21 Life-Changing Rules for Every Young Adult

This article is being made for you, a teenager, like an elder brother. In this, I will share 21 things that will guide you very well through your teenage years and the coming years of your life, helping you live a truly good life.

Whatever you need better relationships, a better mindset, happiness, health, wealth, money, clarity, career, whatever that is—if you follow this advice, your life can absolutely change. So, do not skip this and make sure to read till the end.

While making this, I thought about all the people who repeatedly ask me for advice. There are many teenagers on this website; I read your comments and messages. You are in my communities and programs. I actually spend a lot of time going through every question you ask, every problem you share with me. This article is the result of that. Okay? So, let’s start this.

Part I: Mindset and Emotional Strength

1. Financial Struggle is Preparation 🚀

The first lesson I want to share with you is that a financial struggle is preparation. If you have seen or are seeing financial struggle in life—your parents are not rich, you are not from a wealthy background, you have some problem, or you’ve gone bankrupt, or you’ve faced difficulties, like not being able to pay your fees—whatever the problem, it is a blessing for you. You might say, “What is he saying?”

I have been through a lot of financial struggle in my own life. I was not born into a rich family; there was financial struggle. There were times when we didn’t have money for food. My brother and I know how we managed tuition and school. So, we have been financially tough, and I know how we got through that period. When you are a child, in your teens, and you feel, “Oh god, what is happening? What will happen to me in the future? All this will come upon me? I have so many responsibilities.” I know how that feels.

But here is one thing I am telling you today, guaranteed: So many successful people who are very rich and successful today have one thing in common, 100 out of 100—they saw financial struggle in their life. When a person feels pain, that is when they go to a doctor for that pain, look for medicine, and get an injection. If there is no pain, what is the problem? Right?

If today God, the Universe (whatever you want to call it) has put financial struggle in your life, if your soul chose to be born in this family, it is for a reason. This financial struggle is preparing you to be even more financially rich in the future. So, take it positively. Don’t regret it, don’t feel guilty, or go crazy thinking, “Why is this happening to me?” It’s okay. It’s preparing you. If I hadn’t seen financial struggle, I wouldn’t be doing well financially today.

2. Emotional Pain Makes You Stronger 💪

It’s possible that in your teens or past, you have seen a lot of emotional pain: fights in families, a poor relationship with your parents, or losing people you loved a lot. All this emotional pain is actually making you very strong. Why? When you grow up, as you move ahead in life, you will be able to deal with situations very maturely.

You won’t understand it now. You will now feel, “Why is this happening, man? This all feels rubbish. Why is this happening to me? It’s so painful.” You will cry. But I am telling you, trust me. In the future, the strength you are building and the way you are dealing with your emotions—the things you are learning unknowingly—will help you deal with real problems in life easily. Other people who have never seen any pain will be going crazy.

We can get so overwhelmed at that time that we don’t understand what to do. So, this is actually making you stronger. Do not feel bad about this. Always be happy that this is preparing you for the future. This is happening to you for a reason.

3. Never Compare Yourself to Others 🙅

When we are in our teens, we compare ourselves a lot: maybe to some rich boys or girls in school, or our beauty, height, color, backgrounds, or friends. There are many things we compare ourselves with. Don’t compare yourself to anybody.

You know why? Everyone’s background is different. Everyone is born into a different house. Everyone has different friends, different aspirations, and different genes—their face, beard, hair, whatever. Everyone is very unique. Tell me, do others know about all the problems and pain in your life? No. Maybe you’ve told one or two friends or a couple of people. But will anyone ever know about all the chaos and problems in your life? No. They won’t know.

Only you know the extent of your challenges. In the same way, you will never know what the actual life of the people you compare yourself with has been like. They won’t tell anyone either, just like you don’t. So, don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Your journey is very unique.

They say, “You came alone, you will go alone.” Your journey is very unique. Focus on your life. Let others do what they are doing. It’s good for them. It’s their life. Whether they do good or bad, why should we care? They are not running our house. They won’t run your house. You have to live your life, work hard, and make your life. It will be made by your own effort. If no one is going to come and do anything for you, why should you care about those people? Do what you want to do. That is the best way to live your life.

4. Don’t Get Too Crazy in Love and Relationships 💔

That teenage love, school love, college love, getting into relationships, attraction to the opposite sex, saying “I love you,” friendships—these things are natural and normal. First, don’t judge yourself for these feelings. But second, don’t go too crazy about this. Sometimes we get so obsessed that we start believing it is love.

