Top 5 things you should know by 28

Every year gets better. Believe me. I look back at when I was 20 and I throw up a little bit in my mouth.

It is not without failure, tears, minor isolated successes and a collection of experiences, people and places discovered that I realized I was wrong for many, many years in regards to many, many topics. Here is my unedited list:

1. You are not that smart. No matter what kind of academic history, professional achievements or random intellectual self assurance you’ve had… you are simply not as smart as you thought. Realizing you have a lot to learn and that there are millions better than you at everything is a necessary step to becoming a real person and sop being a shameless speck of existence.

One of the most dangerous things I found myself doing a lot when I was younger was taking pride on the fact that I didn’t need to try that hard to get A’s in school, that I would work less than others and get better results; than I didn’t need to work out to be in good shape, that I was lucky in many ways to had certain attributes that made my life easier. Now I look back at that cocky bitch with disgust. Hard work is fundamental to succeed in any area and that over confidence is extremely dangerous if it gets you used to simply not trying your hardest.

2. Meeting people is more important than studying. People are the hardest thing to work with. Unlike metals, humans are not malleable, shiny or hard AND they are not good conductors of electricity. People are unpredictable, complex, irrational, volatile… arguably the one thing for which no book can get you ready for (no, not even Carnegie’s). Understanding how people behave the way they do, being able to predict their reactions and making them like you AND do what you say is an art and I will be lucky if I ever solve the code completely. I believe this is the thing that will give you a true advantage in life, the tool that will put you above others and one of the key conditions for a successful, happy life.

3. Don’t be an asshole. Simple. Just don’t. Being an asshole is not going to take you anywhere and you will only burn bridges that could help you be happier in the future. Karma, oh, the good ol’ karma.

4. Being wrong is a blessing. Being resilient to accepting you are wrong and feel embarrassed about it is a very childish behavior. Only recently, I started embracing my wrongness and ignorance and it’s been refreshing. For some reason, some of us want to be right all the time and feel we have to know everything (*cough*$#!@sucker), but being wrong means opportunity, it means there is room for improvement and knowing you are wrong is the first condition to stop it.

Oh, you think you are so smart with those stupid glasses…

5. Money should not be an end. Money does not make you happy. All of your clothes and purses and the most amazing closet you can have won-t make you happy. Figuring out what happiness is to you is life’s biggest challenge, but I can tell you it’s not something you can get online.