how to be young and successful (ULTIMATE GUIDE) | mindset, habits, entrepreneurship

You don't owe anyone your crying pics. What do I want out of life? It could be getting as much attention from boys. I can do that. I promise. But get out of the rat race. I've been going live a lot more on my Instagram, and I started getting these questions where people were asking, how did you become so successful? And I never felt comfortable answering these questions because I'm like, who am I to be like, I am successful because X, Y, Z. But recently, after finishing my junior year of high school and actually just reflecting on my last three years in high school, I've realized there are a lot of specific things I did that helped me build my business, helped me differentiate myself, also helped me find so many like-minded people. And I really want to share that with you guys. My definition of success is living with purpose and impacting the world as a result. And when you consistently provide value to the world, impact the world, I believe that wealth and abundance is a mere consequence of that. But success is not about the amount of money you make or the college that you get into. The college admissions process is only getting more competitive. Literally every month, my mom sends me articles about how these schools I want to apply to have the lowest acceptance rate that they've ever had. I know, very encouraging. So if none of what you're actually doing during high school, you'd be happy with regardless of if you even get into a single college, I just don't think that's a good idea. I know countless numbers of current college students that were the perfect student in high school. Their grades are so much better than mine, and they did all these extracurriculars that maybe look good on paper and that you see on these college counseling websites. But ultimately, when they were telling me about their high school time, they wish that they did things from a place of genuine interest and passion. I wish I had a less cringey alpha male way to say this, but get out of the rat race. The rat race is like being in a never-ending cycle where you're constantly chasing things like money, promotions, or material possessions. But despite all your hard work, it feels like you're running on a wheel without making real progress or finding genuine happiness. It's like life's treadmill. You keep running but don't really get anywhere. I feel like at the beginning of high school, I had to choose pretty early on what type of game I wanted to play in life. Like for students, this could be getting straight A's. It could be being popular and pretty and liked by a lot of people. It could be getting as much attention from boys as possible. And none of these games are inherently wrong, but I think it's important to understand why you're choosing to play the game that you're choosing to play. Personally, for me, I am not playing the getting all straight A's game because I have clearly failed at that. If you're confused about what I mean about these different games in life, I highly recommend trying your best to talk to people that are in the places in life that you think you want to be in. If you want to be an investment banker, but you haven't talked to an investment banker or even spent a day with an investment banker, I would really like think about that a little bit more and really understand what it took to get there and how fulfilling that role actually is. A couple months ago, I actually took a second to think about what do I want out of life? Like in five to ten years, what would actually be the dream? And I realized it was very different from what I was prioritizing. And I was just really dialed in at school at this time. I wasn't really prioritizing content and I thought that was a trade-off that I was willing to make. But then I realized that not taking my content seriously may actually have worse consequences than not taking my classes seriously for the life that I want to live. And yeah, that's totally okay. It taught me a lot. Me having this mindset shift didn't make me just start slacking in school. I still work hard. I still study for my tests. Every single day this week, I've been waking up at 5am to study for physics. But here's the difference. It's just no longer the number one priority in my life. I don't think about studying when I'm not physically studying. There's less of an emotional charge to it. To do more personal discovery and really figure out what you authentically want and what game of life you're down to play, I would highly recommend these journal prompts. But even more than journal prompts, I honestly think that you just need to start taking action and trying things. This may seem to go into opposition with what I said about talking to professionals who are already in industries you want to be in, but sometimes you actually need to try to it yourself. For instance, freshman year, I thought that I was going to be a computer science major. Even though I watched all the software engineer day-in-my-life videos and CS major Q&A videos, they didn't truly reveal to me that being a CS major is probably not the best fit. It was when I took a course, when I took like a live cohort-based course with MIT that I realized computer science was not for me in terms of a major. So whenever you just have a slight inkling or curiosity about something, actually explore that, okay? It's