# If I Was Broke In My 20s, Here's What I'd Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CjCs0q6XmY

[00:02] [music]
[00:09] So, if you want to know how to get rich in your 20s, what is inside this pack right here will actually give you all the secrets you need.
[00:16] These collectible cards right here are pretty much how life works.
[00:20] All you need to focus on is constantly be skill stacking.
[00:22] You're going to notice on these cards they've got skills, they've got attributes, they've got things that you can level up.
[00:27] And we like to overcomplicate things, but that's how life works in your 20s.
[00:31] All you need to focus on is skill stacking.
[00:32] Now, you might be wondering, "Okay, cool.
[00:34] I understand I need to get the numbers on my card up, but what should I actually focus on?"
[00:38] There's a hundred one different things you can focus on.
[00:40] Go on YouTube and there's a hundred people telling you to do a hundred different things.
[00:43] Look, unfortunately, I have no crystal ball as to what is going to be valuable a decade from now, but all I can give you is a decade of my own personal experience amassing a small fortune for myself and which one of these stats on my card have been the most valuable.
[01:00] So, one word I actually hate is sales.
[01:03] Think in life you actually never want to be selling anyone on anything, but I think persuasion is by far one of the most important skills that you can have.
[01:10] Whether you are persuading someone to give you a role at a job, whether you're persuading someone to join your company, whether you're persuading your senior for a promotion, whether you're persuading a lovely lady to join you for a nice date.
[01:24] No matter what you do in life, persuasion will be one of the most important skills that you can learn.
[01:28] And in this age of AI where in 10 years from now, we really don't know what the future has in store, any sort of interpersonal skills.
[01:36] Look, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, the fact is humans will continue to interact with each other in real life.
[01:41] I don't think that's going anywhere.
[01:42] Humans crave interaction with each other.
[01:44] And when you are someone who is persuasive, when you understand what the other person wants, because bear in mind the way you persuade one person is not the way you're going to persuade another.
[01:52] We all have different wants, needs, and desires.
[01:55] And you have to very quickly look at someone, figure out what their wants, needs, and desires are, and how you can persuade them using them.
[02:08] We probably live in the most distracted era ever, and the bar is so ridiculously low.
[02:14] Most people can't pay attention to one task for more than 5 minutes.
[02:17] So, look, have your fun, do your brain rot things, enjoy your music.
[02:21] All of these things are fine, but when it comes time to actually lock in, lock in.
[02:25] Focus truly is a skill just like anything else, and you can apply every single thing that I talk about in today's video, but if you don't have focus, well, then pretty much all of it will be futile.
[02:35] Now, what is the easiest way to have focus in your life?
[02:37] The easiest way to have focus is to eliminate distractions.
[02:39] Even my phone, I have a couple things I do on my phone to make sure that, all right, when it's time to lock in, I lock in.
[02:45] One of the side buttons I have here, my finger's probably always on it, puts my phone into do not disturb.
[02:48] I don't like to have my phone pinging off all the time.
[02:51] Like, look, when I want to enjoy and check my WhatsApp or check Instagram or check these things, like, that's fine, but I want to do it on my terms, okay?
[02:58] I want to do it on my own time.
[03:00] So, A number one, I have the side of my phone on do not disturb.
[03:05] So, literally 95% of the time, my phone is on do not disturb.
[03:06] And if I double tap on the back here, my
[03:09] Phone actually goes into grayscale mode.
[03:11] So, that way whenever I do need to focus, it basically makes your phone as depressing and not entertaining as humanly possible.
[03:18] All the colors are blacked out, it's dull, it's gray, and basically everything you do on your phone loses its dopamine.
[03:24] When it comes time and go put your phone in another room, or even better, if you're anything like me, I wish I could sit here and say that I'm one of those people who is super focused 24/7 and it comes naturally to me.
[03:35] I'm actually a person that generally is a little bit more on edge, a little bit more stressed in general, and one of the things I stress about is, okay, cool, what if there's something important happening?
