Yup, you read the title right.
When I didn’t know I was a multipotentialite or someone with many creative pursuits, I thought I was out of my mind.
Almost every quarter, I would talk to my loving partner and cried so hard.
Not because I was hurt or something but simply because I just didn’t know what to do with my life.
After years of introspection and spending a lot of time getting to know myself better, I finally have a holistic awareness of who I really am.
But before this, I had to battle against myself and with myself in many struggles.
Obviously, one of them is the lack of clear direction, the challenge of building deep expertise, the stigma of job hopping, and, most importantly, the difficulty of committing to a single career path.
Between the age of 19-27, I became a:
- Private School Teacher
- Social Media Assistant
- Real Estate Agent
- Recruitment Specialist
- Financial Advisor
- Online Business Manager
- Copywriter
I even did forex trading.
I earned a good amount of money from these jobs, and I can confidently say that I became proficient in most of them.
Now, despite all the problems I encountered, exploring different careers brought me significant fulfilment in my life, more than I would ever get if I settled in one single job.
It introduced me to different kinds of people.
It taught me how to be resilient.
It allowed me to explore broad and interesting experiences.
It made me dive deep into a fascinating self-discovery.
It pushed me to develop transferable marketing skills.
It gave me a unique perspective.
And most of all, it taught me invaluable lessons I can take with me as I navigate life in my 30s and beyond.
Whether you want to explore different career paths or are just curious about what someone learned after going through it…
The lessons I’m about to share are timeless and evergreen, and you can apply them to whatever stage in life you are at.
Let’s get started.
1. Improve Your Communication Skills Like Your Life Depends on Them
This lesson is probably one of the most, if not the most, important lessons I learned.
I’m very grateful that, from an early age, I discovered my love for reading books and my desire to be articulate like the authors who wrote my favourite stories.
Before graduating high school, I decided to get a Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English as a course.
And even though I didn’t proceed to become a teacher, I’ve been using the skills I developed in whatever job I pursued.
Communication skills are more than just improving how you write and speak English.
It’s also about developing your active listening skills and adapting your communication style to who you’re talking to.
In today’s world, people are becoming more deprived of focused attention because those around them are occupied with their own lives.
So, if you can be someone who articulates their thoughts effectively and listens with the intention to understand, you can nurture deep connections that will open opportunities you haven’t imagined.
2. Become Financially Savvy
Jumping from one career to another is a very risky move, especially if you’re a breadwinner like me.
But since I know that a single, repetitive job would be the death of me, I have to force myself to be good at managing my money.
Since I started working at 19, I’m already quite disciplined at creating and sticking to a budget.
But to take it a step further, I became a licensed financial advisor at one of the best financial companies in the country.
This was my strategic move towards earning money and teaching others financial literacy while also improving my own.
You don’t need to become a financial planner to manage your money well.
There are hundreds and hundreds of blogs and YouTube videos on the internet that will teach you how to.
But after having had more than 7 careers, only three simple strategies helped me explore as much as I wanted without much financial restraint.
And they are building your emergency fund, having short-term savings, and investing wisely for the long term.
3. Prioritize Your Personal Growth
If you ask me where I invest the money from my short-term savings above, well, it’s on myself.
Don’t get me wrong.
I understand those who want fancy things in life, but personally, I’m not a fan of new shoes, branded clothes, or the latest gadgets.
I like to spend money on anything that will help me learn something I’m interested in, acquire new skills, or add more value to my life.
I like to educate myself by investing in courses taught by people I want to learn from and buying books by authors who challenge my perspective.
As of this writing, I’m obsessed with listening to podcasts and audiobooks while walking for more than an hour a day on a beautiful island.
If you’re a student or can’t purchase pricey information products yet, invest your time in high-quality free resources.
Instead of scrolling mindlessly on TikTok or watching your favourite Netflix shows, you can focus on learning evergreen skills that are valuable and applicable to any job you apply for.
4. Understand Psychology And Human Behavior
Robert Greene is my favourite author, and I’m obsessed with his works.
