sacrificing equity for valuable expertise.

I closed over 4000 sales the next three years.

The speaker provides a specific metric of their sales experience, indicating the volume of practice they had in this skill.

• The speaker discusses the next phase of career development, which they call the "season of chunking up."
• They describe this period as one where individuals gain a comprehensive understanding of their industry and how money flows within it.
• The speaker explains that this is the time to begin leveraging one's time by managing others or starting a business.
• They highlight the importance of having a track record for gaining leverage, such as securing loans to start a business.
• The speaker shares a story of a gym owner who was advised to gain experience before starting his own gym, which ultimately led him to realize he didn't need a loan.

26 to 29 is the season of chunking up.

The speaker defines a specific age range as the period when one should focus on leveraging their accumulated experience to take on more significant roles or start a business.

You need to start getting more for your time.

This quote stresses the importance of leveraging one's time more effectively to increase income and career advancement.

The bank told him that they would loan him the money after he had three years of experience working at a gym, which syncs with the seasons that I'm telling you right now.

The speaker recounts an anecdote that aligns with their career development framework, where gaining experience was a prerequisite for obtaining a business loan.

Once you start knowing the game, you make better moves.

The speaker concludes that a deep understanding of one's industry enables more strategic and effective career decisions.

• Recognize and steer clear of life-altering mistakes in your early years.
• Avoid substance abuse, unplanned parenthood, and incurable diseases.

Don't get addicted to drugs. Don't have an unplanned kid. Don't get some crazy std that you can never get rid of.

This quote emphasizes the importance of avoiding significant mistakes that could derail one's life and career before it truly begins.

• Work for minimal compensation to learn from the best mentors available.
• Prioritize learning opportunities over higher immediate pay that offers less growth.

Work for free or minimum wage to get access to the best people you can... If someone's willing to pay you twice, three times, four times more, but they're not going to teach you as much as the other people, don't take it because you're short changing your long term earnings.

This quote highlights the value of choosing mentorship and learning over short-term financial gains, as it can lead to greater long-term success.

• Embrace challenging and monotonous work without a sense of entitlement.
• Seek mentorship and go above and beyond in your efforts to learn and grow.

Embrace the Suck. Don't complain... Do twice the work... Do everything you can to get them to like you and give you their discretionary time.

The quote advises to endure the tough periods of your career with determination and humility, while also making an extra effort to gain mentorship and knowledge.

• After building skills, look for ways to leverage them for greater impact and earnings.
• Seek advice from industry leaders and be bold in pursuing advancement.

Once you have the rocky cutscene phase done, you have a skill. You now find the highest point of leverage within your respective opportunity... The path will always reveal itself to you as you keep walking.

This quote suggests that after a period of hard work and skill-building, one should identify and pursue opportunities for leverage to significantly increase their success.

• The speaker shares their personal journey of becoming a millionaire at 27.
• They discuss reinvesting in their business, learning, and eventually gaining leverage through franchising.
• The speaker also mentions the importance of consulting and networking with wealthier individuals to shift their perspective on earning potential.

But for me, it wasn't until I was 27 that I became a millionaire... And that's when I started using everything that I had learned during my rocky cutscene period... And then eventually packaging and licensing out to thousands of gyms across the country.

The quote outlines the speaker's path to financial success, emphasizing the strategic use of knowledge and experience gained in earlier phases to expand their business and significantly increase their income.