[Bikal]

Quote:

If You Were 18 Again, What Would You Do Differently?

I would've done a degree I enjoyed rather than a degree to get me a good job, I could've gotten to where I am regardless of degree, it would've taken a year or two longer but I would still be here.

I'd also box or do sambo, I do box now and I want to make the switch to sambo but I should've done this ages ago, there's no better feeling than a good workout, especially one that teaches you discipline and can be used during self-defence.

[Echovoid_52]

1.) exclusively fuck prositutes. The women are hotter, kinder, and will save you time and money as well as save you a world of trouble In regards to your mental health. Treat women like commodities and understand abundance mentality due to having a wide source of escorts to choose from. Take the occasional free lay when life gives you lemons.
2.) escape your abusive father at an early age by moving out.
3.) lift and eat well but don’t obesses over it to the point where you’re devloping borderline body dysmorpia and eating disorders over it. Girls like a muscled guy but you don’t have to be A Greek god to get women.
4.) don’t get a communication studies degree. It wasn’t the worst option but something like finance could have had you making 80-100k right now at 25 and not 40k. Not bad, but could have done better. I know math was never your strong suite.
5.) cut off 90 percent of your male friends. They’re not your bros. They’re you’re competitors. They don’t help you get laid. You work better as a loner.

[Hephaestus]

I wasn't sure whether I should open this thread, as I have wasted many years in a ruminating depression. But I am more than recovered now, so in the name of greater understanding and perspective, I'll share my experiences.

There were two times in my life I was happy with my performance; The latter half of the final semester of high school and the final year of uni. Who knows, maybe I had a brush with future me; I went from an unmotivated layabout, to someone who studied from dawn to night and exercised frequently. Seven weeks couldn't change the entire outcome of my a-levels, but it was enough to get into an undersubscribed course at a Russell-group uni.

If I worked hard all semester, I would have had a lot more options. But it wouldn't have been easy as each night I was faced with a choice of either travelling for two hours from a countryside boarding school to my dysfunctional home, or rough sleeping outside as I was kicked out from boarding because I complained too much about nighttime bullying (there's probably another side to the story, but whatever).

Instead, it becomes more simple; I would have not drunk the orange juice which gave me explosive diarrhoea the first (and only) night I stayed at the only B&B in the village. A stable and quiet place to sleep would have given the strength to push myself.

Anyway, on to something more applicable to the rest of you. I picked a totally non-vocational arts course.
Why in my right mind would I do something so monstrously self-destructive? Well, decisions are influenced by the people around you and since I was surrounded by upper-class boarding school types, for them, with their family connections and resources for the best internships, following their passions is a viable and rewarding course of action. I was also influenced by my parents; one high-IQ and one low-IQ but both firewalled from the job market by disability. My immediate family are Quaker, no other faith-group in the UK has more postgrad degrees per capita and Oxford Meeting took it to another level. A son not going to university is unthinkable.

I do not regret the decision to go to university as I'm too clumsy/awkward for manual work, and it was free due to disability/poverty, what I do however regret is not taking into account other people's biases. Pure academia looks like a path to success if you only see those who survive to be professors. Putting great value on a school's reputation is only natural for those at arguably the most renowned university on planet. So I picked a non-vocational course at the best school that'd accept my mediocre grades, when it might have been better to pick something actually useful like programming or accounting at a third-tier school.

If I worked as hard on my A-levels from the start as I did at the end, and actually worked to build relationships, relevant work-experience and connections. I might have had the grades and recommendation letters to get into Oxford University. Such a degree would open doors in government and overseas, and it would have been nice not to go into debt paying for a place to rent. I still would have to have confronted my father over not giving me the space to study, but hey, earplugs are cheap.

First year of university went decently but of course there were distractions and many moments of weakness. There's no logic in regretting having fun, so no changes, but I was faced with a choice at the end of my first year due to accidentally missing one exam: Retake the half-module on its own, or retake the entire year. I chose to redo the whole thing, as I was too afraid to admit defeat and move back home, even though I was seriously tempted to spend the year picking up programming as I was already half-disillusioned with the arts degree.

Who knows what would have happened? Retaking the year gave me time to get a girlfriend, who ended up helping me mature socially. In the end, what I did with the year may have ended up irrelevant as the great financial crisis started just months after graduating and it would have been far more fruitful looking for work in healthier times.

