Advice you would give to your 20 year old self.

Great8

Brownlow Medallist
Apr 19, 2015
16,613
14,162
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Manchester United, Juventus,
So your advice to your 20 year old self is only have 1 kid and fly bussiness class ?
Selfishly I’d say yes to the 1 kid. It helps that both of us have decent enough jobs but having only one child has afforded us a fair bit more financial freedom than many of our our friends who have 3 or 4 kids. I honestly doubt that we would be in the financial position we are now or have travelled anywhere near as much if we had more kids
 
Feb 23, 2009
32,138
45,733
Melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
New York Jets
I'm 30, but even now I'd rewind and change a lot if I could.

The main general lifestyle changes I'd advise myself though is:

1. Look after your health, exercise and eat well most of the time, so when you do binge and party it's the exception and not the norm to your body. Don't smoke cigarettes it's a useless habit that does nothing but cost you money, make you stink and damage your body. Save that money and put it towards something like travel.

2. Be confident in how you want to live your life and don't worry what other people think. Pleasing people or trying to fit in is overrated, just do you.

3. Get rid of toxic people in your life whether it be friends or relationships. That s**t and those people will only drag you down until you are wise enough to realise all that time wasted.

4. Don't waste money on s**t that doesn't matter like brand name stuff or a nice car or items you don't use often, spend heartily on stuff that does matter like travel, experiences, good restaurants, time with your friends, hobbies you enjoy.

5. Youth, health, life is precious, don't take it for granted and appreciate it.

6. Be mindful and live in the moment, 10 years from now doesn't matter today, either does 10 years ago.
 
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Jack Gun Cyril Stun

Club Legend
Oct 5, 2012
1,237
1,504
AFL Club
Hawthorn
From my own experiences and those of others my advice to any 20yo would be:

When you get to 10 beers stop. Let your mates drink 20, it doesn’t get any better after that, after 10 drink water, save money, reduce risk and salvage the next day!!

Be wary of any drug. I’ve seen pot destroy people, it’s harmless to many but not all, so beware.

Get some sort of basic qualification or trade or skill that can get your foot in the door of whatever industry or at least get one whilst you’re working. Doesn’t matter what level.

Don’t hang around negative or lazy people.

If things aren’t going your way, Look to energise everyone around you ...it will energise you.

Get to Europe for at least a whole summer (ideally min 6mths) before you’re 30.

And go for girls younger than you esp in your early 20s, it’s just easier on a variety of fronts.
And even when you’re 35 you’re still attractive to girls in their early 20s (prob bc you have more resources !!)

And if you get married, look at the mother in law, her behaviour is subconsciously dormant (for better or worse) in her girls.

And don’t stop playing sport!
 

PatrickBateman

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 8, 2008
7,043
5,937
Cartagena, Colombia
AFL Club
Geelong
Don't validate women, it's weak... you only look insecure, she knows it
Concentrate on yourself, number 1... Health / fitness and purpose (career, etc)
Happiness comes from taking on responsibility and accomplishing goals, being comfortable within yourself and being able to spend significant time by yourself - if you want a relationship, success in this regard will get you better quality women
 
Sep 15, 2007
50,366
46,594
Where i need to be
AFL Club
Geelong
I was 20 in 1988.

Stop drinking (I very rarely drink these days. Haven't had alcohol for at least 3 months at the moment)

Stop smoking (I gave up December 2017)
Just to do some maths on smoking to give you and idea. My wife and I both smoked, she had actually quit for 13 years but took it up again when we were living in an outback WA town for 7 years. Before we quit, she was smoking 3 x packets of Longbeach 40s per week and I was smoking 5 x packets of Peter Jackson 30s per week. I am currently in a Pilbara mining camp and at the canteen last night I looked at the price of smokes. The Longbeach are $68.50 per pack and the Peter Jacksons $55.20 per week that's $481.50 per week, every week of the year, after tax. On average, we paid about 40% tax between us for the year, so if you work that figure out on a pre-tax cost then someone would need to have a job grossing $41,730 per year just for cigarettes.

Are you good enough that you're ever going to make a living from playing footy? If not, find something else to participate in. Do you need an ACL, broken leg, broken ankle, shoulder reco etc interfering with other aspects of your life for nothing.
but drinking is fun. You drink more once you start having kids. You need it for sanity.

Just dont be a moron and binge drink. As with anything in life.
 
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