The Most Important Decision You Make as a Young Adult

Photo by Arif Riyanto on Unsplash

Be intentional in how you cultivate your credibility.

Your credibility will determine where you end up. If you want to be a programmer, program. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, start a business.

You only build credibility through creating. Badges of competence, conscientiousness, and conformity are not enough.

Learn and build intentionally. Optimize for your credibility.

The traditional path to credibility is to get an education. Performing well in school signals a few things:

1. You’re conscientious
2. You conform to expectations
3. You perform well on tests

When thinking about what I want to do in my life, conscientiousness will play a significant role. But conforming and performing well on tests? Not so much.

So, instead of looking to school to signal that I am conscientious, I’ve done it elsewhere.

While applying for an internship at a startup, I never sent my transcript. I never reported my GPA. The founder clearly wanted someone who would reliably put in the work and would be daring. I provided evidence for both.

1. For conscientiousness, I sent him my blog. I’ve been posting every other day…