TLDR: Avoid orange juice, use earplugs (except on exam days )

[Cation]

Good thread.

If I was 18 again, I would skip university and try to get to Germany in any which way I can. By age 30, I would have already bought an apartment in Zagreb, or somewhere on the Croatian seaside, and rent it.

[Ringo]

(09-14-2018 02:08 PM)Echovoid_52 Wrote:  

1.) exclusively fuck prositutes. The women are hotter, kinder, and will save you time and money as well as save you a world of trouble In regards to your mental health. Treat women like commodities and understand abundance mentality due to having a wide source of escorts to choose from. Take the occasional free lay when life gives you lemons.

If that's what you'd tell your 18-year old self, you must have done some bad, bad choices.

[CaptainChardonnay]

(09-14-2018 03:29 PM)Ringo Wrote:  

(09-14-2018 02:08 PM)Echovoid_52 Wrote:  

1.) exclusively fuck prositutes. The women are hotter, kinder, and will save you time and money as well as save you a world of trouble In regards to your mental health. Treat women like commodities and understand abundance mentality due to having a wide source of escorts to choose from. Take the occasional free lay when life gives you lemons.

If that's what you'd tell your 18-year old self, you must have done some bad, bad choices.

[Lunostrelki]

I would find a job while in college, preferably related to my current work. As it played out, three years of cushy university life (parents paid my tuition and I lived with an aunt for very low rent) did nothing to prepare me for the professional world. It took me another three years and much pressure to build some level of competence.

[godfather dust]

This was my anthem

Being a dumb 18 year old I thought I could make a living being a retard forever, several years later (brutal, hard) reality set in and I'm trying to find a career at 30.

I was super high-T and impulsive so I don't spend all my days regretting it, I was a wild mother fucker until like 25 it's not like I would have successfully graduated college.

[Echovoid_52]

(09-14-2018 03:29 PM)Ringo Wrote:  

(09-14-2018 02:08 PM)Echovoid_52 Wrote:  

1.) exclusively fuck prositutes. The women are hotter, kinder, and will save you time and money as well as save you a world of trouble In regards to your mental health. Treat women like commodities and understand abundance mentality due to having a wide source of escorts to choose from. Take the occasional free lay when life gives you lemons.

If that's what you'd tell your 18-year old self, you must have done some bad, bad choices.

More like I just got dealt a shitty hand when it came to women in my teens and early twenties. Lots of ghosting after sex. Constant ghosting in both casual flings and some of my more serious relationships left my mental health in a bad bad state by the time I was 23. I was always have anxiety about being abandoned and women could see that and of course that anxiety and paranoia would drive them away even more as I had a scarcity mentality.

Once I found out about escorts all that went away because I realize getting laid like a war lord by 10/10 models is just a phone call and $200 a way. I started dating a south american escort as well who I don't pay. She's my ladyfriend and as of this moment who'd I'd consider my best friend. She has sex with other men, and i have sex with other women, but we always comes back to each other. Unicorns might be pure fantasy, but Hookers with hearts of gold do exist gentleman.

[Monty_Brogan]

The absolute second you EAS (end active service) from the USMC, join an apprenticeship: Railroad, Ironworker, Elevator, Pipe Fitter, Operator. These are the best, IMHO.

You can make a DAMN good living and the sky is the limit if you have leadership traits and the company likes you and you want to go the Foreman or Supervisor route.

Being a 30+ y/o apprentice sucks, but you have to start somewhere.

[godfather dust]

(09-14-2018 10:31 PM)Monty_Brogan Wrote:  

Being a 30+ y/o apprentice sucks, but you have to start somewhere.

That's where I'm at bro, hate this late start but hey life comes quick

[General Mayhem]

I had a pretty solid base at 18. However, a few things would have been nice to know.

Use your 4 years in college as a kind of rented freedom and learn how to make money online instead of fucking around so much.

Learn to recognize when to push harder or pull back with women. I would have had a lot more lays if I would have been picking up on the subtle cues that I missed. You have to live in the moment to recognize those things.

Don't waste all your time trying to bang the hottest girls and don't give up easy bangs with decent girls in the hopes doing just a little bit better. None of the hotter girls will give a shit if they know you fucked a 6.

