Advice to My 22-Year-Old Self
Advice to My 22-Year-Old Self
a few steps on the path to an adventurous life
Find a constructive obsession
and stick with it
Pursue moments of deep solitude and deep connection
and little in-between
Have a goddamn love affair with books
and articles, podcasts, documentaries—anything long-form
Be in a primary relationship with yourself
and an orgy with the universe
Work for dignity, purpose,
and occasionally money
Find someone who will teach you to work hard
and pay you for the privilege
Find something you do well enough to charge a high hourly rate
and don’t do too much of it
Fuck Instagram
and mother-fuck the Joneses
Walk, run, ride, swim, paddle, trek
and do not assume you can tomorrow
Stop measuring times and distances
and start measuring states of mind
Become a ninja of hospitality
and forever-welcome vagabond houseguest
Become an instigator of low-cost good times
and see every dollar saved as a drop of freedom
Acknowledge your privilege
and redistribute it globally
Realize we already live
in a fully automated luxury communist future
Become a decrepit old tanguero of the soul
forever on the dance floor at midnight
I recently published an interview about my obsession with adventure. Listen here or search “Off-Trail Learning” wherever podcasts are found.
I borrowed this excellent phrase from Mel Mariposa.
Instagram didn’t exist when I was 22, but you take the point.