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LinkedIn Asked People to Give Advice to Their 20-Year-Old Selves. The Same Lesson Came Up Again and Again
Thanks to the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, there is an idea out there that the young are more likely to build ground-breaking businesses. They are full of energy, untainted by cynicism, and generally unencumbered by responsibilities.
Research shows, however, that the average age of founders of successful tech startups is a relatively mature 47 years. A few decades of accumulated wisdom seems to count for quite a lot. Wouldn’t it be great if you could somehow combine both sets of advantages?
That’s what LinkedIn tried to do with a recent tweet (hat tip to Insider). The social network asked its more than a million followers for the best advice they’d give their 20-year-old selves in order to inject a little of the experience of gray hairs into the Energizer-Bunny-like stamina of workplace newbies.
The resulting thread was a goldmine of useful advice. Some of the tips were quirky and personal — get tested for ADHD earlier, beware “reply all,” eat less pizza. Others, like “believe in yourself!” and “don’t procrastinate,” were more inspirational than actionable. But among all this advice, one particular bit of wisdom kept coming up again and again.
