I'm 17 years old, and (it feels like) I've already wasted my entire life

[Zercasm]

So I haven't done a proper introduction yet, so I guess I'll do that here.

I am 17 years old and I live in Sweden, I'm currently studying natural science (in 2021 I graduate and can move on to the Swedish equivalent of College/university)
Pretty much we study biology, chemistry, physics and a lot of maths. I'm in a basic programming course in school and I am trying to pick up on web development. After school, I'm considering studying programming (which is going to be another 5 years in school, however, education is free in Sweden so no major dept will be acquired except for the loan to pay for housing, food etc.)
I listen to a lot of Tai Lopez's podcasts (please comment what you guys feel about him)
I also read quite frequently and have done so for about 2 years but only recently have I really started taking it seriously

Spoiler: Books read

• Peter Drucker - managing oneself
• Dale Carnegie - how to win friends and influence people
• Arnold Schwarzenegger - total recall
• Walter Mischels - The marshmallow test
• M.J. DeMarco - The millionare fastlane
• Alexander Pärleros - "the success book" (Written in Swedish and title translated to english in this post)
• Tommy Lundberg - "the motivational code" (Written in Swedish and title translated to english in this post) (mainly about leadership)
• Currently reading: Richard Dawkins - The selfish gene

I am somewhat physically active (although recently I have seized going to the gym for various reasons. Something I am hoping to pick up on soon enough again)

Anyways, prior to what the title suggests, I'd like to see myself as an optimistic (and introverted) person most of the time but recently I have somewhat lost most of my motivation and my bright vision of what my future holds. I have no idea whether I might be depressed or not, although I've read that depressed people have a somewhat more realistic view of themselves than people who aren't necessarily depressed which is something that worries me a bit.

Why the extreme title?
To start things off, I don't feel like this all the time. I am oftent very optimistic (or I have been in the past at least)
But currently, this is actually how I feel. I don't know if what I'm working towards (web development) is a waste of time because I see everyone talking about web design specifically. So, I would appreciate some feedback. Is web development as a whole a dead and should I instead simply focus on web design? I personally feel websites are a huge potential for wealth creation and passive income (especially from what I read in TMF ) but I could seriously need some feedback on all this and help seeing the motivation I'm lacking at the moment.

Thanks

 

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[ljb7]

Sounds like you are way too far into your own head. It happens. You're young.

Stop thinking and worrying so much. Set small goals and work towards hitting them. The more undue stress you put on your shoulders, the less time you'll be spending in the trenches learning, failing, repeating, and growing.

There is such a thing as reading too many books. And I think you have done exactly that. For the most part, business books are only valuable if you can apply them to practical situations... Otherwise the lessons will fade away in your memory and never be utilized, all while getting your hopes up about what you can achieve. Your mind is in the clouds when it needs to be in the trenches.

As far as web design and web development goes, they're pretty much used interchangeably by a lot of people. There are in fact web designers (working on UI/UX) and web developers (front and backend code). If you can develop both skills and turn yourself into a turnkey project master, and apply some business sense, you can take on projects that most devs and designers can't do by themselves. And this becomes extremely valuable as you become an indispensable part to a CEOs business... One that they'll want to bring into the fold more and more as time progresses.

The turnkey system I'm talking about is being able to consult a business on their needs, design a wireframe with Sketch or Figma, and then proceed to build the site from the ground-up using a framework like Bootstrap on Wordpress. Most devs you'll find nowadays can't do that, and that's what a lot of serious businesses are looking for (in my opinion).

Last note: if you're looking to design and/or code websites for people, understand there is very slim potential for true wealth creation and passive income, since your work is undoubtedly tied to own skills and time. The flip side is, its very low risk and a good place to start, learn, grow your network and build the skills necessary to start a wealth generating business further down the line, be it through software creation or something else.

 

[Sander]

Sounds like you consume too much. More than you produce at least.

Too many podcasts, books etc.

Do you an idea for a project? Something you wanna create? A business you wanna start? Let's start here.

I think getting active with a project you really enjoy easily could fix your feeling of being depressed.

And stop listening to Tai Lopez.

 

[Smuggo]

Ok so first of all you are young AF. Secondly you are just a little bit lost. Nowadays we have so many paths we can take that we are losing ourselves in that.

