20-year-olds stay poor because they focus on earning rather than learning.

A survey of high school seniors revealed that 52% believe they will be millionaires by 25.

This belief is delusional. You can either roll the dice for a 1 in a 1000 of becoming a millionaire quickly or commit to a decade of learning that virtually guarantees wealth.

Which path would you choose?

The Tale of Two Paths

I want to give you a quick example of two guys, about the same age, who took two very different directions in life.

One of them approached an older, more experienced individual to learn the basics of video editing. Using what he learned, he secured a job interview. Despite having little experience, he demonstrated enough skill to get a $60,000 job offer from a company with a strong creative team, including a seasoned creative director who had worked on multiple big brands. This would have been a great environment to learn and grow.

Instead of accepting the offer, he asked for $3,000 more, thinking his priority was to earn rather than learn. The company declined, and he tried to negotiate back and forth. Eventually, he landed a job as the lead video editor at a small business. However, this new role came with no mentors or senior colleagues to learn from. He essentially skipped crucial stages of development by taking on too much responsibility too soon.

Now, just 12 weeks into his career, he’s in a position where the company is trying to extract as much as possible from him, while he has no one to learn from. Had he accepted the first role and started at the bottom, he could have learned from experienced professionals, which would have maximized his long-term potential. This is a classic case of overestimating one’s abilities early on—a phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger effect, where the less you know, the more you think you know.

The second guy had a similar goal: to make money. However, at 17 years old, he recognized he had no skills. A mentor suggested he had a natural aptitude for sales and advised him: “Whatever the minimum activity quota is, double it.”

This sales role required 100 calls a day, but he made 200 calls. Why? Because with no skills, he knew he had to put in twice the effort to achieve the same results as someone more experienced. His mentor also advised him to spend as much time as possible with the top salesperson, listening, observing, and learning. He followed this advice, became the top performer on his entry-level team, and earned a promotion.

As the youngest person in his new role, he knew respect wouldn’t come automatically. He worked harder, put in extra hours, and learned from seasoned professionals. Over time, he became one of the company’s top closers.

Now, he has the potential to start a million-dollar business, but instead, he’s taking another opportunity at a more prestigious company with better mentors. Interestingly, this new role pays less than his current job. Why take a pay cut? Because he’s thinking long-term, not short-term.

Kobe Bryant’s Work Ethic

Kobe Bryant was famous for his relentless work ethic, often doing two practices a day.

He believed that if everyone else was doing one practice a day, by doing two, he could improve faster. In the beginning, the difference wasn’t noticeable, but after five or ten years, he became unbeatable.

Double Your Effort to Accelerate Growth

The same principle applies to any field—whether it’s law, accounting, sales, marketing, or any other profession. Whatever the core activity of your craft is—making videos, writing sales pages, designing ads, or conducting sales calls—if you double or quadruple your effort, you’ll improve faster.

This approach helps you “pay down your ignorance debt” more quickly, creating compounding benefits.

Respect Is Earned, Not Given

Kobe’s dedication highlights an important truth: respect is always earned, especially when you’re young. The younger you are, the more you must prove yourself. You can either resent the world for not giving you respect you haven’t yet earned or work hard to earn it.

Hustle transcends age, gender, and culture—it’s universally respected. However, many people want respect before they’ve put in the work.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Understanding the Dunning-Kruger effect—the tendency to overestimate your knowledge when you’ve just started learning—is critical. Socrates put it best: “The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing.”

Even one of the world’s wisest individuals acknowledged his ignorance. Recognizing this can humble you and drive you to learn more before chasing respect or rewards.

Learning vs. Earning: Know Your Season

From an employer’s perspective, the difference between someone in a learning season and someone in an earning season is massive.

• Earning Season: Employers must extract more value from you than they pay you—it’s basic business.

• Learning Season: If you approach your role with a learning mindset, employers will likely invest in your growth. They may pair you with mentors and teach you valuable skills while paying you to learn.

In your 20s, understanding which season you’re in—learning or earning—is crucial. Stop comparing yourself to others earning more than you. Often, they’re sacrificing long-term growth for short-term gains.

Skills Compound Over Time

Skills build on one another and compound exponentially.

Take Jay-Z, for example:

1. Mastered rapping early in his career.

2. Learned promotion to expand his audience.

3. Built a record label to distribute his music.

4. Recruited artists to grow his empire.

Each skill built upon the last, creating massive wealth over time.

The Accountant vs. The Rainmaker

The same principle applies in other fields. For instance:

• Starting skill: Good at math? Great.

• Next skill: Learn bookkeeping → accounting → taxes → financial strategy.

• Result: Over time, you can evolve into a CFO or even a Rainmaker.

The difference in earning potential between an accountant and a Rainmaker can be tens of millions of dollars per year.

Key Takeaway

Your 20s are a critical time to focus on learning over earning. The skills you gain now will compound over time, creating massive long-term returns. Don’t shortchange your future by chasing short-term gains.

Cheers,

Jonas