If I could start my life all over again

"Follow your passion" or "Do what you love" are some of the worst pieces of advice I've ever received. Here is everything I wish I could tell my younger self.

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Ever wished you could go back in time and change your life decisions? In this video, I share the lessons I've learned from both my successes and mistakes, hoping to help you navigate your career and life choices more effectively.

Main Points Covered:
1. The Flaws of 'Follow Your Passion' Advice. Instead of just blindly choosing your career path based on what you're currently most passionate about, you should choose a career path that lets you live the life you want. In addition to being passionate about a career path, you should keep the following in mind:
– Your passions will change over time – acquire transferable skills.
– Choose a career with solid backup plans.
– Money matters when choosing your career.

2. Why Determination and Discipline Matter More Than Intelligence:
– Intelligence is often overrated; discipline and determination are key.
– Learn how to leverage challenges to boost your determination and achieve your goals.

3. The Importance of Making Smart Choices in Romantic Relationships:
– Avoid investing too much time in relationships that don't make you genuinely happy.
– Going through at least a few relationships while you're young can help you understand what you're looking for.

Throughout the video, I reflect on my own journey, from making career decisions based on flawed advice to understanding the importance of financial stability, and the impact of discipline and determination. Whether you're deciding on a career path or navigating relationships, these insights might just make your journey smoother.

Watch the full video to learn more and make better decisions in your own life.

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YouTube: @SamuelBoschMIT

▬ Timestamps ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 - Intro
0:34 - Why you shouldn't just follow your passion
3:13 - Your passions will change over time – acquire transferable skills
4:24 - Choose a career with solid backup plans.
6:20 - Money matters when choosing your career
8:38 - How to be successful if you struggle with discipline and focus
12:41 - Don't waste time in mediocre relationships
14:58 - Brilliant sponsorship

This video was sponsored by Brilliant.

[constantinelinardakis]

Great video brother, 3:55 is a good point too, also here are some notes: 1. Your passions will change over time- acquire transferable skills 2. Choose a career path with solid backup plans. 3. Money matters 4. Intelligence doesn't matter compared to determination and discipline - you must have a very ambitious goal in mind, discipline will follow 5. Don't waste time in mediocre relationships

[LifTyLyM]

It's easy to not have regrets going through school just by excelling at goals others have created for you and your peers. At some point you start facing increasingly many choices, and it's not clear which one you should take. Every choice has pros and cons, so whatever you choose, you risk looking back with regret, even though you did what felt right at the time, forgetting what you got, only remembering what you didn't get.

[angelikabosch]

“Do what you love or what you’re passionate the most” I pretty much agree with your arguments.

[PBL-]

I've been following you for quite some time now and you've shared some great insight and provided a lot of value with your videos. That being said, I disagree with some of the points you've made lately. Of course, job prospects should play a role when choosing a subject to study, but so should your passion for that subject. Sure, interests do change over time but how should a teenager know what his or her interests in 10 years will be? Life and career paths are just not linear by nature, we deviate and reorientate all the time and that is totally fine. Studying Physics and later pivotting into Computer Science is totally fine. In your example, you were more interested in Physics at that point, so what? It led you to where you are right now. Also, understanding and solving hard quantitative problems is a highly transferable skill in itself. Also in my opinion, this whole relationship topic is way too complex to just brush over it in 2 minutes. That it applied on your relationship doesn't mean that it also applies for other people. I would just be a bit more cautious with giving out these kinds of generalized tips.

[vincentcremer]

I think the best advice that i would give to my younger self is that other people can only convey flat representations of what they have experienced and that you know nothing and there are many hidden sources of joy.

[stephwliu]

Perhaps the most solid career advice I ever heard, coming from someone who has been working for a number of years.

[amirnouripour]

your honesty in sharing your thoughts and life experiences is admirable

[engineeringmadeasy]

Samuel, can you please make a video for those people who are bit lost life, have zero friends but at the same time are ambitious. What we are supposed to with our time and energy? I'm talking about Young men in their mid 20s.

