Maybe you wish you could rewrite your past, or, perhaps you’re content with the decisions you made at that time in your life. Either way, there are probably a few things you wish you had known then that you know now.
That’s exactly what LinkedIn asked its network of top minds across all fields to write about for its most recent “Influencers” editorial package, titled, “If I were 22.”
Over 60 thought leaders shared original posts — along with pictures of themselves at 22 — filled with pearls of wisdom for new grads based on what they wish they had known at 22. Here’s what 12 super successful people had to say.
Arianna Huffington: Don’t work too hard.
In the course of her “Thrive” book tour, the The Huffington Post president says one question has come up over and over again. It goes something like this: “It’s all fine and good for people who have already succeeded to care for their well-being, but shouldn’t young people pursue their dreams by burning the candle at both ends? Surely getting by on less sleep and constant multitasking are an express elevator to the top, right?”
“This couldn’t be less true,” Huffington says. “And for far too long, we have been operating under a collective delusion that burning out is the necessary price for achieving success.”
This is what she wishes she had known at 22. “I wish I could go back and tell myself, ‘Arianna, your performance will actually improve if you can commit to not only working hard, but also unplugging, recharging, and renewing yourself.’”
That knowledge, Huffington says, would have saved her a lot of unnecessary stress, worry, burnout and anxiety.
Richard Branson: Have a blast, but build your purpose.
“There are lots of things I know now that I wish I had known when I was 22,” says the Virgin Group founder. “I would have loved to have known that Sir Tim Berners-Lee was going to invent the internet, so that I could have invented LinkedIn — not to mention Google, Twitter, and Facebook!
“It would have been useful to have known that Steve Jobs was going to launch the iPod, and the internet was going to revolutionize the music industry — I would have sold our record shops and got out of the music business a lot earlier.”
Sallie Krawcheck: Things won’t get easier, but they’ll get better.
Krawcheck, the business leader of 85 Broads and a former top executive on Wall Street, wishes she had known to keep a running note of what works and what doesn’t work for her; what she likes and what she doesn’t like; what she’s good and what she isn’t good at; the work styles that suit her and what doesn’t; and where her passions lie and what leaves her cold.
She’d tell her 22-year-old self that “it still won’t be easy once you decide what you want to do: over the months that follow, you’re going to be rejected by all of the major Wall Street firms … but you’ll eventually find the right firm. … It’s going to be a lot of fun. Not every day, but most days. You’re going to be rejected a lot. You’ll need thick skin to get through it. Oh, and work hard. That really matters. Please get that mole on your shoulder checked. And that guy you’re dating? Bad idea. Seriously.”
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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What 12 Super Successful People Wish They Had Known At 22
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