Don't Blow This Off

A colleague just told me she was chosen to give a TED talk.

I almost flipped my lid. What an honor.

I love those things and try to listen to one of the educational, inspirational 20-minute lectures every day-- if I can remember to log on.

In fact, I’m listening to one now by psychotherapist Meg Jay. She is debunking the myth of what Americans claim is the “changing timetable of adulthood” and how we have trivialized our 20s.

She says research shows the stakes are high if you wait until your 30s to plan your career or start a family.

*80% of life’s most defining moments take place by age 35

*8 of 10 major decisions and ah-ha moments will have happened by mid-30s

*Female fertility peaks at age 28

*The first 10 years of your career have an exponential impact on the amount of money you’ll ever make

I’ve been seriously beating myself up lately, wishing I still had the joy and energy of my children at home instead of being an empty nester in my early 40s. So this darn talk is helping me feel MUCH better.

But more importantly, it is encouraging me to make sure MY kids seize the “defining decade” ahead of them--and to encourage you to share Meg Jay’s following advice with the 20-somethings you know:

1. Get “identity capital.” Explore work and make it count. Do something that adds value to who you are and who you might want to be next, i.e., that cross country job or start-up you want to try.

2. Use your “weak ties,” people OUTSIDE your inner circle of friends. Jay says 20-somethings who huddle together with like-minded peers limit who they know, how they speak, where they work, and what they learn. Half of new jobs are never posted. Use your weak ties.

3. Be as intentional with love as you are with work. The time to start picking your family is NOW. The best time to work on your marriage is before you have one.

See why I’m thrilled for my colleague, Tammy Kling, about her upcoming TED talk? She’ll be speaking about the power of words and how each one of us can use our words to save a life.

I certainly hope these words of mine will help someone YOU know.

P.S. Tammy gave her talk last month in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas.
Click here if you'd like to check it out!

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