the most unattractive thing to me when someone is like, oh, for the last two years, I've kind of wanted to try this, but I haven't. I've just been like, like I saw this YouTube video where this guy was talking about what he's learned from really wealthy people, like mega wealthy people. And he said that the time elapsed in between when they have an idea to when they execute is very small. They have an idea for a new business mentor. They go do it. They're not waiting around for years being like, I should start a course. And yes, I procrastinate things too. That is so normal and human, but it's obviously most ideal to take quick action. And that is something I'm trying to work on in my own life. Guys, I used to actually procrastinate so much every day after school, just go home, watch Netflix and eat goldfish. But there was one experience that really changed me. So in the summer of my freshman year of high school, I took a summer entrepreneurship program. It was five weeks long online. It was called Lean Gap. In a group with other students, we launched our own startup and had to pitch it. And we literally spent like 10 plus hours every day on the computer. I literally just wanted to cry every single day. It was so challenging. But here were the main two things that I took away from Lean Gap. I learned to be really respectful of people's time and to understand that no one owes me anything. So I have to be ambitious and be strategic about what I want. And also taught me how to take harsh feedback. Let me just tell you guys, there was a lot of that. But I think the most important part is it introduced me to a community of a lot of like-minded students. I think the students at my school are so smart and so talented. But let me just say, Bay Area Asians built different. I stopped comparing myself to anyone at my school after this program because, oh my gosh, some of these kids are insane. Like just started like coding websites when they were like eight. So it's so important that you surround yourself with people with similar goals. Actually recently I joined a team of other high school students that are seriously like so ambitious and I'm so, I don't know, I'm just so inspired by them. I joined on as a national ambassador for their global community of Gen Z student printers. We actually put together a Discord so y'all can connect with each other and be around like-minded, specifically entrepreneurial students. Spark Tank hosts live events that help you build your skills and your network. There's career development fairs, workshops from industry leaders, and pitch competitions where you can raise seed money for your startup idea. And I want to let you guys in on something. I'm actually hosting my first like entrepreneurship related live workshop on July 1st when you guys are watching this. If you actually want to stop just like watching YouTube videos and thinking about what you want to explore and actually start doing, this live workshop is a perfect opportunity. So check the link in the description to figure out more details about the event. But even if you can't make it, join the Discord because you'll be updated on future live events that we host. I'm so excited to see you guys there. Like I'm actually so excited to see what faces are actually like into this stuff. So outside of programs, organizations, and communities, I want to share a practical example of how you could just like start getting involved in business and building marketable skills. So let's say I notice that in my town, there's this restaurant that serves really delicious food, but their menus are kind of ugly and they have no social media presence. Being in high school can actually be a huge advantage for this because you can just be like, because I'm part of the younger generation, I understand social media. And a lot of older people are literally like, I don't understand social media, which explains the conversation in Congress about TikTok. So here's what I would do. I would ask my mom to take me to the restaurant and I would order food there. I would take a couple of cute pictures and I would format it into an Instagram post. And then I would talk to one of the managers or even just one of the waiters there. And I'd be like, this is what I created for your guys' restaurant. I think that you guys would really be able to increase your sales, your credibility, your brand awareness if you guys had services like this. You could even be like, oh, do you guys want to see more proof of concepts? Because here's why this is so powerful. You are providing value first without asking for anything. Seriously, through all my entrepreneurship programs and stuff, I've learned that the world does not owe you anything. For instance, if you can get a summer internship through personal connections, that is amazing. Like, yes, go off. But I think it's a really bad approach to go into an internship being like, I just want to learn new things. I'm really confused. I'm not saying it's bad to be confused on what you want. That is so normal. But when you go into wanting an internship and just say, oh, I need to learn new skills, you're not making it clear what value you're providing to the other party. And yes, if they're a family friend, they're probably going to want to help you. But I always like to go off the safe assumption that most people are driven by economics because it's the most cringy thing. I think a