[03:43] You know, what if someone messaged me XYZ, all this stuff.
[03:46] So, what I do is I literally put my phone in one of those lock boxes, I set a timer, and that way unless I want to be an absolute idiot, and I mean, I'm basically going to have to smash this thing apart, I physically can't get into lock box, and I can't get into my phone unless I said I literally break it with a hammer, which fortunately it's never come to that yet.
[04:01] So, instead of thinking, "Okay, cool, I want to be a focused person." instead just go, "All right, I want to be a person that removes distraction in my life."
[04:08] And even things like music, I know a lot of people listen to music.
[04:09] I mean, I don't know how you listen to music while you work.
[04:12] For me, like the lyrics distract me of, you know, my own thinking pattern.
[04:15] I've been using something called Brain FM for years.
[04:16] It's binaural beats, you know, so that way, you know, you can have your favorite playlist on YouTube.
[04:20] But, that opens up its own can of worms, right?
[04:22] Because you go on YouTube, now all of a sudden you're inundated with a home feed.
[04:26] So, on YouTube, I mean, I'll put up on screen I've got a blocker, so it blocks the home feed, the comment, the right-hand section.
[04:31] That way, I safeguard my YouTube.
[04:33] It's only the subscriptions and things I want to see.
[04:36] And even better than that, when I'm working, so I just use Brain FM, so I don't even need to think about what I'm listening to.
[04:40] Or feel free and use white noise, whatever floats your boat.
[04:42] I think the main thing I'm trying to get across here is the fact that imagine you are starting a new health and wellness routine, and you're trying to get your diet right.
[04:50] You could be a person who forces yourself to eat correct, or the easiest thing you can do is just go into your cabinets, take all that's in there, and just throw it out.
[04:57] So, that way you don't even need to use willpower, you don't even need to use focus.
[05:02] You've just eradicated all the distractions or temptations, and that makes life so much easier.
[05:06] And then from there, you can build your focus and willpower muscles.
[05:09] So, I really hope you don't get this false idea in your head.
[05:11] That the most successful people in life are just, you know, have this monastic focus, and they're machines and whatnot.
[05:17] Like, no, I can tell you for a fact, at least I can only speak on my own behalf.
[05:20] Like, no, I struggle with focus all the time.
[05:22] I've just found it a hell of a lot easier to eliminate distractions than try to, you know, force focus.
[05:26] If you eliminate distractions, well, then congratulations, you just get focus as a natural byproduct.
[05:37] Look.
[05:44] Probably the one skill you can develop in your 20s is actually pattern recognition.
[05:50] Your 20s is by far your most formative years.
[05:52] It's the years where you experience life as like real actual adult.
[05:56] And you're going to have so much thrown at your way, different situations, different people, different business opportunities, different thoughts, different doubts, different insecurities.
[06:05] And your ability to spot patterns not only in other people, but also spot patterns in yourself.
[06:10] I don't know if you know any of those people that keep having the
[06:12] Same thing happen to them again and again and again.
[06:14] You look at those people who every single one of their past relationships apparently was an...
[06:21] And at a certain point you have to sit there and ask yourself, maybe you're the problem.
[06:24] Or they have so many business partners that have done them over.
[06:27] And at a certain point you have to sit there and go, have you not learned your lesson?
[06:30] Or they have so many failed business ventures.
[06:33] Look, I am all for failing and I'm all for also failing as you evolve and as you start to venture into new territory.
[06:39] But, you know, I look at these people who brag about having 12 or 15 failed ventures.
[06:43] And at a certain point I go, maybe after the third or fourth time you learn your lesson.
[06:48] Maybe after the third or fourth time, rather than going for a moonshot straight away, as in trying to build a billion-dollar company, maybe you start off small and prove yourself and then go from there.
[06:56] So, look, whether it's pattern recognition in people, in business partners, in relationships, or I think most importantly pattern recognition in yourself.
[07:03] I know this isn't a super sexy thing to talk about, but I can tell you honestly it's hard to get rich and most importantly stay rich if you don't know how to spot patterns.
