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Anonymous05/14/26, 06:09No.34530558Advice from oldfags
Can we get some unsolicited advice from oldfags? Or at least functioning guys who have past their more impulsive 20s.
I ask because - apart from all the demoralization posts - I know you guys lurk here and actually give advice if given the chance. I don't expect you to fix my life, just say what your younger self should've known.
If that's too broad, here's a few topic that I'd like to hear on:
> Basic career advice from people who have moved up to senior/management positions
> Mistakes you could have easily avoided
> Anything marriage-related
> Dumb advice you were given that you would never want anybody else to fall for
I think you get the picture. Thanks anons.
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Anon05/14/26, 06:19No.34530568
Life is shit anon, I'm just gonna say, stop gunning for shit. If you're in a career that needs gunning, then quit it and go to a more laidback version of it. All you need for advancement are credentials and experience, doing a good job is never required so don't be a tryhard.Get friends. Get dumb friends. Pester them with things you want to do, force things you like on them, shame them or banter them for not following suit. Never be the butt end of anything. Do sports. You have to be constantly happy, being happy is like swimming, you stop swimming you're gonna get dragged by the current. Being happy and being relaxed are more important than money, and are a requisite for getting a loving partner. Never let any miserable person tell you otherwise.
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Anon05/14/26, 06:24No.34530581
Im 30, not sure if its oldfag territory but whenever you hear, youre just 19, youre just 22, youre young you have lots of time time to X, Y and Z. Thats not true, yes you're young but life passes by in a blink and suddenly you're not young anymore, and time just gets faster and faster.
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Anon05/14/26, 06:25No.34530585
Get off 4chan maybe
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Anon05/14/26, 06:47No.34530632
It's important to be likable.When you get your first job, take your base wage, run it through an online tax calculator to see the after tax rate, then take your take-home pay and budget properly. The biggest mistake that people 18-22 make is the "ostrich strategy", where they just have their head in the sand and don't follow their money week from week. If you actually have a budget you're ahead of most people at that age.It's okay to not really have a solid 100% idea on what you're doing long term as long as you're getting some qualifications pretty regularly, aim for at least one a year. There's a tremendous amount of obscure qualifications you can get on your own initiative even if you're working a slop McJob. Truck licences, forklift licences, working at heights, dangerous goods, trade qualifications.It's better to put 1 company you've worked at for 5 years on a resume than 5 companies you've been at for 1 year each. Employers do typically want someone they can get a few years out of.It's not some ZOMG I NEED TO GET MY LIFE SORTED NOW OR ITS OVER thing, it realistically takes about 5 years of consistent effort to make it to middle class if you're capable. As long as you're making some progress and getting an understanding of things, don't worry too much, around the age of 24 you start to get a sense of what you want long term.>Mistakes you could have easily avoidedShit companies all have the same stink, and there's a reverse Anna Katrina effect. Good companies to work for are unique in some way, every shit company is terrible in the same way. Geriatric leadership, weird insistence they're the "best in town", high staff turnover. It's very common to see teenagers go in eager to please in a lot of jobs and just have their enthusiasm and naivety preyed upon. Mom and Pop stores are typically more abusive than major corporations.
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Anon05/14/26, 06:49No.34530639
I think the best piece of advice I can give you is: the moment you start your first job, start saving for your retirement. I made the mistake of not getting serious about saving for my pension until I was in my early 40s. About five years after that my health started to fail; a little after that, I lost my job. I'm in my mid 50s now, haven't worked in 8 years, and am never going to work again. I've been able to scrape by on savings, and my partner supporting us both, but it's a constant struggle. More importantly, when my savings run out, we will be in real trouble; and when I reach what should have been retirement age, I will have almost no pension, because I didn't save enough to generate one before losing my job. If I'd been in work another three or four years, that would have been enough; but as it is, we will actually be starving at that point. So, don't assume you will be able to start saving later; there may be much less time than you think.