lot of people hate on Gen Z for this when we expect things to be handed to us. Oh, also another thing which might sound counterintuitive is commit to things that you don't know how to do. Let's say you're like, you think you might be into computer science and you just pick a random programming language. You're like, I'm going to learn this. There's no demand to learn that. But if you tell a local business, I'm going to build you a website by next Friday. You have to learn that new skill. Having that timeline and extreme accountability on you is pretty much going to force you to get to that level. Obviously, do this safely and in moderation. But I'll be lying if there weren't some times where I said that I had the ability to do something and I did not. OK, this next tip, I cannot emphasize enough. This is helpful even if you have no interest for business. If you're even going to apply to colleges, I would totally take this advice. Actively brand yourself as a personal brand, even if you're not trying to be an influencer, even writing a LinkedIn post, just finding some way to understand yourself better, even if it's just journaling. I've kind of grown up talking about myself and viewing myself a lot in third person. And sometimes that drives me crazy. But overall, it's just really helped me with my speaking skills and to be able to explain my desires to other people. On the topic of finding your voice and the way that others perceive you, something that I've consistently done is constantly put myself in social environments where I feel uncomfortable or when I feel like an imposter. I am very frequently the least smart person in the room. You just have to learn how to hold your weight. People ask me, how do you become well-spoken? How do you speak eloquently? I would say something that really helped me is during COVID, I'm not going to lie, like I listened to at least 400 hours of podcasts, a lot of business and self-help podcasts. I got very used to certain vocabulary, certain ways of speaking. And I don't want to make it sound inauthentic. And I'm like, oh, what word am I going to use? This happened naturally. There are specific words like paradigm that I kept hearing in podcasts. I think I'm pretty different in school than when I am on a business call or something like that. And that was something that took me a while to learn because I spent so much time during lockdown just focusing on business that when I went back to school, I like didn't know like how to be a teenager anymore. So now I definitely have just learned to channel my energy where it needs to be channeled and how to have just different flavors of myself. And I think each flavor of Annie is authentic. It's just different. If you're watching this video on our series about becoming successful at a young age, I'm going to give you a challenge right now that's going to get you out of your comfort zone, but it's genuinely going to help you. I want you to comment in the comment section down below. What is one limiting mindset that you have that is keeping you in the rat race that you are going to start changing? And I want you to comment down below the new mindset that you're going to start implementing. I am excited to read your guys's comments and please comment because other people are going to see your comments and feel really inspired by it. The next topic of discussion is mentor freaking ship. In my life, I have had at least 30 people mentor me to some sort of capacity. And I'm so grateful for those people that have invested in me. And I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a child. When I'm older, I really want to be a great mentor to other people and give back because I've gained so much through my mentors. Some of my mentors have been specifically business mentors. Some are like business and life. Some are just life. Some are spiritual mentors. But there is a specific mentorship relationship that I want to talk to you guys about because I think it really illustrates how to approach a mentor, how to maintain a positive relationship with a mentor. About two years ago, I asked one of my brother's friends, dad to be my mentor. And keep in mind, I never really talked to my brother's dad's friend that much prior to this or other than just small talk. So here is how I approached him to mentor me. I told my mentor about my business and about what I was doing through my YouTube channel and the challenges I was facing just very briefly. And then I related it to his experience because he taught my brother a class in entrepreneurship he taught at my high school for a little bit. So I learned about all the great things that my brother said about him. And I was like, this is how I see your expertise helping me in areas where I have blind spots. And I just asked if he was willing to meet me at Panera for one meeting, OK? And I did allude to the fact like, oh, I would love for you to be my mentor, but I don't think it's realistic to expect someone to make a commitment to meeting with you. So I was like, let's just meet up once, right? And see how this goes. We had a great conversation. And after I was like, what is a meeting cadence that works for you? Like maybe every six weeks, because I was trying to be really respectful of his time. I didn't want to be like, do you want to meet every week? Because yeah, I just wanted to see how invested he was. And he was like, actually, like, I think you