Why a 3-Year Investment in Yourself Can Pay Off for Decades
We all want to see results quickly. We want to hit the jackpot, land that dream job, and achieve our goals overnight. But the truth is, most of us live so shortsighted, focusing on immediate gratification over long-term growth.
Imagine this: You're 25 years old, working a job you hate, and you finally realize you want to do something different. You fall in love with coding, data science, or maybe even building a YouTube channel or blog. You decide to make a big life change, to invest in yourself and build a new career.
You commit to learning, sacrificing time and energy, and pushing yourself to the limit. You spend three years studying, building projects, making connections, and gaining experience. Then, after all that hard work, you land your dream job. You're 28 years old, and you're making 3x the salary you were before.
Now, compare that with the alternative: You spend three years complaining about your situation, wishing things were different, but never taking action. You jump from tutorial to tutorial, criticize others' content by leaving negative comments under they content, and waste time on unproductive pursuits. Three years pass, and you're still in the same spot, you haven’t moved an inch forward.
The difference? Three years of hard work versus three years of wasted effort.
As Naval Ravikant says in his book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant:
We waste our time with short-term thinking and busy work. Warren Buffett spends a year deciding, in a day acting, that act lasts decades.
The same principle applies to our careers. A small investment of three years of focused effort can have a lasting impact on your life for decades to come.
Many see the rise of AI as a threat, but I see it as a wave of new opportunities. AI is opening doors in coding, software development, engineering, and countless other fields. The opportunities are endless.
Don't let fear or doubt hold you back. You might not land a job at a big tech company right away, but there are countless other paths to success.
Instead of just learning a specific programming language, take the time to understand how computers work and sharpen your math skills. This will make you a more versatile and adaptable developer, able to thrive in a rapidly changing industry.
Beginning your journey
So, how do you get started? Create a plan and take action. Define your goals clearly, break them down into specific steps, and zoom out to look at the big picture.
- What do you want? Define your goals clearly.
- How do you get there? Break down your goals into specific, actionable steps.
- How long will it take? Zoom out and look at the big picture.
Stop living shortsighted. Invest in yourself, and your future growth is guaranteed.
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