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Anon05/14/26, 07:25No.34530742
Stuff my younger self should have known: everything incels think they know about women is wrong.I'm speaking as a former incel who successfully escaped inceldom, and there are only two things that are essential: being confident (or at least being able to mimic confidence convincingly, which is just as effective), and being fun to hang out with (for example, being funny; although that's not the only option). Everything else is merely a nice-to-have: you don't have to be tall, you don't have to be rich, you don't have to be fit (in fact, many women are actively turned off by razor sharp muscle definition), you don't have to be handsome, you don't need a big dick (women actively dislike big dicks - they hurt); some of those things are useful, but none of them is essential.Also: you don't need to act like an asshole to get laid; women are not turned off by men being vulnerable and expressing their emotions; and human pair-bonding doesn't work the way incels think it does - it isn't true that having sex reduces your ability to fall in love, or that women never get over their first boyfriend; it's all bullshit.Other observations.... Porn is incredibly toxic and you need to quit it immediately and forever; but nofap is 100% pure meme: don't fall for it. Waiting till you are married to have sex is retarded, because it means waiting till after you're married to someone to find out that you're not sexually compatible. (And yes, sexual compatibility IS A THING; only someone who has had sex with fewer than two people could imagine that it isn't). Never strangle women under any circumstances - many of them don't actually like it, and even if she does, it's FAR more dangerous than you think. (That it is necessary to tell young men "Don't strangle women" absolutely melts my brain, but clearly it is necessary!). For women, about 80% of good sex is mental rather than physical. And: learn the structure of the clitoris - it's far bigger than you think.
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Anon05/14/26, 07:26No.34530745
> Basic career advice from people who have moved up to senior/management positions
Be visible. Be noticed. That matters more than actual results. If you get shit done but people don't notice, it won't help. Get shit done and make sure everyone always knows you're the one who made things work.
> Dumb advice you were given that you would never want anybody else to fall for
Never listen to your mother when she gives advice about women.
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Anon05/14/26, 08:03No.34530806
If you want job stability, find ways of making yourself indispensable. If you're in tech in the age of AI, that means becoming a bit of an AI cheerleaders until the fad dies down, then becoming an AI cleanup expert afterwards. Protect your work, make it difficult for others to replicate, and make sure their struggles are visible.
Don't do LDRs, it's not worth it.
See above. I'm still not married. Also when women say "it's okay, I don't mind that you cum fast, it's flattering and you made me cum too beforehand", she's lying to you, deliberately or not. Dick game matters, learn to get hard fast and last long.
"You're still young, take your time" is true, but as your 20s go on the speed at which they pass increases. College feels fast compared to high school, but that's nothing compared to working. Before you know it you're in the latter half of your 20s.
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Anon05/14/26, 08:32No.34530853
I would say above all that if you structure your life to be able to tolerate absolute boredom in a state of leisure and feel whole within then you are doing the correct things.When we are raised by our families and those around us they have a certain conception of us that does not exactly match your inner destiny. If you go follow the wills of others for too long at the expense of your soul you will simply wake up one day and feel a gnawing all-pervasive existential dread. If you don't address the source of it, you will observe your life falling apart in the most humiliating ways even if on paper you and everyone else would agree you are doing everything right. Rectifying this enough to fix your life enough not to be miserable can take years and no one can help you but yourself.A very wise and extremely genius man that was a media darling for this very reason, Albert Einstein, is quoted parroting the timeless aphorism "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid"...
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Anon05/14/26, 08:55No.34530880
-NOTHING, good or bad, is as good or bad as it seems when you're in your teens.
-Adolescence is, by definition, hell. High school is, by definition, hell. It is not you; it's just a fact of life you have to survive.
-Girls like sex too. It is not something you have to trick them into or take from them; it is something you can offer and share with them.
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Anon05/14/26, 09:00No.34530886
Your first job is exactly that - your FIRST job. It is absolutely not the job or the company or even the field you will retire from. The average person changes jobs 6 times and whole career paths twice.