I’m not saying this isn’t the time for these things, as parents often say. It’s not about that. It’s okay to explore these things, you know, have attractions. But don’t go too deep because there’s no need right now. Honestly, 99.9% of the people who are in your life right now (apart from your family) will be gone in the next few years. So, don’t go too crazy.

Dedicate very little focus to these things—10-20% focus. But 80-90% focus should be on yourself, your life, your career, and your family. Focus on your future life rather than going crazy here. Many people self-harm, go crazy, keep crying, mess up their minds, and lie. Don’t do it, trust me, don’t. You will later say, “I wasted so much time.”

You have to keep yourself under control, brother. I have my whole life ahead of me. I have to do good things for my parents and for myself. Other people will keep coming and going. Tomorrow, I won’t be talking to them on the phone. They will just be added on Facebook or Instagram, and maybe I will remove them later. So why am I going so crazy over these people? Whoever wants to come, let them come. Whoever wants to stay, let them stay. Whoever doesn’t want to stay will leave. It’s okay. I have my whole life ahead.

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Part II: Family and Communication

5. Don’t Blame Your Parents 🙏

If you blame your parents—that my father is like this or not like this, or his father is like this or not like this, or my mother is like this or not like this—even if you don’t say it, you might blame them emotionally: “Why don’t you talk to me more? Why don’t you show me affection? Why aren’t you expressive with me?” Don’t blame them.

I’ll tell you one thing: your parents, our parents, do the best they can for us. They do what they feel is best. And you know why I’m saying this? I became a father almost a year ago. Again, I’m not saying I’m a very experienced parent, but I feel this today: as a parent, you try and do everything you can, what you think is right. This doesn’t mean the child also feels that way, or we also feel that way. Right?

But understand one thing: never blame them. You might not know the struggle and pain they have seen, and you never will, because you are their child, and they will never tell us everything. But remember this: what they are doing is the best for me, and I love them. I am thankful to them. Now, whatever I want in life, I will do it. They are not responsible for my life. They did their job.

6. Understand How Your Parents Communicate 🗣️

Sometimes we feel that our parents keep scolding us, nagging us, getting angry, or they just don’t say anything and go quiet, and we get irritated by that. But understand this: everyone has a different way of communicating. They say some fathers show love by scolding, some mothers show love by getting angry. You have to understand their love language.

Don’t keep getting irritated by them. Don’t run away from them. This is the love language according to them. Maybe they saw this way of loving from their parents and elders, and they are doing the same thing. They are doing what they think is right, according to them. You have to understand that this is their way of communication.

You have to understand that, “Oh, they show me love like this.” Because it’s not necessary that your parents will directly come and say, “I love you, son/daughter.” No, it’s not necessary. They will make you feel their love in different ways. You just need to know how to see it.

17. Share Things with Your Parents 🤝

Many times, we don’t tell our parents things, thinking they will judge us, slap us, or not understand. But always share things with them. This will strengthen your relationship with them in the long run. Don’t think, “They never share with me. They didn’t raise me that way. Why should I share?”

Will things always go on the way they have been? No, right? Your parents must have done some things that their parents didn’t want or didn’t do, but they did it and gave you a different upbringing. Things are different. Similarly, you have to take the initiative to do things that maybe no one around you or in your family does, but you have to do them.

Share things with them. And these can be small things. I’m not saying go and start crying in front of them. But this will strengthen your relationship with them. They will know what is going on in your life, and you will be able to live a good life where your parents are also less worried about you, and they would also know what you are going through. I’m not saying go and tell them, “I had a girlfriend.” I’m not saying that. Whatever you feel comfortable with, but share with them slowly. You will feel better with them because your relationship with your parents will really determine so much in the time to come. It’s going to make a big difference.

Part III: Self-Improvement and Focus

7. Dedicate Yourself to Something 🎯

During this time, involve yourself in something instead of wasting your time on social media, games, or anything else. Dedicate yourself to something. And that one thing can be anything. It could be some art—maybe you like painting or drawing, or singing. It could be making money; you can do an internship or get into freelancing. Maybe studies. Spend your time on something good.

Just like lifting dumbbells tightens muscles, you will tighten your muscle of hard work, patience, and consistency by dedicating yourself to something, which will help you a lot in later life.

