25 Life & Business Lessons Every Guy Should Have Learned By 25

25 is a funny age. Optimistically, if I am to live to be 100 years old, I have already lived one quarter of my life. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a sobering realization. One that has really allowed me to see what I want out of life and pushed me to reflect on my journey so far.

Life sure is interesting. For a 25-year-old, I’ve had more than my fair share of successes and failures. I have definitely come a long way over the last couple of years. By no means have I “made it” yet, but I sure have learned a lot of lessons. Lessons that taught me how to become a better entrepreneur and a better person in general.

Although I’ve learned hundreds and possibly thousands of lessons over the last quarter century, I’ve narrowed it down to the 25 most important ones here: 

1) Be Happy

I went through the majority of my early twenties feeling unhappy because I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be in life. I thought I needed certain things to be happy. I eventually learned that we are the catalyst of our own happiness and it’s much easier to be happier than bitter.

2) Follow Your Passion

If you want to be successful at what you do, you must be passionate about it. I tried to do many things that I wasn’t passionate about and failed miserably. When you’re working on something you’re truly passionate about, you’re not working — you’re doing what you love.

3) Protect Your Dreams

Your dreams are some of your greatest possessions. They’re yours and only yours. Don’t let anyone tell you your dream isn’t possible. People who are too scared to chase their own dreams will try to crush yours. Dream big because life is too short to be mediocre. Protect your dreams and continue to fight for them until they come into fruition.

4) You Can’t Please Everyone

When I came to the realization that it’s impossible to please everyone, my life became much easier. I was taught in business school that if you aim for every target, you’ll probably miss them all. Don’t worry about the people you can’t make happy, just focus on the important people in your life that you can.

5) Your Health Is Your Most Valuable Asset

Out of all the assets that I possess, my health is by far the most valuable. I am reminded of this every time I, or anyone close to me, gets seriously sick or injured. You can have all the riches in the world, but if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy them, they are useless.