At Nineteen, Are You Ready to Choose Your Path in Life?

Introduction

On the blog of OpenAI founder Sam Altman there is a post from ten years ago, “Advice for ambitious 19 year olds,” a piece about how young people of ambition should choose their path in life. I feel deeply that its views and counsel hold no small measure of inspiration for the younger members of our own families—especially those who feel lost about the future, or who stand at a crossroads in life. The essay discusses not only education and career choice but also the decision to start a company. I think it is a piece well worth reading, and I hope it can bring everyone some fresh thinking and inspiration.

What follows is my own translation and arrangement of the essay.

The Translation

I am often asked: “As an ambitious nineteen-year-old, how should I choose my path in life?” On this I have accumulated a great deal of experience and data, and so I would like to share my view.

People often waver among a few options: to continue their studies and pursue some projects on the side, or to join a company outright, or to start something of their own. In truth, any of the three might be the best choice for you. What matters is that you choose the path most likely to lead you toward greatness.

Whatever your choice, keep creating without cease, and keep the company of the wise. You can take part in all kinds of projects—open-source projects, startups, or a new sales process at the company you work for. But merely chatting with friends and saying “we ought to do something together” is nowhere near enough.

I have found that truly outstanding people are forever creating, and are skilled at associating with people of wisdom. So if you are wavering among several options, this principle may serve as your standard for deciding. Devoting yourself to something meaningful will keep good fortune coming your way. But take care not to be drawn off by too many seemingly interesting things, straying from the goal you truly wish to pursue.

In making this important decision, you need to see risk clearly. Many people, for instance, think that staying on at university is the safe choice. But to spend four of your most energetic years doing nothing of substance is in fact quite risky. If you are passionate about some startup idea, then to go after it is the right kind of risk. But if you join or found a company merely in pursuit of some kind of social status or fame, then you may have taken a wrong turn.

If you choose to continue your studies, make sure you are truly learning something of value and taking part in meaningful projects. University may be the best place to meet your future partners. If you worry that dropping out will cause you to miss certain crucial social experiences, then you should carry on with your university life.

If you join a company, my general advice is to join one on a breakout trajectory. There are usually a few such companies at any given time, and to a sharp young person they are generally recognizable. This is a very good risk/reward trade-off. Such companies are almost certain to succeed, yet the rest of the world is not as convinced of it as it ought to be. Fortunately, these companies like ambitious young people. Besides the fact that the equity is a very good deal (if you join a small startup you might get only one-tenth the equity, but at one one-hundredth or one one-thousandth the risk), you will also work alongside excellent people, come to understand what success looks like, and leave a win on your résumé (which is, in fact, very valuable). Spending a few years at a failing company carries a whole train of consequences, while working at a company that has already achieved enormous success means you will learn far less, and probably work with less impressive people, too.

By the way, do not let salary be a factor. I just watched someone turn down a promising company because Microsoft offered him thirty thousand dollars more a year—a terrible decision. He will not get to take part in interesting projects, nor perhaps to work with sharp people. A few years from now, when he needs to look for a new opportunity, the choices before him will be far poorer than the ones he could have had.

If you are going to start a company, do it only when you have an idea you love. If you try to dream one up while shooting the breeze with friends, I do not think you should start that company (though there are many who disagree with me). Starting a failed startup is better than joining a failing company as an employee (and in the former case you will certainly learn more). If you fail, but it was an idea you genuinely loved and that had the potential to become great, you are unlikely to regret it, and people will not hold it against you. To fail at a startup that merely imitates others is worse. Remember, there will be plenty of other chances to start a company, and a startup demands six to ten years to amount to anything—so wait for the right moment.

One enormous advantage of starting a company is that you usually learn the most in the shortest time. But one enormous disadvantage is that it is all too easy to start a company for the wrong reasons—usually to be able to say you are starting a company—and this clouds your judgment.

Whatever your choice, keep your personal spending in check and minimize unnecessary commitments. I have seen many people miss precious opportunities for financial or other reasons.

Think about risk in the right way. Drew Houston, in a great commencement speech, said that you only have to be right once. This is true. The risk lies in not getting onto the path that will let you be right at the decisive moment.

(Original link: https://blog.samaltman.com/advice-for-ambitious-19-year-olds)

Reflections After Reading

In my deep exchanges with members of our families, I have come to feel profoundly the traditions and values of a family, and its expectations for the next generation. The young of every generation face their own challenges and choices, and in this fast-changing age those choices take on a particular weight.

When I read this essay on how an ambitious nineteen-year-old should choose a path in life, I was deeply moved by the author’s views. Its counsel—on education, on career choice, on entrepreneurship—offers young people an entirely fresh perspective. And this is precisely what I hope the younger generation of our families can see and reflect upon.

The essay’s view of risk also left a deep impression on me. In a family enterprise, we often have to strike a balance between tradition and innovation, between stability and daring. And this essay reminds us that the right kind of risk often brings the greater reward. For the younger generation of a family—especially those who hope to carry on the family enterprise or to seek out new opportunities—this is precious advice.

I also wholeheartedly agree with the essay’s point that, whatever path we choose, we should keep the company of the wise, and keep creating and learning without cease. This is not only advice for personal growth but also a hope for the future development of the family enterprise. The family’s traditions and values are our roots, but innovation and learning are our wings, helping us fly higher and farther.