Your 20’s are one of the best times of your life, but actually, your whole life should be that way. As I hit another birthday, which means nothing to me, I reflect on what I have learned in my 20’s with the hope that people from around the world can learn from my experience.

My life can be divided up into three phases so far: the music phase, the entrepreneur phase, and the phase I am in now to inspire the world through personal development and entrepreneurship. In a nutshell, that’s it.

When you chunk it down these three phases of life, have taught me so much, and I promise you there is some real value if you take the time to read to the end of the article.

Below are the 10 life lessons from my 20’s that will lead you to massive success:

1. Success is rare

My number one tip without a doubt is that success is rare. That’s right, most people will fail miserably in life and will never know why. I don’t say that to get you down; I say it because it doesn’t have to be that way for you.

My twenties showed me what the world wanted me to believe was success, but I learned in the last few years that this was all wrong. When you’re happy, passionate and filled with purpose, only then will you be successful. Everything outside of these three areas is BS and will guarantee you of failure.

2. Purpose equals success (find your freakin why)

Every day in your 20’s you wake up and do a series of things. When you do those things and have no idea why you’re doing them, you become like a zombie. You operate your mind on autopilot and become numb the majority of emotions. Any emotion that you have is further numbed through alcohol, junk food, drugs, mindless entertainment, your phone, and outside stimulants.

When you find your why your 20’s can setup the rest of your life. If you don’t, that’s fine, but at least try and get in the direction of your why. If you end up nowhere near the direction of your why in your 20’s, your probability of failure increases. That said, you can change your life at any moment in time.

3. You are only three contacts away from a global influencer

It’s easy to think that it can be hard to reach people like Richard Branson, but it’s really not. Throughout my twenties, I have learned that we are around three contacts away from reaching anyone we want. Global influencers all have big networks, and all you need to do is find someone who is close enough to them.

If your reason for reaching out is compelling enough, and you try and give value back to the person who is going to introduce you, then you will have no problems getting a hold of a global influencer. Make sure, though that you use the opportunity to do something amazing in the world!

4. Anything can be learned

In our teens we are told that we have to learn a specialty and that we are then stuck with it for the rest of our life, so we should choose our education and career wisely. THIS IS A MYTH! Anything can be learned at any stage in life and thanks to the internet; anyone can have whatever knowledge they want.

“It’s not the learning, but the action we take from the learning, that really matters. I would almost go as far as saying the less you know about something, the more you are likely to succeed” – Tim Denning

Naivety is a great thing that causes disruption and creates companies like Uber.

Forget about how hard you think something is and pick up the basics so you can learn in your 20’s what you will make your life’s purpose about.

5. No amount of money will make you happy

We are somehow led to believe in our 20’s that money will solve all our problems. What I learned in my 20’s through being an entrepreneur is that money means nothing. It’s what you do with your resources such as money that will give you massive success.

The fewer resources you have, the more creative with your approach you have to be. Creativity equals entrepreneurship, which equals starting a business, which equals purpose. Purpose equals fulfilment.

So get your fancy luxury car and give it to a friend!!! That’s right; you will feel better by doing this and save lots of money in depreciation. The people that you know who brag about the money they have are doing so because they are insecure. Money gives them status, which allows them to hide from life.

6. We all want attention

Whether we are willing to admit it or not, we all want attention even me. The difference is that I believe we should want attention (eyeballs) to do something good with it and inspire others. Most of what you see people do on social media is for attention.

Attention seekers without a good enough reason for the attention will ultimately fail. In your 20’s your goal should be to build some level of influence so you can use it in a positive way and create value for others. As you create value, you will feel fulfilled. Then, sit back and be grateful for what you have created.

7. Change is guaranteed

The next few years are going to be the years of biggest change thanks to our friend (my best friend) technology. Your 20’s need to set you up for life to be able to deal with change like it’s not a problem. When you see change; tragedy, failure or loss, as a bad thing, you will reward yourself with massive pain. Pain equals unhappiness followed my negative emotions that create a toxic inner world.

If you create a toxic inner world, then your outer world becomes miserable. Use your 20’s to try lots of things and to become comfortable with how remarkable change can be.

“Use significant change in your life as a turning point towards success and see it as a doorway to everything you ever wanted” – Tim Denning

Walking away from a business for me was a massive change. If I hadn’t done so, then I wouldn’t be here right now writing this advice for you with a big fat smile on my face. I would never have been able to understand my true purpose and find my ideal happiness. That’s how crucial change is for you.

8. Everyone’s has got their problems

It’s easy in our 20’s to be tricked into thinking the people around us don’t have the same problems we do. The reality is that everyone has the same problems in their 20’s and no one, just like me, has got any clue what the hell they are doing.

The whole point of your 20’s is to understand that problems are common, and no one is perfect. Your sexy friend on Instagram with the flawless skin, nice car, and that’s covered in tattoos is probably more unhappy than you. Tattoos can often be a sign of unresolved pain and the past. Live in the present and stop looking at your pain that’s tattooed on your body, or your mind, or both.

9. Look after the inside or the outside will suck

In my 20’s I learned later on that success is about the inside of you. By inside I mean your health and what you put into your body each day, and your mind. When you conquer your health and unlock the power of your mind, you get two vital things: boundless amounts of energy and a clarity and focus that not many people have.

How do you look after these two parts of you? You feed your body alkaline foods and liquids, and you feed your mind positive thoughts, emotions, and information. The combination of these three things will set you on a path for massive success and help make your 20’s phenomenal.

10. Stop Giving A *&^%$!

My final lesson from my twenties is to stop giving a *&^%$! about things that don’t matter. Stuff is going to go wrong, and people are going to judge you no matter what. Instead of caring about everything that happens, focus on caring about things that matter to you like your purpose or your passion.

In your 20’s, the more you get distracted by the little things that don’t matter and that you can’t change, the less time you will have to change the world with your sheer brilliance that is locked away inside of you. We are all brilliant if we will just get out of our own way and let our light shine brightly.

***Final Thought***

Even though I have passed another birthday, I don’t care because I feel younger than ever before. Time will always pass by, but I refuse to let that time be wasted. We all have a limited amount of time on this planet so forget whether you are in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s or 100’s and concentrate on what matters.

I feel like I will always be like Peter Pan and live forever because my world will live on through generations and yours can too if you focus your mind on the right activities. Put the cell phone down, bring yourself back to the present, and enjoy life man!

What are or what were your 20’s about for you? What did you learn? Let me know in the comments section below or on my website timdenning.net or my Facebook.