Hello, everyone — welcome back to my channel! If you’re new here, I’m Latasha and
I just turned 30! I’m going to be honest, inside I still kind of feel…
22. Maybe 24? But I guess I have done a bit of living, my fair share of relationship building,
and a whole lot of business development, so I thought I’d share 20 things that I
learned throughout my twenties — from business, to relationships, personal development, and beyond.
The gut always knows best. In love, in business, in anything else really... listen
to your intuition. From a very creepy late night trip to a grocery store that almost turned into
a scene from Taken, to many potentially very very bad business deals, my gut has
always saved my ass. If something doesn't feel right, meaning your Tinder date doesn't have any
online presence you can scope out beforehand OR a potential client's intensity on the discovery call
just doesn't feel right, listen to those feelings. They're there to protect you.
No one will care about your business like you do. Employees, partners, family members... they
might love you. They might love your business and what it does for you... and selfishly,
for them too of course. But when you have to stay at the office late, or cancel a family gathering,
or when you need an extra hand outside of normal work hours — they won't always get it. And that's
no slight to them. This is just part of being an entrepreneur; it's a magical, kooky, kind of spark
that can feel a bit lonely, but also exhilarating. Make the most out of where you are now. It's the
only way I've achieved any semblance of success. I've used every single opportunity as a building
block, allowing myself to become the best that I could possibly be before taking the next step.
My first job was as a dishwasher. I made it my business to become the best dishwasher
ever, resulting in me getting promoted to a hostess just a month or two in. Same thing
for retail — worked my way from a sales associate to assistant manager to hiring and ops manager,
and eventually from a freelance copywriter to a digital marketing agency owner. Wherever you're
at now; restaurant worker, retail worker, corporate guy or gal... do the best you can
at your job and you'll get where you want to go. You just have to dream big. I remember being in
college thinking, "I just want to get a 9-5 in a bigger city than Kalamazoo, make about $60 or $70K
and have weekends off." And that's a good life; don't get me wrong. If that's you're life,
you're crushing it — no doubt. But I'm glad my dreams didn't stop there, because I truly
thought that was a big, radical dream at the time. We are so much more capable than we think
we are. So keep learning, stay curious, and dream so big that it scares you a little bit.
Forgiveness is for you. I have experienced my fair share of neglect, abuse, jealousy,
mean-spiritedness.. as we all have, I'm sure. And it isn't easy, but I'll tell you that I don't hold
hate in my heart for any of the people who've hurt me. I might not want to go to dinner with them,
but I forgive them. And it's not because they've guilted me into it. Resentment and anger is very,
very heavy. And I've got a life to live and a business to build — I simply
can't carry the weight. Let it go. For you. Look good, feel good is TOTALLY a thing.
I 100% believe in dressing for the job you want, not the one you have, and I'm pretty proud to
say that I still do that on a pretty rigid budget. Learn how to shop the sale section,
invest in pieces that you can style in different ways in different seasons, and never discredit the
magic a little JUJJING of the hair or taming of the eyebrows can do. No, looks are not and should
not be everything, but making a good impression with a clean shirt and wide eyes can make a
big impact. And I'm telling you, the productive hours I have while wearing jeans or dress pants
versus leggings or sweats, is like night and day. Make time for art. Always. Whether you create it
or just like to indulge in it, art is fuel... magical, fun,
fuel for the brain. On days when I just can't get the ideas out or feel like I'm hitting a wall,
I put on one of my favorite records or head down to an art gallery... read a book, or heck - try to
draw something myself. And it does a few things: 1) it takes you out of your current element
and gives your brain some room to breathe, and 2) it helps you see new ways of thinking,
creating, living, that can usually be tied back to whatever problem that you're currently facing.
It's virtually impossible to be loved by everyone. There will be someone who doesn't like you because
they think you're ugly. Meanwhile, someone else will be intimidated by your beauty. One person
will think you're a know it all, and others might think you're not very smart at all. Don't
get sidetracked by people who aren't your biggest fans. Instead, focus on those that
do like you. Focus on nurturing them, building those relationships, and of course — improving
yourself so you can meet YOUR OWN standards. Step away from screens. One of my biggest regrets
of my 20s is actually how I basically friend my eyeballs from long days and nights on my laptop.
Sure, maybe glasses were bound to happen eventually, but I can't help but feel personally
responsible. So I'll give you the advice my optometrist told me; stare off into the distance
every 20-30 minutes if you can, get outside as much as you can, and limit time spent on your
computer... if all goes well, we've all still got a lot of years left to work our days away.