Programming/development is actually the good path. Even if it doesn't work out as a fastlane you can still get a really good job and work on your other fastlane ventures(hmm where I have read that). But as I said, you are still young, not many risks involved so why not choosing one goal (like web dev) and focusing only on that?

although I've read that depressed people have a somewhat more realistic view of themselves than people who aren't necessarily depressed which is something that worries me a bit.

That's not always true. Depressed people see much more and focus mostly on negativity. Self-talk, confidence is going down because they can't see the positive results or it's not good enough for them. Only black and white and nothing between.

 

[MattR82]

Tai Lopez brought me here in 2015 hehe. Thanks Tai!

 

[Zercasm]

Thanks for the replies, all of you. Appreciate it a lot

Sounds like you consume too much. More than you produce at least.

Too many podcasts, books etc.

There is such a thing as reading too many books. And I think you have done exactly that. For the most part, business books are only valuable if you can apply them to practical situations... Otherwise the lessons will fade away in your memory and never be utilized, all while getting your hopes up about what you can achieve. Your mind is in the clouds when it needs to be in the trenches.

Would you recommend that I seize it completely or keep it going just at a slower pace while still working on something?

 

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[Jeff Noel]

I would suggest looking at @Fox threads on the matter of web design. It could help to clear your mind about this.

About Tai Lopez... analyze how he speaks, not what he speaks about. People might disagree with me here, but I believe he's an excellent marketer. I watched a lot of his videos, even paid ($1 trial months ago) for a piece of his content. He's great.

The message he delivers is true overall: Build a business, get sales, profit. What's even more interesting is how he delivers that message to you. He's using a miriad of emotions and hooks to get you to buy. He definitely made millions, and that's by leveraging rented houses, rented cars and rented airplanes from his first real bread and butter: his 67 steps program that he sold with the "Lambo in my garage".

He was already wealthy beforehand. He was a very successful financial advisor (? not sure of the exact title, but he was in finance) for a few businesses.

As for books. Do like MJ says in his own books: If you need to learn on X to advance your business path, read about X. Then execute. Need to learn about Y? Read about Y and then go on. Keep the focus.

Lastly, watch this new video from MJ and do what he says. It should help you out:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKt59HIl8Ok

 

[Sander]

Thanks for the replies, all of you. Appreciate it a lot


Would you recommend that I seize it completely or keep it going just at a slower pace while still working on something?

To me it sounds like you should stop reading and start getting your hands dirty.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDpHQYel6DA

 

[BizyDad]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDpHQYel6DA

"You're not lost in life. You're just early in the process."

On. Point.

 

[GravyBoat]

I struggled with this same issue until early last year.

You need to STOP watching YouTube, unfollow all the Instagram stars, and above all, STOP comparing yourself to others.

Instead. Compare yourself to ONLY yourself. Are you further ahead than you were 2 years ago? What about last year? 6 months ago? (this is a hard one) 3 months ago?

That, as well as the 1/5/10 principal someone already posted about, will help you.

Realize that when you throw a bag of pop corn in the microwave, all kernels start as the same size and shape. BUT. All Kernels do not pop at the same time!

Everyone has their own path in life. Some take longer than others. Don't give up and you will pop one day too.

 

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[Smuggo]

"You're not lost in life. You're just early in the process."

On. Point.

Same with Patience. You won't go far if you jump from one thing to another.

 

[BellaPippin]

Same with Patience. You won't go far if you jump from one thing to another.

Can confirm. I did that until I went to the summit

 

[BizyDad]

Same with Patience. You won't go far if you jump from one thing to another.

Yeah it's true, but not 100% true. Gary V even talks about this in the video. When you're young it's perfectly normal to bounce around every few months until you figure out what your chosen path really is.

Almost no one has a straight line to success.

 

[100ToOne]

All the posts before me are GOLD.

From a different perspective, carry on exercising from today/tomorrow. Whatever excuse there is to stop you from going, forget it, and get back to exercise.

The reason I'm saying this is that some types of people, including me, if we don't release all the stress in something physical, it rises up to the brain.

If it works it works, if not you'd be back in gym. You win both ways.

 

[Zercasm]

MINDSET - Update: (I'm 17 Years Old, And (It Feels Like) I've Already Wasted My Entire Life)

Hi everyone, a bit over 1 year ago I posted this thread and I just thought I'd give you guys an update of where I'm at. I have slowed down on reading too many books, currently I'm reading Unscripted . Right after the thread I started diving into programming and learned web development. Around...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

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