8. Don’t Be in a Hurry But Take the First Step 🚶

We are always in a hurry: “I want to make money quickly. I want to grow up quickly. I want to build a body quickly. I want to get fit quickly. I want a girlfriend, a boyfriend, whatever.” Whenever you rush, things will go wrong. And I know it’s very difficult to understand this at this time.

But remember, anything that takes time to come stays. And anything that comes very quickly, suddenly, goes out of life just as quickly. Think about your own life. Some friends came suddenly, you thought they were great. Where are they today? But some friends have been with you for years and will remain. The same happens with relatives, family members, toys, games, many things. Right?

So, you must always remember this. It’s okay if we have to do something, but we don’t have to be in a hurry. We have to take the first step slowly. Think about what the next step can be. Let me take the next step. Don’t spoil the present in a hurry.

9. Start Something You Can Do For Free 🆓

Something tells me that you are very ambitious and passionate and want to do something in life. But don’t take loans, debt, or do any of these things. Start something that you can do for free. Because at this time, I won’t recommend you to take the pressure of debt and loan. It spoils everything.

Don’t get into these things. If you are already in, don’t get deeper; get out of those things. This is not the time to take this money, loan, and all that pressure. If you think, “I want to make money,” then do freelancing, internship, teach people, give tuitions, create content. See what free available resources are there. Use AI, use YouTube. This is the time to take the initiative and focus on things in a chill way, not to create unnecessary pressure on yourself.

10. Don’t Take People Too Seriously 🤡

We take some people very seriously: “He said this to me. She said this to me. He does this, he does that. I fought with him.” Or, “The girl said this to me. He cheated on me.” I’ll say the same thing: These people are not going to be in your life in the next few years. Everyone will get busy in their lives.

You will also get very busy. The people who have a problem with you, you will not be a part of their life either. So, let it be. Let it be. Tell yourself, “Okay, this person is a part of my life right now. They won’t be around later. 99% of them won’t be in my life.” So why am I thinking so much about them? So, let it be and focus on your life.

11. Stay Away from Addictions 🚭

When you get into addiction, every addiction is making you escape from something. Addiction stops us from doing the actual growth or the actual things that we truly want to do, which are hard. Whether it is smoking, drinking, masturbation, or pornography—any kind of addiction—keep yourself away from these things.

If you are in them, work towards letting go of it, slowly. There is no hurry. You are not committing a sin. But put those things aside because they are stopping you from working hard and focusing on the right things. And what are those things? We have already talked about them and will continue to do so. So, we have to stay away from addictions.

12. Do Something Physically Active 🏃

Do some physical activity, anything, so that you build a base for yourself to stay physically active. Whatever it may be—even if it is walking for 5 minutes a day, or doing push-ups. Whatever you feel like: going to the gym, running, doing yoga, playing badminton, or cricket.

Do some physical activity every day so that the body stays a little active, and this base will help you a lot in your 20s, 30s, and the rest of your life. So, make it a habit, even if you do it for only 5 minutes daily, but do something physically.

15. Don’t Be Idle 😴

Don’t sit idle, because they say, “An empty mind is the devil’s workshop.” Dedicate yourself to something. Do something productive instead of wasting your time on games, social media, or just passing time. You should not be doing that. You have to make sure that you are dedicating yourself to something.

Part IV: Future and Relationships

13. Question Yourself ❓

You have to ask yourself some questions. And I’m not saying you must have the answers to all these questions today. But until you keep these questions in your heart and mind, you won’t create the life you actually want to create.

What kind of questions? Questions like: What do I want from life? What do I want to do? What I don’t want to do? You won’t get all these answers right away. But whenever you come to a crossroad in life—what career to pick, what stream to pick, whether to go to college or not, or which college to go to, which job to take or business to start—you should always ask yourself a question at that time.

The earlier you ask this question, the better: What do I really want from life? What do I want to do? What do I not want to do? Keep writing these down. The answers will keep changing, and whatever action you take should remain aligned with these answers. Question yourself.

14. Be True to Yourself 💯

Be true to yourself. That means speak the truth to yourself. Live a life where you are not living for anyone else. Be sincere to yourself. You have to keep this in mind. You don’t have to do things to please others. Right?