Please also include how did you manage your negative thoughts or Mental Health. Thanks

[applemastered]

I always look forward to when when you upload

[eoghandoheny]

The older brother we needed ❤ cheers Samuel

[kaimemes]

I think as opposed to the idea about doing what you’re passionate about Ikigai is a really good framework for thinking about your career

[lex]

I'm just trying to live to become what I want to be, but based on reality. So I dream big and on the other hand consider overall reality things to update my dream and to-do list daily. In this way I can be simple enough to follow my path willingly and complex enough to set the right direction of the path. So I'm just following my passion in realistic way. It's also about the balance between doing what I want to do and have to do. Following passion is so important to me because it cured lots of mental problems of mine and it's just the reason why I'm alive and do something. But reality does matter too so I have to find balance between them.

[Nahi]

My goat has returned! You’re an inspiration to me Samuel!

[omarwest]

This is truth. Simple, raw truth.
I want to add that there are a lot of paths that aren't very glamorous (electrician, plumber, roofer, ...) but in constant demand and can lead to a good salary and time to pursue other passions. The beautiful thing is that those paths entail transferable skills, backup plans and money.

[jakoblindelof]

I have been around for some time now. I have a bsc in mechanical engineering and worked for over 5 years in industry. If I could start my life all over again I would have done a lot differently. First of all, always prioritise friends and family, you can never party or travel to much. By the time you reach a certain age those memories will always mean the most to you.

A grey monday morning on your way to work can be less annoying by good old memories. I can guarantee you the achievement of that degree will get old quickly, eventually your piece of paper will go to storage. But laughs and fun with people close to you will always mean the most. Be smart with what degrees you chose, if you are young and want to "take over the world" a 2 year professional degree in sales might be more than enough. You do not have to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree to be successful on the contrary, that degree might not help you at all. Oh well do not want to write to much, but good luck and I sincerely would avoid engineering if I could have a do over.

[hugofrisk]

i generally don't recommend studying computer science to smart people since it is so easy to learn at home if you want to.

last year, without any higher education than high school, i got a job programming manufacturing machines. within half a year i got praised for being a better programmer than many of the educated programmer at the (somewhat small) company. with hard work i quickly gained respect and got responsibility over a lot of different systems.

and my main interest isn't even programming, it's electronics. that's also what i got hired for. but when making electronics you almost always need to program it too so i've just had to learn programming. and then at the company, there turned out to be too few programmers so i just got sucked in to it.

but now, after a year i'm going back to school studying physics. why? three reasons:
1. i miss hanging around people the same age as me.
2. to make amazing electronics (semiconductors, rf etc) you need to know the underlying physics.
3. i really enjoy physics but don't think i could learn it at home. i find it easy to learn by practice at home, just choose a project and try to build it. that's why programming is easy to learn, the only thing you need is a computer. electronics is also doable but you need some more gear and components that can be hard to require with a tight budget. but to learn physics i'd have to build things like sputtering chambers and particle accelerators. that underaking is too big for me. thus i'd have to learn it only through theory. and that's exactly what a university is good for.

message to samuel: stop whining about choosing the wrong career path. if you truly want to get into computer science, just start building things. it's not hard. it's only ones and zeros.

[htchamber]

It’s hard to be determined in something that you have no interest or pre disposition to, it’s easy for you to be ambitious when your interest are in activities that are known to generate money, finance, computer science, hard sciences, but what about more artistic minded folks?

I have a friend that’s been doing music since he was 10, he got a free ride to college to study music theory and now preforms to make a living, he makes an average income ~$50, 000 USD and that includes tutoring. He wants to make more money but has no interest in the activities that “make money” (the ones I mentioned before).

The silver lining is that he’s very happy / fulfilled but plans on having a family one day and the career trajectory of making music isn’t financially viable.

Just some food for thought Im glad my interest alighn with “making money” so I don’t nessarly have to face this problem but for those who don’t I wonder what your solution is

[lemonlover]

this was the highest quality advice I've ever heard

[Ishaheennabi]

everything is so true in this video! thanks

[wunder]

Once the first signs of aging appear men also loose value in the dating market quickly, especially if they go bald. Don't think your time is infinite