re: What advice would you give a 20 year old?

Go to church, open your heart to Christ, and start and end every day in earnest with a prayer of Thanksgiving. There is not a more important thing in your life than God and anyone who says otherwise is lost. Forget other people’s opinions of you or what earthy nonsense you have to sacrifice and just make the effort to go to church.

Find a woman who pushes you to be better than you are not because she’s demanding or controlling but because your goals and values align and you care more about the other person than yourself. A true union in marriage under God is a beautiful thing. But choose wisely because you bind your entire life and soul to that person. Meet her family. Watch how she treats her parents and how they treat each other. Pay attention to her habits and have real conversations about her goals in life.

Time is the greatest gift and currency you have. When you spend it make sure you spend it wisely.

Your kids are only kids for an extremely short window that goes by way too fast and you don’t even realize it. Do all you can and sacrifice whenever possible to spend time with them and make memories. You can always play golf or go on trips or whatever later. You can’t get those years back.

Be a firm but loving husband and father. You are the leader of the family. Leadership is about guidance, consistency, and understanding.

Visit and talk with your loved ones often. You’ll never regret talking too much to your grandparents or friends or cousins. You can certainly regret talking and visiting too little.

You should work to live not live to work. Find a job that allows you to live the way you want to with your family. Never ever be afraid to quit and start over or even change careers. America is the most career fluid country on earth. Take advantage of it.

Practice moderation and fasting. In diet, in habits, in screen time, in life. Take breaks from things and it forces you to be creative and reevaluate what you’re doing. It’s a great way to keep yourself healthy and productive.

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.

" If you keep doing that, you'll go blind."

Avoid careers in

Marketing, HR, business analytics

Chase service industry jobs, entrepreneurship or healthcare

DONT GET MARRIED TIL YOU’RE 28 or older. Have kids at 30

No matter what it takes, save 10% of everything you make. You will retire early.

Don't put the pussy on a pedestal.

Learn how to say, "No" without shame or reservation. Don't make excuses for why you decline. It's your life. Don't be a people pleaser. Be your genuine self, but never miss an opportunity to improve who you are.

They aren't going to listen to anything you say anyway.


BOOMER

Do everything you can to pay off your debts (student loans, car notes, etc) as fast as absolutely possible.

Be in an independent state, owing no one but the landlord, when you want to get married and start a family.

Learn how to care for your things. Auto maintenance, home maintenance, etc pay massive dividends if you learn how to do it yourself. You can still pay someone to do it, but you'll have more appreciation for what they're doing, and you won't get ripped off.

Date with the intention of marriage. If you don't see marriage as a possibility, let the other person (and yourself) loose.

Have kids soon. They're a blessing from the Lord, and the world will convince you that they are a nuisance. The world lies. Nothing compares to your child telling you that they love you and want to spend time with you.

A job is a job. It exists to pay your bills. It will never love you back.

Spend time (and money) doing something that scares you. Maybe that's an experience, maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's pursuing a professional cert or something. But it's good to stretch and push yourself.

Work hard.

Don't get complacent