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Anon05/14/26, 09:29No.34530917
unless you're actually organizing something locally or running for office, don't pay attention to politics, don't have opinions about it. it's a waste of time. it's like sports and just a way for people to feel credit for being "part" of something they never actually had a role in. the world was better back when 2/3 of people just never talked about it
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Anon05/14/26, 10:48No.34530999
Advice all depends on where you're at. 1 piece of advice might apply to someone, then the complete opposite to another.So let's try to extract the most generalised stuffSo, the point of life is to "survive", right. Reproduction is literally (or figuratively...?) just an extension of survival - we all die, so "reproducing" is the only way to survive beyond death.It's in the etymology - to reproduce, right? It's something produced, but repeatedly. It's something that was valuable enough to be "preserved", and hence, to be produced "repeatedly".Something valuable enough to endure, to be replicated, to continue on, whilst everything else ceases. Lindy Effect.What's worth keeping around? What's worth discarding?Well rarity of something plays a part. If it's rare, it's more likely to vanish, so you need to actively preserve it. Common things are everywhere so you don't have that responsibility to preserve it, it's not at risk of vanishing forever. Although there's the "you don't know what you got til it's gone" old saying, so be wary of if you overestimated it's abundance.Let's say you lived a generic clone life, following everyone else, the herd, the sheep, tried hard to fit in, to blend in, indistinguishable from everyone else, another NPC, another unit, another tiny cog in the massive machine... You never tried anything different, anything new, anything unheard of before, anything outside the boundaries... Nothing revolutionary. Never explored unchartered grounds.You are common.There's nothing special about you.You could die, and nothing would be lost. Because there's 8 billion more of you, you're like a replaceable factory model human.Distinguish yourself.Preserve the deserved.
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Anon05/14/26, 10:57No.34531004
Don't get caught in a negative spiral of feeling like it's too late to do shit and thinking it's too late, using that as an excuse to not pursue opportunities or to give up on your current goals/projects, only to then miss out on opportunities or following up on your projects because you gave up and missed your chance to still pursue or follow up on things, for then the cycle to repeat as you think you fucked up for good this time and then miss out on shit againI spent my entire 20s caught in that feedback loop and I constantly gave up on or missed out on things that I wanted to do and would have improved my situation, there was almost always a chance to salvage something I thought I blew, and there were always new opportunities that I usually squandered
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Anon05/14/26, 13:32No.34531182
50% of the advice in this thread is utter trash lmaoSpecially the one surrounding sex and women. NEVER listen to a foid, son
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Anon05/14/26, 13:54No.34531222
Am early 30s if that counts
>Basic career advice from people who have moved up to senior/management positions
Nepotism, either between friends, family or business partners will get you further than any impressive array of qualifications and experience. You want to blow smoke up the arses of the wealthy boomers around you, morph yourself into a sick caricature of their muh bootstraps, responsible young lad fantasy in order for them project themselves onto you. Our society is ruled currently by these fuckwits, so ingratiating yourself with them is utterly paramount. You want them to see you as a young version of themselves.
>Mistakes you could have easily avoided
Mostly to do with ego and pride. I burnt some useful bridges in my 20s fighting fights which weren't worthwhile, because my dislike of the other party trumped how useful they could have been to me. Nowadays I just smile and nod, and any seething is done internally without any facial giveaways..
It's rarely worth pursuing most disagreements with people. If they won't be of use to you, just don't speak to them. If they might present an opportunity for professional advancement or similar, bite your tongue.
>Anything marriage-related
A besmitten 6 that loves every bit of you beats the fuck out of a bored 9 that's always wondering if she could do better. Date your looksmatch.
>Dumb advice you were given that you would never want anybody else to fall for
>Hard work is noticed and repaid in time, even if the work is menial
Absolute bullshit boomer fantasy carrot-on-stick nonsense. If better pay arises elsewhere, take it. Loyalty to companies is pointless if you're neither related to, or banging, the company's management.
