A letter to my 20 year old self

Hey friend !

I hope you had an amazing week as well . Hope you’re great and I hope you’ve had the opportunity to check out the finance related content am posting on YouTube 🤓.

Anyhow , during the week I watched a video from a creator teaching people how they can have financial freedom in their 20’s and I thought to myself , “wow, I wish I knew this in my 20’s but most importantly act on them”. You know they say information is power ? But the real power is acting on the information you have . Knowing that there’s a gym near your home will not drive you to your fitness goal. You know what will ? Damn right. Going to the gym and getting started . Not to drag our starter but when I watched that video , I thought to myself what should I have done differently in my 20’s so I could may be, be living the life of my dreams in my 30’s ? And then the idea of writing my 20 year old self a letter came in . Just so may be it could positively trigger someone on this newsletter who’s in their 20’s but obviously trigger all of us, in a good way really.

AND NOW , A LETTER TO MY 20 YEAR OLD SELF

Dear Denis

I hope you’re enjoying and having the most of your 20’s . As someone who has you at heart, has been in their 20s and now in the 30s , I thought I’d write you a letter just so it can guide you and propel you to a much better time in your 30s and beyond. Throughout this letter , I’ll be touching on what I believe are the 5 pillars of life. They are :-

1. Wealth

2. Relationships

3. Health

4. Spirituality

5. Giving

Many people say that the 20’s are for making as many mistakes as you can , my belief has since changed. Do you know why Denis ? Because I believe while everyone else is fighting to make the most mistakes in their 20’s , you can do it differently. You can learn from the people who’ve done it all and instead start to practice what they encourage earlier on. I call them mentors . So for each of the 5 pillars , have someone you look up to. That person may not even be in your locality or even country . He/she could be somewhere on the other part of world but if you like what they’re doing in their lives , keep learning and executing what they’re recommending. Do you know what that will do for you ? You’ll become the Kylie Jenner of this world , the Mark Zuckerberg of today or any 20 or early 30 year old who’s done exceedingly well for themselves and the people around them. And as you must’ve rightly guessed , that would propel you to a level way above your peers .

 On Wealth

It’s not by mistake that this came on as no.1 . As you know , wealth for the bigger part determines what friends we shall have around us ( am sure you’ve heard the saying that if 4 of your friends are broke you’re the 5^th . And the opposite is true), it defines what areas in your community you’ll be staying in , what material things you’ll own , and sadly the kind of relationships you’ll have. Before I list the sub pillars on wealth , I implore you to be true to yourself . DON’T SPEND WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE . For instance don’t spend $500 per month on a $200 per month income . What that means is that you’re getting loans and jumping into debt to mark up your expenditure. DON’T DO THAT . I’ve come to learn that long term happiness is better than short term pleasure , that having a peace of mind is priceless. You can’t attach a price to that. Anyhow , the sub pillars of wealth :-

1. Income/Making money . At this point I know you’re fighting as hard as you can to have as many qualifications as you can so you can keep growing on the corporate ladder . Your dream is to have that job which pays you good money for your effort but also gives you some sort of work – life balance. Make no mistake , you’re doing incredible. But can I also implore you to keep tabs on passive ways of making money ? This could mean owning or investing in mobile Apps , owning shares in an organization or company, having stocks , Real Estate etc. Keep your ears open & learn as much as you can . The difference this creates is that you’ll be able to make some more income while you’re asleep. Am sure you’ve heard the loose quote that “if you don’t find a way to make money while you’re asleep you’ll work until you die” . That statement is in this effect .

2. Spending money . From our guiding principle, do not spend what you don’t have. Never do it . I can break down expenditure to;

· Longterm necessities- like rent , utilities, etc . These are paid either monthly , quarterly, bi annually or annually.

· Daily necessities - these could include food , transportation etc .

· Non essentials – these could include partying , hanging out etc .

Because expenditures can either break you or build you , my advice is that have separate accounts for each. Could be in banks , a mobile wallet or wherever you feel you’ll have better control of your expenses . Don’t let food money get mixed up with partying . But what else I advise is that have a safety account. This is actually different from any of the above 3. What will you do with a safety account ? Evaluate how much your monthly expenses are , get money equivalent to 3-6 months , stuck it in a safety account. What this account does is that in the event that you don’t have a job or an income coming in , you’ll still be able to live comfortably for the next 3-6 months as you figure yourself out .

 3. Investing- I recommend that you invest in both risky and non risky ventures . Just don’t stuck all your investment in risky ventures and forget to have a fall back position. Also don’t forget to keep your ears open to passive income ideas. What I’d advise is before you invest, know your interests. Don’t keep jumping from one business to another because your neighbor told you it’s profitable. Know your interests because then they’ll help you with self judgement. What else I recommend in investing is; invest in an eco system. If for instance your interest is travel , invest in resorts , guest houses , hotels etc , in car hire services for tourists , have a duty shop that sells travel gear , have a company that curates affordable travel packages etc . So that you’re a one stop shop for travel . Then you could make money from one client 5 times more you otherwise would have .

 4. Saving :- Let me disappoint you Denis. I don’t believe in saving. Let me explain . The economists say that save what’s left after expenses and investment . If you can invest it for another profit then why’re you saving it ? Have you made your research? Are you sure you’ll make a profit ? Invest it . The other reason is that we already have a safety account that we talked about . So we’re actually already saving .

 On Relationships

Sadly these could also break or build you . Relationships can be sub divided into 3 as well ; Family , Romantic relationships with the opposite sex & friends .

Family – irrespective of what happens , keep your family the closest . Parents , sisters , brothers etc . Whether they’re not as wealthy or they’re wealthy, or for whatever reason you don’t resonate with any of your family members, that’s your family. You’ll not get another family . Strive to make your family as good as the many families you admire out there. Stand out & stand up for them. The truth is ; no one will ever stand by your side just as your family ever will . But most importantly, learn to tell each other what’s wrong and what’s right. Learn to support each other , inspire each other to become the great you dream about.

Romantic relationships- Date someone who understands & supports your dream , someone who’s kind not just to you but also to the people around them. Date someone with empathy, someone who’s considerate, someone who listens & above all with a dream too and working to foster it. As much as you desire beauty in your relationship, these qualities too are as paramount as the relationship is. The good news is that you can have both. Ohh did I mention that those qualities make someone even more beautiful??

 Friends – This is also tricky. But the best advice I can give you Denis is that look out for friends first who understand & support your dream & secondly those who give and take . I’ve always preached that relationships are a give and take . They should never be one way. If you always take something from someone , once in a while give them back however small . They’ll appreciate it trust me. Be quick to break off from friends who don’t understand or contribute to your journey , be quick to break off from negative energy.

 On spirituality & Giving

I combined these two because I believe they support each other interchangeably. I believe that God rewards kindness , I believe that God rewards a giving heart. Be kind and give to your neighbors, to people in need etc . Because when you do , doesn’t matter what you believe in but when you do , the higher power always blesses you .

I hope you took off time to read this somewhat long letter Denis and I hope it’ll put you on an even better path for the rest of your life . Reply to this email and tell me what you loved the most .

Also , if you believe any of your friends will love it , forward it to them too and also share this link https://thedigitalpreneur-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe with them so they can jump onto this newsletter too and enjoy exactly what you’re enjoying.

With Love ❤️ , Denis

If you forgot to jump on our YouTube channel , you can do via :- https://youtube.com/@denisdahub

Would you love an hour catch up with me on how to grow your faceless YouTube channel , re selling on Amazon, how to launch & monetize your newsletter, how to launch and sell your digital product etc ? Grab a ticket for only $5 via :- https://selar.co/denisdahub