10 things I'd do differently if I could be a teenager again

One of my mentors asked me to do this today.
List down 10 things u would do differently for yourself, if you could start again from being a teenager.

So, here's my answer.
And in order of what I would take if I could.

  1. I would invest. Whatever little amount I could. When I was a teenager, I would have got pennies for pocket money but I would invest. By now, in 20 years, thanks to compounding, it would be a substantial sum. Maybe enough to allow me to not work on the day of writing this. 
  2. Start a business asap. I did do those comic stalls and renting my video games and all that but I would do more. The kinds that start giving me some capital so I could invest it and build a compounding machine. 
  3. I would spend more time with my parents and family - after all in the future, time would get scarce, how so ever hard I may try.
  4. I would make better friendsThe ones that I can count on when I need them. And the ones that I could learn from (and not just the ones that lived in the proximity). Most people I call friends are merely there because it was convenient for them and for me. And in the long run, in the time of adversity, convenience runs out. 
  5. Related, I would go to a better college and get a better educationI did go to fairly good colleges but I think I got lucky. Thing is, I was so so so unaware about life and career when I was a teenager that I just went with the flow and drifted wherever life took me. And the pattern has stayed with me! I would take the conscious call to go to the best educational institution that I could.
  6. I would learn how to codeI was good exceptional at it in college but I lost the plot once I started with my MBA. I would do this to be able to be more independent of others. Of course, back then I would not have known that code will rule the world!
  7. I would travel more. The thing is, I am lucky to have travel far and wide and now that I have been literally home for the last year or so, I want to go out more. And if I look at a longer-term, whatever little I know, I learned because I could travel so much! So, travel more.
  8. I would learn a musical instrumentNo reason. 
  9. I would take care of my fitnessI am reasonably ok for my age (probably not?) but I would want to be fitter so that I can do more. Plus I enjoyed sports as a kid. That went for a toss when I went for my MBA and then subsequent work life.
  10. I'll get more active in the community. In the sense that I would want to be more active in the world that has given me everything that I have. If not for the community, then what? 



That's about it. 
You? 

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