have so much going for you that we should meet once per month. We should meet more frequently. So that was nice to kind of just see where his vibe was. Your mentor is not really gaining anything economically from mentoring you. But what they are gaining is fulfillment and feeling like they're helping youth. In order for them to feel that fulfillment, you have to show up responsibly. You have to actually value their time. If you're being a poor mentee, your mentor is not going to feel fulfilled. So that leads me to my next point on how to actually be a good mentee. Make the meeting with you as easy for them as possible. Offering to buy their coffee if they're meeting you for a cup of coffee. And also in terms of scheduling, don't ask a mentor to send you a list of times they're available. You send them a list of times you're available because then they can just cross reference their calendar instead of being like, oh my gosh, I have to send this like a list of times. I think something I really value that I've learned from the Chinese culture is that there's very much of a hierarchy in terms of age. When there is an elder, it's really important to treat them with like utmost respect. With someone that's like a counselor, like a big sister or big brother to you, I think it's OK to expect and appreciate unconditional love and showing up a little messy sometimes. But if someone's my business mentor, I'm assuming they love me conditionally. Next, I want to touch on productivity. I've made so many productivity specific videos, so I'm not going to like give you guys like Pomodoro like tips or whatever. I'm going to talk about accountability because this is freaking changing my life. For the last year and a half, I have been studying with my friends on Zoom, like 5 a.m. study sessions because I literally need someone to keep me accountable. I need someone to be disappointed in me if I do not show up to my goals. And recently I have taken this an extra step. I actually hired an accountability coach because I was like senior year is going to be intense. I do not need an accountability coach to do the bare minimum, like turn in my school assignments, OK? I can do that. I promise. But it's just like I was really having trouble staying accountable with content creation because there is no real punishment necessarily if I don't post consistently on YouTube. But I just wouldn't be showing up for myself. So it's been so helpful having an accountability coach. I do it through commit action. I'm not necessarily like recommending that you guys get an accountability coach, but I think especially if you have a business that is running, it's so worth it. Oh, I cannot even over exaggerate the importance of your mindset. I need to make a whole separate video on this because I have so much to say. But something that has helped me tremendously is viewing everything as something that serves me. Low-key lucky girl syndrome. For instance, I got the opportunity to move out to L.A. for 10 weeks this summer and my parents wouldn't let me take it. And it crushed me. It made me sad. But although I was still emotionally grieving this opportunity, here's what I did. I started making an action plan and I started coming up with reasons of why staying in Boston was actually good. And I started reaching out to people in Boston and planning fun things for the summer and truly just believing that there was a reason why my parents said no and why I wouldn't be in L.A. for 10 weeks. Now in hindsight, I honestly do think everything has happened for a reason. I've been listening to Madison Beer's audiobook and just hearing of all the dark sides of L.A. I don't think I was ready to be and like live alone in L.A. as a 16-year-old. Okay, next mindset shift is we need to stop demonizing successful people or comparing ourselves to other successful women in a negative way. I'm not joking when I said that. Like there used to be a lot of influencers that I had to have on mute because I would find myself comparing myself to them whether it was like the amount of views they got or what they looked like, their achievements. And it's literally crazy. Now like I have unmuted them. I love watching their content. I just feel so positive when I watch it. So a lot of the times it's not even the content that's being posted that is, you know, making us compare ourselves. But it's just like if we already feel insecure, then content of people thriving is only going to just push that insecurity out of us. I think it's really important for influencers to be authentic online, but also you don't owe anyone your crying pics. I just envision a future for myself where I'm surrounded by many smart and beautiful girls. So it's like I'm not going to feel threatened by you. I'm just going to feel excited to build a friendship and to learn from you. Yeah, comparison is literally the thief of joy. I know what it's like to go through jealousy and to just operate like that. But this video is going on for way too long. If you guys want to hear more content similar to this, make sure that you join the Spark Tank Discord community and check out the registration for the live event in the description. I can't wait to talk to you guys more about entrepreneurship, frameworks for success. Yeah, all my socials are in the description. I love talking about this type of stuff, but I hope this video was helpful and I'll see you guys in the next one.