‘If you didn’t make it in your 20s, wait for 40s!’

by Dylin Redling





If it happened that I didn’t make it in my 20s, is there still hope of ever becoming successful?


Yes!


I say this because that scenario definitely describes my life:


In my 20s:



Age 22:

Graduated college, got a job selling industrial maintenance products (glorified cleaning products), and quit after 6 months of boredom & hating my job.


From 22 – 24:

Got a job at a Mexican restaurant and then an Italian restaurant in Columbus, OH. Realized I was spinning my wheels and decide to move to NYC.


Mid 20s:

This was actually a lot of fun but totally slacker — worked as a bartender in a dive bar, then as a bar back in a fancy strip club, and finally as a server in a big theme restaurant in Times Square (where I met my future wife – Allison).


From 26 – 28:

Allison and I moved to San Francisco on a whim (hey, why not, we’re young). We worked low level jobs like food server, customer service, and admin assistant.


From 28 – 30:

I tried my hand at acting – did extra work on some Robin Williams’ movies, local plays, and low budget films. Lots of fun but realized I didn’t want to be a starving actor the rest of my life.


In my 30s and 40s:


Early 30s:

Married Allison, got a job at a tech startup, started investing money, and bought our first home (you can read about our RE adventures here)


Mid 30s – Early 40s:

Got a better job, Invested more, Bought a better home – Rinse and Repeat several times.

Age 43:

Retired! How? Read here.


And we lived happily ever after!

Lesson: If you’re in your 20s and slacking off, you have plenty of time to turn it around.

***


Dylin Redling is currently retired and financially independent.

To stay engaged and for enjoyment, he runs two websites: RetireBy45 and Experiencify.
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2 Comments on “‘If you didn’t make it in your 20s, wait for 40s!’”

  1. Exceptional post however I was wondering if you could write a
    litte more on this subject? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
    Cheers!

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