What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

The Best Advice I’d Give Someone Younger Than Me

✨ 🍷Pour a glass, peeps… here’s today’s post. 🍷✨

If I could sit down with my 20-year-old self—or any young person for that matter—and hand them a survival guide for life, I’d save them years of confusion, bad decisions, and a few questionable hairstyles.

First things first: trust your gut.

That little voice in your head? The one that whispers, “This seems like a terrible idea” while you’re busy convincing yourself otherwise? Listen to it.

Your instincts are usually right. Mine have rarely been wrong. The problem wasn’t that my instincts failed me—it was that I ignored them because I wanted to believe the best in people. Sometimes the best in people was hiding behind a giant red flag waving like it was directing airport traffic.

Speaking of people…

Keep your enemies close.

Not because you’re plotting world domination. Because it’s easier to keep an eye on folks when they’re close enough to reveal who they really are. Be friendly. Be polite. Be kind.

But don’t tell everybody your business.

Some people are gathering information like they’re training for the FBI. Give those folks surface-level details. Tell them you like coffee and puppies. Don’t tell them your life story, your bank account balance, or your deepest fears.

Protect your peace.

Now let’s talk about friendships.

You do not need 47 best friends.

You need one or two ride-or-die friends who would help you hide a body.

Figuratively, of course.

The older I get, the more I realize quality beats quantity every single time. Find friends who celebrate your wins, support you during losses, and don’t spend their free time discussing you behind your back.

Here’s a revolutionary concept:

If you have a problem with me, talk TO me.

Not about me.

Imagine how much drama would disappear if people simply picked up the phone and had an honest conversation.

Groundbreaking, I know.

Next piece of advice: work a job you love.

Or at least one you don’t dread every Sunday afternoon.

Life is too short to spend forty years counting down to Friday. If you wake up miserable every day, it’s okay to change careers. It’s okay to start over. It’s okay to reinvent yourself at 30, 40, 50, or beyond.

I’ve learned that changing directions isn’t failure.

It’s growth.

It’s curiosity.

It’s refusing to spend your life stuck somewhere that no longer fits.

And while we’re talking about growth…

Never stop learning.

Read books.

Take classes.

Learn a language.

Learn how to invest.

Learn how to cook something besides cereal.

Stay curious. The minute you think you know everything is the minute life starts teaching you expensive lessons.

And finally…

TRAVEL.

Travel with your friends.

Travel with your family.

Take the trip.

Book the flight.

Go to the beach.

Go to the mountains.

Go to Europe.

Go somewhere you’ve never been.

Nobody reaches the end of their life wishing they’d spent more time vacuuming.

The memories you make with the people you love become priceless treasures. Photos fade. Clothes go out of style. Cars wear out.

But the stories?

The laughter?

The adventures?

Those stay with you forever.

The older I get, the less I remember things I bought and the more I remember moments I lived.

So if I had to sum up all my advice in two words, it would be this:

Carpe Diem.

Seize the day.

Trust yourself.

Love your people.

Keep learning.

Keep growing.

Keep traveling.

And for heaven’s sake, stop ignoring those red flags just because they’re wearing a nice outfit.

✨ Pour a glass, peeps… and let that truth settle in. 🍷✨