If you don’t want to become an engineer or a doctor, tell your parents. Don’t say yes just to please them. Your parents want the best for you; maybe that’s why they are telling you to do engineering, become a doctor, or an architect, whatever. But if you don’t go and tell them today that you don’t want to do it, you will only cause them pain in the future. Why? Because you won’t be happy doing it later.

You will live a mediocre life that you don’t want to live, and they will see that and be even more sad. So, if you want to do something for your parents, go and tell them the truth. Tell them that in the long run, you don’t want to do this thing. They want the best for us, and they will understand this if you can explain it to them sincerely. Right?

And even if they don’t understand (though they probably will), be true to yourself, because you have to create a life that you don’t regret. I have seen many people, many friends, who went into something their parents told them to, didn’t question themselves, and today they are not happy with their lives. And I don’t want you to reach there.

16. Have Mentors and Teachers 👨‍🏫

Keep people in your life right now who you know wish you well, who have always given you good advice, who you know don’t want anything from you, and will never wish you harm. These people could be a friend, a teacher, a mentor, a relative, anyone. Keep these people close.

Because when you get stuck in life, when you need advice, you can go to these people. And they will always wish you well. So, always have mentors and teachers. I am still in touch with my school mentors. I met them just three days ago.

I had met them a few months before that too; they came to my office, and we were having a conversation. I am still in touch with them. Right? It’s lovely to have them around—people who you know are happy in their lives, don’t want anything from you, and just want good for you.

18. Don’t Get Involved with People Who Just Want Something From You 🛑

We all know that there are people around us who are with us only because they want something from us. Stay away from these people. It could be a guy who wants something physical from you. It could be a woman or a girl who might want something financial from you, or is just using you, or just passing time with you.

We know it in our hearts. Stay away from such people because they will ruin your life, and you will regret it later. Remove such people from your life. Don’t worry about what anyone will think. Nobody cares. And I’m not saying go and reject them, saying, “I watched an article; go to hell.” No.

Slowly distance yourself from them and make other, good friends who make you feel good, who want to do the same things in life that you want to do, who are very aligned, with whom you feel good, and who you know are good people. And the people you know are bad—your parents say they are not good for you, your friends, teachers say these people are not good for you—they are saying it for a reason. Brother, we are not that smart. We are not God. If our well-wishers are telling us that these people are not right for us, they are saying it for a reason. We must move away from them.

19. Build a Career Around What You Love 💖

Remember, if you want to live a very good life, build a career in something you love, where there is money, fun, fulfillment, and a lot of interest. Don’t build a career by thinking, “There is a lot of money in this, so I will get into it.” No.

Build a career in something where you feel, “I would do this even if I didn’t make money. This comes naturally to me. Money is being made from this thing. Other people are already making money from it, so I can also make it.” Because you don’t always need to struggle to build a good career.

If you really know what you are good at, what you want to do, and what you can become the best at—stick to that. And there should be proof of concept beforehand. I am not saying start something that no one has ever done and take a risk. No. There should be pre-proof of concept. For example, if you are good at comedy, right? Comedy is a great career today.

There are so many case studies—so many famous, rich comedians around—and you are creating comedy, stand-up comedy. It’s unconventional, but it can work if your heart is in it. Stay in that thing. Trust yourself. Be true to yourself.

20. Surround Yourself with the Right People 👥

Surround yourself with people who you feel are right. I have already given similar advice, but let go of bad people. You are the average of the five closest friends that you have. So, surround yourself with people that you like and who you want to become like, or who you know will do well in life. It will make a huge difference to you.

It happened to me in school. I was in the wrong company, but when I came into the right company, everything changed for me. Do this.

Part V: The Super Important Lesson

21. Have Fun 😄

And guys, last but not least—I think the super important lesson: Have fun. Look, I know you’ve heard this, but I’m telling you from the heart: This time will not come back. In the future, you are going to get busy in life.

School will end, or has ended. College will come, then you will get into a job or career, marriage, children, old age—so many things happen in life. You will be busy and you will miss this time, when there were no actual responsibilities, no problems. You thought you had problems in life, but there was nothing ahead.

So, while you need to be focusing on yourself and building your life, live this time. Travel, meet friends, laugh, do what you feel like doing, do it while staying in control, but live this time well so that you don’t regret later that you wasted time and didn’t live that phase—that you just got into studies or work. You could have lived, and you shouldn’t have this regret. So, have fun while doing all the things I mentioned to you.