“Don’t just work to make a living—build a life you don’t need to escape from.”
– Bronson Hill
I am currently 44 years old.
I left a $200,000 a year job to pursue financial freedom and help others grow their wealth.
Since then, I’ve raised around $50 million from investors.
Looking back, if I was in my 20s now, I would do some things differently.
Today, I want to go over what those changes would be.
Hopefully they can benefit you on your own financial journey.
Let’s get into it!
1. Learn to Leverage—Not Just Work Hard
The first thing I would work on is leverage.
Leverage is not just hard work.
A lot of us have been taught that hard work pays off.
That isn’t always the case.
We all know people who work hard and aren’t really benefiting from the fruit of their labor.
A good friend of mine, Nate Hambrick, wrote a book called The 18 Laws of Leverage.
I highly recommend everybody read this book, especially if you’re in your 20s.
Hambrick talks about how to leverage your time, brand, energy, money, and other people’s money.
The gist of the matter is that hard work is a trap.
Warren Buffett once said: “”If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
That really hit me when I got my first taste of passive cash flow.
I had a rental house that increased gradually from giving me $50 a month to $100 a month.
Financial Samurai talks about this.
They claim that by scaling passive income through leverage, you can both reduce risk and amplify returns.1
When this starts happening, you should start leveraging your time.
Instead of you doing all of the work, maybe you can hire somebody else to do the work for you.
A lot of people do this.
They’ll have a business, sell the service, and have somebody else do all of the heavy lifting.
At the end, they’ll split the profits.
They will get recurring revenue that way.
That’s leverage!
You should work smarter and not harder.
As a young person, you need to learn how to scale and leverage your time.
You shouldn’t focus on simply making more money.
Try to find investments where you can leverage other people’s time and money.
Make your money work for you so you can earn money while you’re sleeping.
Then, you’re really doing something right.
2. Network Like Your Net Worth Depends On It (Because It Does)
The second thing I wished I did in my 20s was networking.
You should network like your net worth depends on it—because it actually does!
Good networking is not simply shaking hands and exchanging business cards.
It’s talking to someone and figuring out what you can do to serve them.
Can you connect them with someone else in the room?
Is there a book that you can recommend?
Are there any resources you could offer to help them?
These are conversations that can give something to the other person.
People really appreciate that, and they’ll find a way to pay you back.
You should also surround yourself with high-net-worth people as much as possible.
According to Nature Human Behaviour, there is a near-perfect correlation between social network position and financial status.2
It lends credence to the saying that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Wealthy people tend to be around wealthy people.
If you want to be wealthy, hang out with wealthy people.
They will show you things and help you learn the ropes.
My friend, Cody Davis, is 22 years old.
He networks with wealthy landowners and property owners.
Eventually, they end up working with him.
That’s a great strategy!
It reminds me of a theory called Metcalfe’s Law.
Metcalfe’s Law states that value does not scale linearly but exponentially.
Making networking connections can scale your value exponentially.
For example, I approached someone and added value to what they were doing.
After that connection, I grew my net worth by $1 million over the next 18 months.
Just from that one connection!
That right there is exponential growth.
You should at every single interaction you make as an investment.
Let that mindset serve you throughout your journey.
3. Invest for Freedom, Not Retirement
The last thing I would do if I were to start my own journey over is to invest for freedom and not retirement.
If I were in my 20s again, I would look at my bucket list.
Then, I would figure out how I can check off each item over the next couple of years.
Waiting until you’re 65 to do everything doesn’t sound ideal, at least to me!
You should find a way to build financial freedom a lot sooner.
I don’t really think we’re made for retirement, honestly.
I look at retirement as more of an agricultural term, like when cows are put out to pasture.
According to Purdue Business, mortality rates actually increase by up to 2% after a person retires.
Pulling out of the workforce is listed as a possible explanation.3
If you’re young, you shouldn’t plan to retire.
Plan to live a life of freedom.
Do something you’re passionate about so you’ll be excited about it your whole life.
According to a 2023 survey by Empower, 64% of people say they would quit their job if money wasn’t an object.4
Don’t let that be you!
Even if you get paid less now, set yourself up so you can be financially free and do what you want to do.
Achieving this involves getting around the right people, asking questions, providing value, and not deferring your life goals.
It doesn’t mean you have to be a millionaire tomorrow.
Focus on making good decisions.
Over time, those decisions will have an exponential effect on your life.
Value your education and your relationships.
Take chances.
I can’t wait to hear about your journey!
Make sure to tell us all about it in the comments.
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Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
Works Cited
1. “Increasing Passive Income through Leverage and Arbitrage.” Financial Samurai, May 29, 2025. https://www.financialsamurai.com/increasing-passive-income-through-leverage.
2. S. Kousta. “Social networks: Inferring financial status.” Nature Human Behaviour, 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0127.
3. “Data Shows Retirement’s Negative Effect on Mortality Rates.” Data Shows Retirement’s Negative Effect on Mortality Rates – Purdue Business. Accessed July 21, 2025. https://business.purdue.edu/news/features/2022/retirement.php.
4. “The Price of Financial Happiness? $1.2 Million.” Empower, November 8, 2023. https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/research-financial-happiness.
