{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"A Letter To Your 21 Year Old Self","description":"Mark introduces the episode and reflects on the \u201cpregame\u201d discussion with Jim. Jim is giving a speech in a few days to a group or around 60 to 80 college students at San Jose State in the dept of Design and construction and he wants to give them career advice and life advice to help them with the transition from school to life Jim brings the wheel into play and shares some context for his upcoming talk. Who the audience is and the topics to be discussed Jim expands upon the idea of the letter he recommends students write or could write to be read later in life Jim starts to talk about the types of advice that might be helpful to this audience His first tip is mentorship. One of Mark\u2019s favorite topics 90% of life is jus showing up - Jim goes into great detail about what showing up means. On time, all the time and prepared with a great attitude. That is hard to do Mark loves the simplicity of it. He asks Jim to clarify who is writing the letter to whom. Two audiences. The elder to the 21 year old and the 21 year old to himself Jim likes the question. He thinks it\u2019s both too Jim says it\u2019s both what you \u201cshould\u201d do, but also what you \u201cshould not\u201d do. He wants to be cautious with giving advice. Sending kids down the wrong path\u2026so he chooses to give wisdom instead of advice Mark chimes in in agreement. He says advice is more likely to be presumptuous and wisdom is timeless. He cites how effective experience and stories are more so than advice. He specifically speaks to people about crafting their own stories before engaging the market Jim shares his opinion about preparing kids for socialism and then releasing them in to capitalism\u2026and wonder why they fail He then brings up being American first. He says anything is possible if you show up as a working American. America is a meritocracy, not a bunch of identity groups. Just be good at something Mark wishes he could attend Jim\u2019s an event as a fly on the wall Mark reflects on a do-over. Find out how to work hard and then spend the rest of your life learning how to work smarter. More efficiently and delegation of things you don\u2019t like and don \u2019t do well Jim brings in some quotes \u201cSuccess is a combo of hard work, showing up and luck\u201d If you don\u2019t show up\u2026nothing will happen People like to help people, but you need to be \u201creferable\u201d Mark shares how he found his mentor\u2026by being referable What is referable - dependable, punctual, productive, trustworthy\u2026 Jim says at 21 all you have is your potential. Mark\u2019s mentor saw his potential and Mark was willing to follow his mentor\u2019s advice\u2019 Jim clarifies that Marks mentorship was a win for all parties. Mark learned and progressed and his mentor made a lot of money Ark says, no one is entitled to anything \u2018Im says, give yourself permission Jim\u2019s quote - \u201cThe harder I work, the luckier I get\u201d Mark loves the simplicity Einstein - Life is an illusion. It\u2019s all perspective Mark says you can create your own luck\u2026by responding well to what happens to you Don\u2019t blame. Get better Mark loves the quotes. He brings in the notion of time and how we have no notion of time when he was young. Now time is a an extremely valuable asset. Hindsight is 20-20 Jim says we had time in our youth\u2026and now we\u2019re running out of time Life is a marathon. Small incremental change over time Jim speaks of self awareness. You don\u2019t know everything\u2026you don\u2019t know much. \u201cWe are all actors in this movie called life\u2026) Mark jokes about Candid Camera. Jim thinks we all have a default movie genre. Romance, comedy, thriller, etc\u2026 Mark says his is comedy, but comedy is not always appropriate. Jm talks about being identified as from the Northeast because of what he looks like. Mark says he is also direct unlike most Californians Jim talks about the influence that \u201cRocky\u201d had on him as a kid Jim says in life it\u2019s often not what you do\u2026it\u2019s what you don\u2019t do He talks about working things out as a kid with his fists and how that does n\u2019t serve you as you age \u201cNever accept criticism from anyone from whom you would not seek advice\u201d Mark says not to allow strangers to get under your skin. \u201cWhat the fuck do I care what you think of me?\u201d Jim wants his audience to Get at least one good takeaway Be careful with the advice you give out to young people Be the best version of yourself All comparison leads to misery Mark agrees and has fallen back on observations and reflections and telling stories instead of telling people what to do. Stories prompt reflection and critical thought The power of a third party story     ","author_name":"Imperfect Mens Club","author_url":"https:\/\/www.imperfectmensclub.com","html":"