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Anon05/14/26, 14:13No.34531278
Life is nice. My strength comes from social connections. I am imbued again with a passion for life after a long period of its absence.>career
apply far and wide and learn how to handle getting rejected many times because when you eventually succeed it is gratifying. change jobs instead of getting a raise. have someone look at your resume. have a different resume for each industry. don't work in retail. a bachelors degree is necessary for some jobs and not necessary for others
>mistakes
drugs and alcohol and anything on a screen, no video games, not doing therapy sooner or getting sober sooner
>relationships (not romantic)
we return and reenact the same patterns that we know. if you keep dating or friending the same kind of person, or tolerating the same kind of behavior, you have to modify your standards
>dating/marriage
Don't date a loser, anyone depressed, or anyone on drugs/screens. No BPD.
>good advice
volunteer and join hobbies and clubs and be a good neighbor and learn how to cook for yourself and read a real book.
So what your parents fucked you up? so did mine. Now it's your turn to be the adult, and you have to either let other people help you or help yourself or both.
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Anon05/14/26, 15:31No.34531457
Don't eat yellow snow
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Anon05/14/26, 16:52No.34531678
32 here.Career
>Go to college and get a useful degree. I know the debt sounds scary, but almost every decent paying job requires a bachelor's degree. If you're not a lazy retard, a college degree still provides the best ROI. Trades are a meme pushed by grifters and its impossible to be higher than middle class in trades unless you're a nepobaby.
>Move close to a major city ASAP. Western economies are rapidly becoming urbanized and there are almost no jobs in rural or suburban areas. Also, companies rarely hire people from over 50 miles away, even if you promise to relocate. If you're in a rural area and lose your job, you're fucked.
>Always keep your eye open for the next big opportunity. You don't want to job hop too much, but never get too comfortable with one job unless it meets every one of your needs or you get tied down.Life/Relationships
>GO OUTSIDE!!!!! Don't spend your 20s bedrotting and scrolling social media. Your 20s and 30s are the best time of your life, since you're an independent adult with few responsibilities. Do things while you can.
>Be tolerant of other people and keep an open mind. Being able to interact with people of different backgrounds is a requirement for a successful social life and career.
>Practice proper hygiene and be the best version of yourself you can be. Showering, proper grooming, and being fit not only helps you with women, but with your professional and social life as well.
>It's OK to approach and talk to adult women, as long as you aren't a pervert and aren't a stinky neckbeard. Despite what cat ladies on Tiktok say, most women like being approached and find it self-validating. At worst, you're mildly inconveniencing them and they'll get over it quickly.
>Despite what social media ragebait tells you, the odds of something catastrophic happening to you when out in public are slim to none. You are much more likely to die in a car crash than you are to get false rape charges or get shot by minorities.
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Anon05/14/26, 17:47No.34531890
>make connections and go out of your way to talk to people. Most good employment is just from knowing a guy who knows you have some general knowledge or skillset.
>live extremely lean in to you always have at least 6 months of readily accessible money available. Too many retards can't budget and their life falls apart from a 2 month disruption.
>I had a shitty lab supervisor job, and I live leanly so I just gave a 5 weeks notice so I could have some time off to do housework and find a better job. Took like 2 months, and I wasn't worried or stressed about finding a job the entire time.
>people are retarded and if they are angry, ask them what is really behind the reason of their anger. If it's you, you can generally explain why you thought and did something. And 90% of the time, that communication will solve any problems.
>fit in an exercise routine. At bare minimum, just do back and leg stretches. I know so many people with fucked up legs and knees
>buy local meat and produce or do researchon availablestore brands. Cheap beef is especially getting more fucked on the nutritional benefit. Cheaply mass produced agriculture in the US mostly cares about weight and visual shipping quality once it hits the shelves.
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Anon05/14/26, 18:09No.34531981
Bump to keep an interesting thread alive
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Anon05/14/26, 18:52No.34532099
>asks for advice
>says its unsolicitedtheyre not sending their best
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Anon05/15/26, 19:08No.34535308
Literally just make friends and do stuff, and stop being so up your own ass.