Most importantly, you don't have as much time as you think you have.

I enjoyed the fuck out of each year from 18 until today but for some reason I think I could have enjoyed it more if I would have realized how time works.

[TigOlBitties]

I would skip college. What a waste of time and money. Hell, I'd even graduate from high school a year early.

Instead, I'd work a couple of part time jobs that can lead to careers. For example, I'm a mariner but also interested in being a firefighter. So at 18, I'd get a job on a boat and work as an EMT too.

I'm happy where I'm at now, but there was a lot of wasted time.

[Veloce]

Funny enough, nearly all my bad decisions came in my 20s, and most of them involve staying way too long with the wrong chick.

When I was 18 I was a hopeless romantic that had done acid and smoked lots of weed, with a quite beautiful girlfriend, talented in music, wise beyond my years, with zero aspirations for college or collecting debt and material possessions. Best of all, I was by and large quite happy. I wouldn't do much differently except hit the gym.

My advice to my younger self would be for the years 14-17. It took me a while to break out of my shell. From 14-17 I could have been way more social, partied way more, and drowned in pussy. In middle school the hottest girl in the entire school asked me "So who do you like?" Me being the idiot, didn't realize that was her way of saying she had a crush on me. When I told her, "Nobody" because I was too shy, she became really mean to me. And again, I didn't understand why. Nobody explained to me. I did the same thing in Junior year high school. I remember doing a skit at 17 with this girl a year younger, in the skit she was my girlfriend and we were filming a scene where I'd walk down the sidewalk with my arm around her waist. I did so, and just having my arm around this young girl's waist turned my entire world upside down, she was one of the hottest girls at my high school. She was very flirty after the skit and I just froze and didn't make a move.

It's easy to say I wish I could go back and fuck like an animal, but I'd probably have a few kids by now with a bunch of angry baby mommas. So I'm doing pretty good

[Dantes]

Men don't fully mature neurologically until about the age of 25. So all the mistakes we made in our youth is just part of the development process. I consider myself lucky to have made it out of that period without any major mistakes that would have limited my options in the future.

Having a solid, older mentor at that age was one the thing that really would have been beneficial for me. Younger guys who have discovered the forum are quite lucky if they absorb all the vast life knowledge that has been presented here.My advice to them would be to keep your ego in check; befriend an older, masculine mentor who is generous with his life knowledge. Most men don't know shit until they hit their 30s-so be open-minded about the kind of life you want to live.

[sebip]

I'm still young, 23 but I've taken a pretty different path in my life, I've quit college after the 1st year and started my own business, focusing almost all of my time,energy and attention on this. If I could tell something to my younger self, would be something along these lines:

Take care of your health, start going to the gym and eat a healthy diet.

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself, from time to time, learn how to relax and enjoy yourself.

Eliminate all toxic people from your life, the only thing that matters is YOU.

Be more careful with how you manage your finances, even though you got lucky, making money is not an easy thing.

Don't be ignorant, as you go through life, remember to always keep an open mind and do your own research, don't jump to conclusions.

Never stop educating yourself, keep reading constantly, learn how the world really works, apply what you learn.

Don't make decisions influenced by others. Other people opinion don't matter as much as your own will, don't be impulsive and think things through.

Uncertainty in life sometimes is good, learn to take some risks from time to time, get out of your comfort zone more.

Surround yourself with people that have the same mindset/goals, ambitions like yourself. Stay away from people with bad influences.

Don't concern yourself too much with the opinions of women, understand they are just children in a grown up body, and learn how to have fun around them.

Life is fun, don't forget to enjoy yourself as you go through the journey and ease up a bit, but most of all, always remain confident and optimist, and enjoy the road.

[Flux]

Worry less about the future and just enjoy being 18.

[Slam]

If I were 18 again, I would spend more time on body building / fitness / calisthenics.

A man's peak aesthetic and energetic years are 18-30.

You could be relatively good looking at older ages, but all other things being equal, your 20-year-old, 8-10%-bodyfat, full-head-of-hair self is the most aesthetic body potential you will have in your life.

You owe it to yourself to looksmax at younger ages, when you skin lacks wrinkles and sun spots, when you have no dark circles under your eyes, when you have no hair thinning.

By the time you are 30+, you will begin to notice the effects of aging. When you are 18, you think your youth will last forever.

