I’m nowhere near 40. Nor do I have any idea what it’s like the moment you turn 40. But I do everything I can to surround myself with older mentors and teachers who are some of the happiest, most fulfilled, and successful people I know (in every aspect of life— health, wealth, love). With that said, here’s 25 things you should do before you turn 50.
1. Travel the World Alone.
Traveling alone is a completely different experience than traveling with someone else. You get to do what you do, when you want to, and it’s when you learn to love yourself without depending on anyone else.
2. Travel the World Together.
With that said, traveling together with someone you love can bring you closer than you could have imagined. The real person comes out when you travel with them, and it’s better to have this experience now than sooner.
3. Start Something That Lasts.
Leaving a legacy behind is one of the most important things in my life, and to many of the happiest people in the world, because they have something to live for. Leaving something behind, beyond your physical presence, can be powerful just to think about. It can be a non-profit, your own business, a movement. It doesn’t matter what it is. Just start one.
4. Become a Mentee.
Ask any successful person, and 99% will tell you they’ve gotten to where they are because someone mentored them along the way. If you find the right mentor, give even more value back than you receive.
5. Become a Mentor.
If you’ve been mentored sometime in your life, then you understand how powerful it can be to someone’s destiny. Become that light at the end of the tunnel for someone in need, it can be one of the best choices you make.
6. Give Back.
It’s only when we live for something beyond ourselves that we feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Giving back doesn’t have to be done only at an individual level. At Rype, we donate a portion of our profits back to organizations like Pencils of Promise, where they’ve built over 300+ schools in developing nations like Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Laos.
7. Go Skinny Dipping.
You know you want to.
8. Start a Journal.
Recording down your present thoughts, and reviewing it years later can be incredibly fulfilling to see how far you’ve come. It can be a blog, vlog, podcast, or a journal that you keep for yourself. The world deserves to hear your message.
9. Attend a Religious Event (that’s not your own).
This may seem controversial, but most of us have either never been to a religious event or only attended one (probably the one you were born into). Whether you’re religious or not, why not explore to understand what other types of religious faiths that exist?
10. Fall in Love.
❤
11. Learn to Be Happy Alone.
Depending on someone else to be happy is no way to live. Knowing that you can love yourself and find happiness alone, can be one of the most freeing discoveries in your life.
12. Become an Expert at Something.
While it’s important to have a general understanding of diverse topics and skillsets, you should also be an expert at something. If someone in your life hears your name, there should be a skill that they can always rely on you for. Become a T-Shaped individual.
13. Live in a Developing Country.
In the past 15 months, I lived in over a handful developing nations around the world, including Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. Traveling around hotels and visiting tourist spots in the country doesn’t help you understand anything about the culture itself. You have to live it.
14. Visit your Elementary Teacher.
We should always give more credit than given to the people responsible for our education back in Elementary. My elementary teacher, Ms.Thorton, taught me how to speak English, showed me how to treat others, and taught me to think big. In most cases, they taught us things that we probably can’t even remember today, but has influenced many important decisions we made throughout our journey.
15. Commit to a Health Ritual.
This is a common pattern that I see in nearly every person that hits 30 or 35. Their priority of health starts to become the #1 priority in their life, even over wealth. What’s the point of accumulating wealth, if you’re not in a healthy state to enjoy it?
16. Have more than One Career.
We live in the “hyphenated” world today. You’re an Engineer, Entrepreneur, Designer, Writer. Or Investor, Author, Speaker, etc. With technology moving industries and markets faster than ever before, and people living longer than ever, it’s not only possible to have more than one career, but it’s necessary.
17. Replace your Coffee with Tea.
Cut the jitter, introduce the calm.
18. Have a Signature Dish.
You may not need to know how to cook. But every person needs a signature dish. Keep it as your secret weapon.
19. Read 100+ Books.
Knowledge is freedom. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
20. Buy Wine Today You’ll Drink In 20 Years.
You can also do this with long-time friends.
21. Adopt.
Be it a dog, cat, or baby, make the decision to turn someone’s life around.
22. Call up an Old Friend.
If there’s someone you haven’t spoken to in a few years, or even a decade. Reach out to them. In the one-tap, social media world that we live in, there’s no reason to even call them. Just send them a message.
23. Learn How to Say “No.”
Turning down opportunities allows you to do your best work. A great book to read is the Power of No by James Altucher.
24. Write a letter to your 10-year future self.
Where do you want to be in 10-years? What would you say to this person? Share everything in a letter, and keep it locked for 10 years. Then 10 years later, write another letter to your 10-year future self.
25. Learn a New Language.
If you’ve went your entire life knowing only one language (English), you’ve put a glass ceiling on yourself, because you can only reach 12% of this world’s population. Learning a new language is the catalyst that opens up doors to new cultures, people, and opportunities. Learning how to speak Spanish alone can nearly double your global reach, and allow you to have a global perspective and a deeper understanding of the world outside your current limits. Featured photo credit: Ari He via unsplash.com
