#192 The Good Old Days (08/02/2026)

In my work over the past few years, I've realized something: if you're starting a business, youth is truly your biggest advantage, but this advantage often leaves you quickly. Once you hit 30, a large part of this "advantage" suddenly disappears. I just turned 28, and this week, I want to specifically talk about the advantages of youth in work that I've discovered. I hope it can help those younger than me seize this opportunity, because each of us only gets to experience youth once, and once the opportunity is gone, it's irreversible. I hope the following helps.

Advantage 1: Fewer burdens

If you start working and building a career at a relatively young age, if you earn, you earn; if you don't, you won't lose much, as you don't have many burdens yet. For now, the people around you probably don't need your support, so you have a small, once-in-a-lifetime window to make mistakes and try to achieve your ideals. This window might only last a few years. In my case, it was the time I spent in university. Because no one expected me to have a career while juggling studies, it gave me this space. I still vividly remember those days balancing Re Pillow and my studies. I regret not documenting more back then. Remember, you must study well. Don't let entrepreneurship make you neglect your studies, because education is your safety net. If anything goes wrong, you can just graduate normally and find a job, zero time wasted.

Advantage 2: Early start means early experience absorption

This point is related to human lifespan. A person's life is roughly 70 years. The first 20 years are for growth, work usually starts around 20, and retirement is around 60. So, the actual working years are roughly from 20 to 60. Forty years is a limited time. To do well, the earlier you start, the better, because mistakes are inevitable. But because you start early, after learning from your mistakes, you'll still be younger than others. This also means you'll have more time than others to apply what you've learned, which is a good thing. Of course, the best way to save time and skip the learning curve is to learn from the experiences of others. This can involve reading books, asking people, or listening to talks by famous people. They truly condense their knowledge for you, and by absorbing it, you won't have to spend your own time experimenting and making mistakes, saving a lot of time. But no matter which method you choose, the earlier you start, the better.

Advantage 3: Other seniors will be willing to help you/answer your questions

Another benefit of being young is that most seniors are more willing to answer your questions. No matter how smart or knowledgeable you are, how can there be no problems at work? You'll definitely encounter problems you don't know how to solve, and at this point, asking for help is very important. In my case, I asked different people how to do things. You don't need to feel like you know everything, and you don't need to be afraid that asking questions makes you seem stupid. There's no need for that, because younger people, usually under 30 and unmarried, are particularly well-received.

Advantage 4: No one around you will bother you

When you start your career young, you'll find that no one around you, regardless of who they are, will have any expectations of you. This doesn't mean they look down on you or don't believe in you; it's simply because you're young, and people don't expect you to make a lot of money. This is actually a good thing, as it means no one around you will bother you, allowing you to focus on your work, research what you want to research, and do things well. I can tell you that it's highly likely that in the next 5 to 10 years, if your career develops normally, you won't have such peaceful time to do your own thing anymore. Every day, you'll face new problems, and these problems might be unrelated to what you want to do. They could be disputes between colleagues, or the air conditioning in a store breaking down. Or, even if you hire someone to manage these things to free up your time, that person might mess things up, and you'll have to step in and fix it... Or friends around you might have problems and need your help. Many people will come to you and bother you. It's also possible that your family, girlfriend, wife, or even children might complain about the time you spend on work compared to the time you spend with them – you're no longer an 18-year-old. You have the responsibility of supporting a family. You have responsibilities at work and responsibilities at home. This is also a good thing in a way, but as an adult, taking care of these things and people will definitely not be as free as when you started.

Advantage 5: If you fail, you're still only 30, and it's easier to find a job

For entrepreneurship, assuming you start in your early 20s, usually the first year is fine, but after 4 or 5 years, you'll generally know if it's sustainable. If you start young and encounter problems, and truly can't continue, it's easier to give up and find a job when you're young than when you're older. There's still room to pivot and restart your career. Of course, if you can still earn a few thousand dollars a month, you can hold on for a while longer, which is good, because I once heard a saying: the best thing about entrepreneurship is that no one can force you to give up, and until the moment you die, no one can truly judge whether you've succeeded or failed. However, I also want to mention that many people in this world like to compare themselves to others, which can be very exhausting. If you constantly compare yourself, it's easy to go in the wrong direction, making mistakes to reduce costs and increase profits, which ultimately leads to failure.