life is a suicide mission
10 things i know at 25 i wish i knew at 18
My dad just accidentally triggered my quarter life crisis.
He showed me an old photo of him, my mom, and me. I was 1 year old, drooling all over myself.
He looked at it and laughed: "I was only four years older than you here, HA!"
Fantastic mate.
Bro had a kid and a mortgage and I'm still living in his house.
Nice.
Being in your 20s is weird.
You're stuck in limbo. Work, family, friends, hobbies... thousands of open questions and "what ifs"
Is this career actually what you want? Was your degree worth the debt? Should you leave your hometown?
Sorry, thank my dad.
You're swimming in uncertainty, lost and directionless. It's ass.
"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power."
— Seneca
Just like 1 year old me, I was once 19, still drooling all over myself. Naive. Vain. Purposeless. Lost.
I wish I could go back and talk to that version of me. So instead, I'm going to write to him.
And maybe, just maybe, these words will help someone out there who feels stuck, lost, or directionless no matter their age.
They say the best view of heaven is from hell. Maybe this will help you before you get there.
10 Things I Know at 25 I Wish I Knew at 18
1. Buy Nvidia
Kidding. Kind of.
1. Movement is the antidote
Literally. Figuratively.
The life you yearn for, the connections you crave, the person you're destined to become all lie on the other side of action, of movement. Not tomorrow. Not "someday." Today.
Excellence isn't wished into existence, it's forged through relentless mastery of yourself. Physical, mental, spiritual.
Begin with your body. It's deteriorating while you hesitate.
Move for your health before it's compromised. Move for your mental clarity before fog sets in. Move for the confidence that vanishes the longer you wait.
"Train the body hard so it is not disobedient to the mind."
— Seneca
Freaking move kid.
Like a goldfish trapped in a bowl, you're only growing to the confines of your environment. Break the glass. Find deeper waters before you suffocate in familiarity.
You are becoming your five closest influences every single day. Are they shaping you into the man you wish to become or are they holding you back?
Move your body. Run, swim, lift, your muscles are atrophying as you read this.
Move your life. New job, new city, new connections, because the clock is ticking, and regret compounds with interest.
Move.
2. The days you don't want to count as double
Show up.
The days you don't want to are the ones that matter most.
Show up when it's messy. When it's hard. When it's not sexy. When no one's watching. When you're tired. When you're discouraged. When it feels pointless.
Small, sustainable actions compound into unstoppable momentum. The world belongs to those who keep showing up when everyone else quits. Get your butt in the chair.
"You don't always have to be great, but you do always have to show up."
— Ryan Holiday
When you show up consistently, that's when you get "lucky." That's when opportunities find you.
Be someone people want to buy stock in. Be reliable, determined, unstoppable through sheer persistence.
Elbow grease. C'mon now. Just show up.
3. Get off the bus
The idea of intention changed my life. Do everything with intent.
Do you realize you can just do things? You can do whatever you want.
You have agency, will, and you can use it to become, build, or break whatever you want.
Stop pretending like you're trapped. You're not. You put yourself in the box and you can take yourself out too.
Think about your college major. Think about who and what makes you happy. Think about where you want to live, what you want to do. Think about your true passions and chase them.
Stop "going with the flow. That's how you end up 50 years down the line wondering what the fuck just happened.
Build the life you want and stop pretending you can't. Be intentional with everything.
Freaking think about things.
4. Nobody cares
Nobody cares about anything you do outside of a select few people. Everyone else is too busy caring about themselves and that's fine.
When you truly realize this, it's liberating.
Those moments you replay in your head at 2 AM? That outfit you think people are judging? Your career change?
Nobody. Cares.
Use this knowledge as a weapon. Do whatever you want because no one gives a shit. Start that weird business. Wear those clothes. Take that class. Write that book.
The fear of judgment keeping you small is based on a lie. People are too consumed with their own insecurities to monitor yours.
Do what makes you happy. Live the life you want. Stop performing for an audience that isn't even watching.
5. Shed your skin
Are you lugging around dead weight? Look at your life and ask: "If this wasn't already part of my routine, would I start it today? If I met this person today would I spend time with them?"
Don't be a slave to momentum. Not to toxic people who drain your energy. Not to the job you hate but stay at "for the resume." Not to habits that are slowly killing you.
The sunk cost fallacy is a prison of your own making. "I've already invested so much time" is the mantra of someone afraid to admit they're on the wrong path.
Shed your skin. Like a snake that must discard its old layer to grow, you must be willing to abandon what no longer serves you.
That relationship that leaves you feeling hollow? Those "friends" who make you feel small? That career path you chose when you were practically a child?
Drop the baggage. Feel the immediate lightness. Let go of what's holding you back and run like hell toward what actually matters.
Your future self is begging you to travel light.
6. You can only cook with what's in the kitchen
Read and write. Reading stocks your mental fridge. Each book expands your awareness, solving problems you didn't know you had with tools you didn't know existed. Reading introduces you to mentors you'll never meet in person and gives you decades of wisdom in just a few hours.
Writing became non-negotiable for me. Journaling isn't homework, it's a playground for your thoughts. It's where I test ideas, vent frustrations, and celebrate wins without judgment.
In a world where everyone's attention points outward, these habits turn you inward. That's not just valuable, it's fun.
Self-awareness is an elite skill.
7. Take care of the garden and the butterflies will come
You wonder why no one wants you? Why no one cares? Ask yourself: Do you even care about yourself? Do you love yourself?
The world is merciless. Brutal. Unforgiving. Facing it becomes exponentially harder when battling your own mental turmoil simultaneously.
"People should be more full of themselves. Who else are we supposed to be full of?"
— Matthew McConaughey
Take care of the garden and the butterflies will come. It's not magic. it's cause and effect.
When seeking friends, partners, business connections—ask yourself: Would YOU want you? Are you the kind of person who deserves what you're seeking?
Take care of yourself. Workout—your body is decaying while you hesitate. Get a good haircut. Dress well. Clean your space.
Become possessed by the person you wish to become. Be and you will become.
8. Life is a suicide mission
Life is a suicide mission. This life doesn't go on forever yet we act like it does.
Really think about it. You aren't making it out. So fucking go for it.
Hug mom. Chase your passion. Text the girl. Do it all.
You get one shot at this existence. One.
Ask yourself right now if you'll have regrets when you face the light. If the answer's yes, what on earth are you doing?
The happiest population in the world is the one who contemplates death regularly. Because it's liberating.
We’re all walking towards a cliff…
Fall with a smile on your face, not the grimace of unfulfilled potential.
The time for living isn't tomorrow it's today.
9. The grass isn't greener it's just different grass
What happens if it all goes to shit?
What if you get that job you want and it doesn't pay what you expected? Would you still do it?
The grass isn't greener it's just different grass.
Yes, you need to go for it. Yes, you need to exit your comfort zone.
But what happens if it doesn't work out? Be prepared. Have a plan C. A plan D.
"Not wanting something is as good as having it."
— Naval Ravikant
10. Find your own purpose or society will give you one
You're on Autopilot. A roller coaster. You're placed on a track and the car you're in follows the predetermined path. Moving forward without thought. Without choice.
Reminder: You can just do things. The world is your oyster. Do whatever you want. Make whatever you want.
Pursue the weird path. Do the thing that isn't common.
Take the governor out of your brain before it calcifies into permanent limitation.
Make it happen for yourself or live an entire life working to fulfill someone else's dream. You are a cog in their machine. Just a part of their vision.
You deserve to be the main character in your own story. Not a footnote in someone else's.
"Break the chains, my love"
— Eo, Red Rising
Thank you for reading.
— Dante