[07:11] If you don't know how to look at your life situation and go, all right, you...
[07:13] Know what, fool me once, shame on you.
[07:15] Fool me twice, and that's a different story.
[07:19] And I just think so many people live the same reality over and over because they can't stop and think and reflect and journal.
[07:24] And by the way, for me, look, I'll be honest, I did a lot of journaling growing up.
[07:27] But now as time has gone on, I wouldn't say I do as much.
[07:29] I try my best, but I think what I do a lot is even just keep a mental journal.
[07:35] You don't need to sit down and mull over and write every single thought, but I definitely think that you need to at least keep a mental journal, a mental diary entry of, "Okay, when I did this, this happened."
[07:46] Or, "I've been in this situation before."
[07:47] Or, "I've had this thought before."
[07:49] Or, "I've had this insecurity before, and this insecurity led me to take XYZ action."
[07:54] You know, a lot of people are not honest with themselves about why they want what they want, why they do what they do, and they keep having these things happen in their life that come from an insecurity or a flaw or a dark part of themselves that they don't want to admit, and you need to understand that life will keep handing you lessons until you learn better.
[08:11] So, the quicker you start to learn patterns in other people, in yourself, in business.
[08:15] In the markets, you know, I don't want you to spend too much time investing in your early years, or at least don't put too much of your mental energy into it.
[08:22] It's something you should do, but, you know, investing isn't how you're going to get rich.
[08:26] Investing is how you're going to stay rich.
[08:27] You have to focus on creating value in order to get rich, whether that's creating value within an organization.
[08:33] I know a lot of people like to on 9-to-5s these days.
[08:34] I'm actually very pro 9-to-5, but as long as your 9-to-5 actually serves you, which I'll be honest for 98% of people, it doesn't.
[08:42] So, for the 2% where you actually have an incredible career and your company respects you and you're growing and whatnot, I don't want you to ever let someone look down upon that.
[08:50] For the other 90% of you, start a side hustle, start something on the side, but look, that's a conversation for another day.
[08:54] I know this video's going to be very high-level and very conceptual.
[08:57] If you want me to bring it back down to Earth and tell you like, "Hey, do this, do that.
[09:00] Here's where the market is right now.
[09:02] Here's actually what's working in 2026.
[09:03] Here's how to start a side hustle.
[09:05] Here's how to start something on the side that could eventually turn into your main thing."
[09:07] Go ahead and leave a comment in the description.
[09:10] I know maybe sometimes you might think I don't read the comments.
[09:12] Trust me, I assure you I read every single comment.
[09:14] It means a lot to me, and you know, I like to take you guys' feedback on board.
[09:17] Main point.
[09:19] Learn patterns, get good at pattern recognition, otherwise the same things will keep happening again and again in your life.
[09:32] In today's day and age, one of the easiest ways to guarantee that you will be unspeakably rich is learning content and learning what makes great content.
[09:43] Now, you might be wondering why does content matter?
[09:44] Content matters because it gives you distribution.
[09:48] There's no point having a product or service to sell without having people to sell it to.
[09:52] And content is by far the number one best way to get distribution in today's day and age.
[09:56] Now, I want to make something very clear.
[09:59] That doesn't mean that you need to be a dancing monkey, okay?
[10:01] Far from it.
[10:03] In fact, at consulting.com, my consulting company, the richest clients we have are not the ones in front of the camera, they're the ones behind the scenes.
[10:10] So, they tap into content.
[10:11] They know what good content looks like.
[10:13] They know what actually gets eyeballs and then also what converts those eyeballs.
[10:15] But, that doesn't mean they're the ones stood in front of the camera making Tik
[10:18] Toks, making YouTube, nothing like that.
[10:20] Being good at content and being good at creating content are two very different things.
[10:23] Think about it like a director versus an actor, okay?
[10:25] A director understands what goes into making a great film.
[10:30] But, that doesn't mean they're the ones saying the lines, rehearsing, doing all these crazy media appearances.
