If You Could Start Over at 18, What Would You Do Differently? An IAM Group Limited, Singapore Advice

A Story by Dulce

What will you do differently, if you can turn back time?

The corporate ladder is a very competitive place for many young working class of society. With time marching on so fast and progress flying in like a supersonic laser beam, what was once a very young an hopeful student instantly becomes a middle-management person who wished he/she had known better back then that there will be tons of things to prepare for.

IAM Group Ltd has many aspiring managers and sometimes non-members would ask us, what experienced managers would do differently if they are to relive the age of the sweet 18.

HEALTH: Floss daily, don't smoke, get 30 minutes of exercise a day and learn to cook. Remember that Doritos and beer are not breakfast foods. Don't ever have unprotected sexual intercourses. Don't let 18 year old you do anything to your body that 40 year old you with 2.6 kids won't be able to cover up with a button down shirt and khakis.

MONEY: Make a budget and learn to live within your means. Use credit cards judiciously. If you don't have the cash to buy it, then don't buy it. Start an emergency fund and save $1k then $5k then $10k. Get insured via social security.

EDUCATION: Do not go to college until you have some idea of what degree you want. It's a really flipping expense way to figure it out. Don't get saddled with a mountain of student loan debt to finance four years at Party U. It will haunt you and your bank account. Go to every class even the stupid 8:AM lectures on underwater basket weaving.

LIFE: Do something every day that makes you happy. Covet experiences instead of things. Travel abroad �" Yokohama, Japan has some pretty good sites, well if you’re already from Japan, go to Seoul, Korea and meet some IAM Group Ltd key members. Learn a new language, like Japanese, Cantonese, Tagalog or even Spanish. Volunteer for a cause you believe in. Be a part of something bigger than yourself. Don't let failure derail you.

At 18 you are not having the best times of your life.

People with that mentality of partying all day and night once graduated expect their life is full of despair and failures. They self-professed their future. If you study hard and prepare for the future your best years are to come, and they far outweigh whatever fun you could have had at 18. Just think about it, a great job that leaves you time for you and pays very well so you can afford anything you want. Unless you learn about IAM Group Limited, a dedicated non-profit organization that indulged each middle-management members to help one another through intelligent discussions such as this.