Don't nail your flags to a particular subculture or political team, because you probably wont care in five years time.
Realise everyone is lying about everything all of the time, and being the guy who is like "the truth matters!", will only make them hate you.
Learn to lie well, and get ahead.
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Anon05/15/26, 20:08No.34535491
>Basic career advice
- you need to work for free before you get paid to do it. i.e. during undergrad / grad school, seek internship opportunities. some schools might let you work in offices / labs for academic credit. this helps in landing those "entry level" jobs that require experience
- cultural fit at a company is as important, or arguably more important than technical abilities. you need to be pleasant and easy to talk to. people who will spend 40hrs/week with you would strongly prefer it if you weren't a social leper
- at the right company, some degree of loyalty does actually matter. people who don't stay at a job long enough to build strong relationships with the people they work with are typically the first ones to be let go when layoffs are needed
- prestigious universities on your CV doesn't matter. a degree is a degree for the most part. don't take on excessive student loan debt unnecessarily
>Relationships
- it's way more important to find someone who would be good mother than a hot gf, even if you don't expect to have kids
- don't expect to always be the lead singer or guitarist in the spotlight. sometimes your job is to just play the tambourine as chris rock put it
- dick size doesn't matter
>other stuff
- learning about personal finance as early as possible and avoiding financial mistakes can have the second largest effect on the trajectory of your life
- building and nurturing positive relationships with other people--any interpersonal relationship, not just romantic--will have THE largest effect on your happiness and trajectory>t.
>37
>married 10 years, together 17
>2 kids
>1.6M NW
>4chins resident since '05
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Anon05/15/26, 20:11No.34535499
Don't ignore red flags because of muh love.
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Anon05/15/26, 21:04No.34535573
>> Basic career advice from people who have moved up to senior/management positions
A job is just a means to maintain your life style. Dont do anything tha requires you to work more and harder than you should. Making more money is meaningless if youre misreble and dont have the time and energy to make use of said money>> Mistakes you could have easily avoided
Should have broke up with my ex in college. I spent my 20s after graduating trying to keep up with her and making her happy when I should have just focused on myself and no one else.>> Anything marriage-related
Never actually get married. You can have a ceremony but there is no reason why you should ever be married on paper. She can get free daycare, medical, etc as a single mom while you both raise your kids. If you go separate ways you wont have to be stuck with alimony and losing everything you have. being married on paper has nothing but downsides and is a death sentence if you break up where as doing what I did gives your family immense benefits and protects you.Other than that:> spend your 20s figuring out what job and lifestyle you want. Dont date with serious intentions until AFTER you have locked down a home in your name that will always be yours. If you do buy a home, make it so that even if you have a family there is always a spare bedroom or something like a granny house so that you can rent it out in times of need but still live there. having tennants/roommates who give extra financial support is necessary these days.
>buy an EV, if you do cars as a hobby thats ok but for every day commuting get an EV. having to pay gas and maintenance on a regular car is an idiot tax now.
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Anon05/15/26, 21:21No.34535607
Test
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Anon05/15/26, 21:30No.34535620
You can be extremely far from being a conventionally attractive or successful dude and still punch orders of magnitude above your weight with women if you just fucking like yourself and kill your negative self talk. The majority of hot women, the sexy petite nymphos or the voluptuous wide hipped fertility goddesses or whatever you like, fuck, marry, have children with, and happily die next to completely unremarkable shlubs. Believe you can have a sexy loyal wife, believe you can have a great career, believe you can be chad, and your odds of all those things happening instantly go higher than zero. For you, they could go WAY higher than zero.
>b-but muh divorce rate!
100% of those men have absolute goyslop in their heads and abysmal self image that leaks out of their soul and rots everything in their life. There is a spontaneity and dynamism in the spirit of a man who simply believes he's great that women practically kill each other to get ahold of. And you can have that for free, right this second, forever..