Like many teenagers who have a whole collection of the Harry Potter series, I also have every book that Robert Greene wrote on my shelf.
The way Rober Greene teaches human behaviour through non-fiction stories and practical strategies fascinates both the left and right parts of my brain.
Because of the lessons I learned from his books, I became more persuasive, empathetic, and open-minded.
After immersing myself in his insights and wisdom, I noticed that I had become much better at navigating my personal life, my jobs, and the people involved.
Suddenly, I became more capable of nurturing meaningful relationships, earning a better income with flexible work arrangements, and building a higher quality of life.
Of course, these are just based on my own experiences. You don’t have to follow Robert Greene or read his books.
There are tons of resources out there that can help you study the basics of human psychology.
Explore different articles, videos, or books and see what angle or whose perspective resonates with you the most.
Because I’ve been a copywriter for more than two years now, I’ve also been studying marketing, which is basically applied psychology.
If you’re interested in business and entrepreneurship, learning copywriting and marketing is one of the best investments you can make.
5. Embrace What Makes You Unique
Social media and society do a great job of convincing us that we want to be anybody but ourselves.
But the truth is, life is more beautiful and meaningful if we learn how to accept what makes us different.
I know you also have your favourite celebrities, authors, entrepreneurs or public figures you aspire to be like.
We like them because they have something that we want – the money, the body, the confidence, the fame.
There’s nothing wrong with admiring them, because they show us what’s possible.
But ultimately, we have to face reality and live our own lives, because that is all we have.
If you want to be the best version of yourself, start by knowing who you are at a deeper level.
- What gives you the reason to live?
- Who are the people that inspire you the most?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- How would you define a happy life?
- Why do you do things that you do?
When you know yourself better, everything becomes a lot easier.
You can devise a better custom strategy to improve your life.
You can choose a partner who aligns with your values.
You can upskill to attract a more attractive career opportunity.
You can build confidence in your abilities and decisions because you know they are based on who you are and how you want to live.
6. Take Calculated Risks
I will always choose taking risks over complacency.
I think it’s pretty obvious since I’m writing a blog about 7 careers at age 27.
But one word of advice: don’t gamble your entire life on something extremely uncertain.
Before I embark on a new career or job, I always make sure to analyze the risks and potential rewards.
If I don’t have enough money to back me up or if I don’t have at least 70% confidence to make the new venture work, I delay it.
Once I’ve done enough preparation, I trust my instincts and make the bold move, no matter how scared I feel.
Of course, there were many times when I made mistakes along the way, but I made sure to learn from them to make better decisions moving forward.
Did I ever regret taking risks in my life? No.
Every step that I took led me to where I am today, and I would be more miserable if I didn’t take action at all.
7. Redefine Success on Your Own Terms
Success means different things to different people.
Your version of success also varies depending on what stage you are at in your life.
If you’re a student, maybe success for you is graduating and making your parents proud.
If you’re a fresh graduate, maybe success for you is getting a nice job at a good company.
If you’re an employee, maybe success for you is being promoted or getting a raise.
If you’re an entrepreneur, maybe success for you is hitting a 6-figure or 7-figure revenue goal.
If you try to follow someone else’s idea of success without considering your own, you’re signing yourself up for a miserable way of living.
I know it because I’ve done it.
To avoid my mistakes, you can spend some time identifying your core values and priorities.
This is not a quick 5-minute activity because it requires you to sit down, reflect, and dig deep into who you are and what matters most to you.
But once you have that clear and solid awareness, it’s a lot easier to set meaningful goals that align with the fulfilment you want to achieve.
It’s not easy, but it’s extremely worth it.
Recap
I hope you learned a thing or two from this post. To recap, here are the 7 lessons I learned after having had more than 7 careers at 27.
1. Improve Your Communication Skills Like Your Life Depends on Them
2. Become Financially Savvy
3. Prioritize Your Personal Growth
4. Understand Psychology and Human Behavior
5. Embrace What Makes You Unique
6. Take Calculated Risks
7. Redefine Success on Your Own Terms