[10:35] No, they can have a very low-key behind the scenes life, a very private life if they want to.
[10:38] So, when I say this, please don't think that I'm saying that you have to go out there and create content.
[10:42] Now, if you want to, you know, I have.
[10:44] I've been doing it for over 10 years.
[10:45] And I'll be honest, at first I just start off randomly, you know, the reason I started on YouTube is probably a lot less cool than you would imagine.
[10:52] I basically just had no friends growing up or at least not many people that I could relate to.
[10:56] Back in 2015 when I started my YouTube channel, self-development, self-improvement, all these things, they weren't mainstream.
[11:01] They weren't cool like they are now.
[11:02] You know, today being an entrepreneur is actually looked up to or putting content out on YouTube or building a business.
[11:08] Like these things are cool, you know?
[11:11] Which by the way, I'm over the moon about.
[11:13] But, my point is that's why I started creating content.
[11:14] And I know that some of you guys might look at my content right now and go, oh wow, that's like such a big mountain to
[11:18] Climb.
[11:20] I'll put some clips on screen of what my content was like when I first started.
[11:23] So, whether you're creating content yourself or you're studying what good content is so that way you can tap into micro creators' audiences like most of our consulting clients do.
[11:30] Or whether you have a physical product business, you know, for example, like this where I work company Hills and you enlist the help of other creators to help promote your product.
[11:37] I'm not saying that you need to be the person in front of the camera.
[11:39] You just need to understand what good content looks like.
[11:43] And I'm going to make an admission here.
[11:44] What's the saying?
[11:45] I only know this because of TikTok in fact.
[11:47] I'm not proud about it, but man enough to say it.
[11:49] I probably spend like 10 to 20 minutes a day doom scrolling TikTok.
[11:52] And I'll be honest, it's actually one of the most profitable things that I do because I do it with intention.
[11:57] Okay, when I'm on TikTok, I'm always looking at what performed, why did it perform, different hooks.
[12:00] And that's actually been incredibly profitable throughout my career because knowing how to get attention, even if it's not yourself, even if it's other people on behalf of your business or helping promote your side hustle, whatever the case may be.
[12:11] Because if you understand content and you understand how to add it to your skill stack, I'm telling you right now, it's going to make your card, your card of life, you know, the statistics that add up all the
[12:19] Different skills that you've been able to stack over the years, it's going to make it that much powerful.
[12:24] So, this is probably the craziest thing you've heard all day.
[12:25] Do a little doom scrolling on TikTok.
[12:28] Do a little doom scrolling on Instagram, but do with intention.
[12:31] I'm on TikTok.
[12:32] I look at YouTube, but I look at it from a student's perspective.
[12:34] Don't just go on there and mess around.
[12:36] Actually study what goes into good content and what grabs people's attention.
[12:42] I guarantee it'll be one of the most profitable things you've done all year.
[12:49] So, as you get further along in life, probably one of the biggest skills you can add to your scorecard is actually stress tolerance.
[12:56] [music]
[12:56] I hate to break it to you, but life is not all roses and fairy tales and you're going to find yourself in some very stressful situations.
[13:03] [music]
[13:03] And when I look at some of the most successful people I know, probably the common denominator between all of them is their ability to handle stress.
[13:13] Now, the good news is is that it's a skill like anything else in life, all right?
[13:17] I don't expect you right out the gate to
[13:19] have incredible stress tolerance.
[13:21] I expect you right out the gate to crumble.
[13:23] You know, that's how most people operate in life.
[13:25] They get a difficult email, they have some complications in their interpersonal relationships, they have a setback in their business, they get told no, you know, maybe they feel like they're out of place, maybe they feel like, you know what, maybe I'm not cut out for this.
[13:38] And that stress, it gets to their head.
[13:41] And you need to understand that the biggest risk to any endeavor is yourself.
[13:45] You are your worst enemy.
[13:47] The truth is if you stick to something long enough, I can't tell you when you're going to succeed, you know, that's dependent on person to person.
[13:52] Everyone takes a different amount of time to get to their goals.