Health comes in all shapes and sizes. And hey, your body will very likely change a bit once
you hit 24/25 and beyond. The funny thing is even though I'm about 10 pounds heavier than
I was in my late teens/early twenties, I am SO much healthier. Today I've got no bad habits
(besides coffee), a balanced diet, and a much better grip on my mental health. And you know
what they say, happy relationships usually add a couple of LBs. But in all seriousness,
don't let a number on a scale affect you too much; and also — don't judge people who look,
eat, or exercise differently than you. We all have different needs, desires, goals,
and natural body types so... just don't. It's a waste of precious time. Promise.
Experiences over things, always. I don't remember much about the last expensive bag or pair of shoes
I bought, but I can tell you every detail of every trip I've ever taken, from my solo trip to
Nashville, my baecation to Paris, my Toronto trip with my mom, or my working vacation to Denver.
Travel and experiences teach us so much about the world, our country, or our neighborhoods and
will likely be forever etched into your memory. Take more pictures. I know a lot of people feel
like society's collapse started with the smartphone, and hey — maybe they're onto
something, but one thing I am super grateful for is the cameraphone. I think especially once you
lose someone that you're close to, you might understand this one a little more. But I don't
think most of us take pictures ENOUGH. Take pictures of yourself at the job that you love!
Take pictures with your favorite clients. Take pictures with your parents, your partner,
your dog! And then go a step further and print some of them. Nothing beats a photo album.
A sober mind is lifechanging. It's been about 4 1/2 years since I've had my last drink — and god
willing I will never slip up and taste it again. I don't want to be preachy, and I fully acknowledge
that * some * people have totally healthy and normal relationships with drinking. But I
never did, and letting that weight go has been truly priceless. It's enabled me to get more in
tune with my real emotions, not the ones masked by a cocktail, and frankly, also work harder than a
lot of my peers. There's no way I could pull late nights AND early mornings AND travel AND on-camera
work like I did in the early days of the business if I was feeling MEH each weekend morning.
There's not a lot that fresh air and sunlight can't heal. On some of my worst days, a walk or
a car ride if it's cold out, have always, always helped. They've certainly never hurt. Make time
every day to get outside, even if it's just for a short walk or drive if you don't have much time.
Especially if you work from home, being inside can be isolating and depressing
even if you don't really realize it in the moment. Go back to what you loved when you were young.
If you're trying to figure out your future, I'm telling you — young you
knew. Young me loved playing radio DJ, infomercial host, and cinematographer.
Fear made me run from a lot of those things, forcing myself to do something "smarter" like
work on a campaigns and study political science, but hey... here I am. Some weird combination of
a radio DJ, infomercial host, and video person. Learn to go with the flow. Plans, projections,
data, and goals are GREAT. I live for them! But if you might also consider learning to just kind of
BE. Relinquishing control of my life in many ways — how I style my hair (I usually tell my blow dry
artists to just do what she wants) to big things that relate to my business, has, in a weird way
given me more freedom than I could imagine. Enjoy life's strange twists and turns and
wherever it chooses to take you; you never know what you might fall in love with along the way.
Rest is productive. It took me a long time to not feel guilty about a YouTube video marathon on the
couch or a Sunday morning spent snoozing instead of cleaning or working, but listen, you need rest.
You will be more productive when you get rest. You will avoid burnout by resting. And I promise you,
burnout is really stressful and frankly — scary. Never forget where you came from. It's easy to get
caught up in the success of the present moment, but keep in touch with the people who got you to
where you are. Spend time in your hometown or old neighborhood. Volunteer your time. Donate money
if you can. Say hi to people on the street who are maybe a little less fortunate than you are.
There's a Shirley Chisolm quote that I really love, it goes, "Service is the rent we pay
for the privilege of living on this earth.” Business, life, school relationships, having
children... not a competition, nor a race. Need I say more? Do things at your own pace, to your own
standards, and just STAY IN YOUR LANE. Unfollow people if they distract you from your purpose.
Cut people off if they pressure you to take action before you're ready. Just do you.
And lastly, I've leave you with this one: Everyone deserves to be happy. Well, most everyone. Humans
— we're all just trying to get by and smile a bit here and there. When you find yourself mad at a
client, employee, or family member — or jealous of some stranger on the Internet, just remember that
they're fighting battles you know nothing about and it takes so much less energy to just be kind.
Alright, that’s it for today. If you enjoyed today’s video, you can say happy belated birthday
with a big thumbs up and I hope wherever you are in your life’s journey, you took some comfort
in the words I shared today. If you’re new here and want to subscribe, I post videos like this
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I will see you in the next one! Bye.