If anyone is 18 and reading this, listen to me:

Be the top 1% in BODY when you are 18. Get cut. Enjoy summers and every environment where you can take your shirt off and make the ladies quiver and the (lesser) guys around you nervous.

Try to become a model or an actor while you can. Get professional photos taken. You will be able to look back on them with pride.

You can get rich, buy houses and cars, eat at good restaurants, and read classic books etc later in life. You will not always have your youth.

I regret not doing this. I spent too much time reading the internet, playing video games, and eating crap.

Get lean, get a good haircut, and walk around exuding aesthetic power.

Few will do this.

[Transsimian]

(09-14-2018 03:15 PM)Cation Wrote:  

If I was 18 again, I would skip university and try to get to Germany in any which way I can.

If you are coming by boat, remember to tell your rescuers you are 16 so they can't deport you.

[ilostabet]

If I was 18 again I would do the following things differently:

- skip college and go for a trade instead.
- start lifting
- give up weed
- not eat crap
- stop hanging out with losers
- gain oneitis immunity

all these took me 5-10 years to realize and start. could have saved me a lot of time and trouble. but hey, things come as they come. all in all, it could have been worse. some of my friends are still doing the same mistakes and bad choices they did at 18 in their 30s.

[Geomann180]

I would have told myself "Don't look at porn or your dick won't work when you start getting good with women."

Hell, I would have told myself this at 11.

G

[C-Note]

Knowing what I know now (I'm in my late 40s), I would have discarded the anti-authority, "stick-it-to-the-man" attitude I carried around until I was over 30 years old. That attitude has likely cost me $1 million in earnings, at least, over my lifetime, because it kept me from putting as much effort into the various work and activities I was involved in since I was so concerned with "not selling out."

[ChicagoFire]

Only 2 things:

1) Don't go to college (I currently owe a lot). I bet a lot of people in this thread will say this. I'm hoping a politician will reform bankruptcy laws and allow me to discharge my loans but I'm not crossing my fingers.

Edit:

Checked out a couple pages and I can see some people regretting college and wishing they could do trades. Someone mentioned family pressuring them into going into college and just to give a little bit of background my grandfather did that to me, pretty much used my aunt, who's essentially a 50 year old failure, as an example of why I need to go to college. When I think back at my naive (I'm not dumb) 18 year old self I should have connected the dots and realized my grandfather was a moron and that to protect his own ego he can't admit that he fucked up a lot as an adult. Family and societal pressure is real so fuck what ANYBODY thinks about college being your responsibility. Going to college is a big decision and I personally don't think anybody is mentally ready to make potentially life changing decisions until they're 25.

Anybody young that don't want to go to college should check out James Altucher who gives great alternatives to college, which is an outdated entity that sucks the young dry.

2) Don't get tattooed.

I've been very lucky to always have known money is to be reinvested and even then I've made mistakes in that area. Even though I got scammed in the PUA industry it has taught me a fair amount.

I am thankful that I don't have bastard kids, STDs, drug addictions, or a criminal record. If the younger kids want to learn something it's to be thankful as you will get older and will have regrets in your life.

[exmormon]

Don't go on a Mormon mission and monogamy is suicide in your 20's.

[beta_plus]

I would have someone tell me:

Employers pay for 3 things:

1. Cleverness - you don't have any control over that. You are just born with it or you are not.
2. Management Ability - the argument is endless and almost perfectly circular over whether this can be learned or one must be born with it - that's why there are 3 entire bookshelves devoted to this in every remaining non-SJW bookstore.
3. Skills - you have complete control over this. Focus on this. However, while related to academics it is not quite the same thing. He would continue below.
   

Again, skills are the one thing that you have complete control over. They have a 100% guaranteed positive correlation to your effort as long as you make sure the market wants them. Some have a higher correlation coefficient than others, but as long as you are not a complete idiot and test the employment market waters it is always > 0.

However, you must have some basic level of academics to acquire them. The trick is to figure out that minimum amount of academics before you can switch to mastering skills.

How do I know this? Because I have to friends with aerospace engineering degrees from schools that you have heard of and have good reps but one spends his days doing admin work and the other programs servers. The servers guy has done quite well but the admin guy still struggles.

Then I'd have him explain to me the history and legacy of Griggs vs. Duke Power...