[13:56] And also, we don't all have the same goals.
[13:59] Some of our goals are just to build a side hustle on the side and, you know, make a little bit of supplementary income and that's amazing.
[14:03] And some people's goals is to build a billion-dollar company.
[14:06] That takes a very different level of skills on your player card.
[14:09] And that also takes a very different level of stress tolerance.
[14:12] So just know that this is something you're going to develop over time.
[14:15] I remember early in my career, this must have been 9 years ago, I finally hired my first employee and after 3 days, he quit.
[14:23] The reason he quit was because, A, I don't think I set the right expectations as to what the work entailed.
[14:28] Had a creative agency back then and it was a lot more monotonous and boring than I think he assumed.
[14:34] And second, I just don't think I was a great boss, quote-unquote.
[14:37] I don't think I was a good leader.
[14:39] I didn't have the skillset that I needed in order to lead a team at that time.
[14:43] And it was one of the only times in my entire career where I actually doubted myself.
[14:46] I remember I was actually in my mom's kitchen and it was one of the few times I actually started crying.
[14:52] And I was like, wow, I just don't think I'm cut out for this.
[14:54] And now, 9 years later, looking back at that, I'm like, oh, it's such a small thing.
[14:57] Like it's not the end of the world, you know, people sometimes join organizations or join companies.
[15:02] You know, sometimes people take a job offer and it's not what they expected.
[15:05] Like it's really not the end of the world.
[15:06] And there's been so many of these instances in my life where, you know, I thought it was the end of the world or I thought, you know what, I just don't have what it takes.
[15:15] And I thought the pressure and the stress is going to be the end of me.
[15:18] And as time goes on, you get over something, you get past something and you're like, okay, cool, I'm equipped.
[15:21] I can handle this.
[15:22] Like I have what it takes now.
[15:24] It will just keep progressing as time goes on.
[15:26] All I can say is when you have that stress, when you're feeling that stress, think of it kind of like being in the gym.
[15:32] You know, like it's insane to think, oh, we can go to the gym and we can grow or, you know, we can run faster without enduring some sort of pain.
[15:39] If you're training for a marathon, of course you're going to endure some pain along the way.
[15:42] But you understand that there's something on the other side of that pain.
[15:45] There's something on the other side of that stress.
[15:47] And that's a greater threshold and a greater tolerance.
[15:50] And that's exactly the same thing when it comes to stress.
[15:51] When you're in the middle of it, when you're in the thick of it, when you want to give up, when you want to quit, embrace it.
[15:58] Like, you know, really soak it in because that's you strengthening the muscle.
[15:59] That's you strengthening your skill set.
[16:03] Your ability to handle stress will be one of the most profitable skills that you learn in your lifetime.
[16:08] So, embrace it and don't let it get to you.
[16:16] Okay, so for the sixth and final skill, I'm actually going to leave it up to you.
[16:19] I want you to leave a comment down below.
[16:21] I'm going to be reading all the comments.
[16:23] Tell me, what's the one skill?
[16:25] Do you think I missed?
[16:27] And with that, we've completed the six most important skills that you need to develop in your 20s in order to get rich.
[16:33] You need to understand that period in your 20s going into your 30s, whether that's 25 to 35 or 29 to 39 or 21 to 31.
[16:41] That is a decade of building.
[16:42] And honestly, a decade is all that you need.
[16:45] Look, of course the tactics, the nitty-gritty, the up-to-date stuff will always be important.
[16:51] But if you can skill stack, there is no way, I'm not saying it's going to happen in 3 months, I'm not saying it's going to happen in 6 months, a year, maybe not even 2 years, but there is no way that you don't become incredibly rich.
[17:02] I need you to understand that that is your new reality.
[17:05] Time simply needs to catch up to it.
[17:07] And with that being said, I'm going to enjoy this last leg of our American trip.
[17:10] If you stuck around until the end of this video, I want you to know that I'm incredibly proud of you.
[17:14] And as always, from watching from afar, I'm rooting for you.