I Wish I Knew This At Age 21: Advice To Younger Self

I’ve learned a lot over the years that shaped me into the person I am today. These days, I'm into real estate and own multiple businesses as an entrepreneur. I love helping and mentoring others, and I've even started a foundation.?

I've given away hundreds of thousands of dollars. One day, I know I'm going to be a mom, but my journey to where I am today has been far from great. With that said, I want to share a few things I wish I knew when I was 21-years-old.?

Challenging Health and Personal Decisions

When I was 21, I weighed about 300 pounds. During a regular checkup, my doctor was alarmed by my high blood pressure and warned of potential cholesterol issues, suggesting medication. I never went back.?

Instead, I continued my lifestyle of eating and drinking as I pleased. At that time, I thought my life was set - I thought I would marry a guy named Roger, have 2.5 kids, and we'd ride off into the sunset.?

The Importance of Financial Planning

However, I struggled with alcoholism while prepping for grad school. Surprisingly, my biggest regret from that time isn't related to my health but to financial literacy. I wish I had known more about financial planning. If I had started investing or bought real estate in my 20s, I’d be much further ahead now.?

To show you what I mean, let’s say you deposited $1,000 into an investment account with an average annual return of 10% from the S&P 500 and left it untouched, you’d have about $79,000 after 44 years thanks to compound interest.

You can actually learn more about this on the website called investor.gov.

Finding Joy in the Journey?

Despite challenges, my social life was great in my 20s. I loved going out, partying, and meeting up with friends. Yet, these things felt all-consuming and important at the time. Now, with almost nine years of sobriety, I can reflect on those times with a smile. I've learned that life doesn’t involve reaching a destination but enjoying the journey, becoming more confident, and loving yourself unconditionally.

Changing My View of Success?

I once bought into the conventional belief that success meant getting married, having children, saving in a 401(k), retiring at around 65, and then quietly fading away. This now sounds quite morbid to me. I found myself questioning - who decided this was the only way to live? Why was I aiming for this predefined path?

Throughout my life, I've faced criticism - some have even made fun of my choices. But like the challenges I faced as a little girl, these things never really fazed me. I've grown accustomed to brushing off negativity because, at the end of the day, what actually matters is being okay with who I am.

Now, if I’ve encouraged you, I’m so glad! I want you to know that everything is possible no matter what season you’re in life. If you’d like more encouragement and actionable advice from me about government contracting, then subscribe to my YouTube channel now.?

Click here today to subscribe to my YouTube channel.?

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I’m the author of the newly released book “The GovCon Winners Way: How To Win Government Contracts Faster Than Trying to Do It Alone!” At 28, I was awarded my first 5-figure federal government contract. I own and operate multiple government contracting businesses and have over $50 million in federal government contract awards. Today, I’ve helped my students win over $3M in Federal Government Contracts in less than 6 months, and I’ll help you, too!?

-#EverythingIsPossible