The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now

by Meg Jay

Your twenties matter. Eighty percent of life’s most defining moments take place by age thirty-five. Your earning power is decided in your first ten years of work.

Meanwhile, your twenties are the most uncertain years you will ever know.

“There is a big difference between having a life in your thirties and starting a life in your thirties.”

Our twenties are when we have to start creating our own syllabus, our own plan about how the years ahead will unfold.

If you are paying attention to your life as a twentysomething, the real glory days are still to come.

The future isn’t written in the stars. There are no guarantees. So claim your adulthood. Be intentional. Get to work. Pick your family. Do the math. Make your own certainty. Don’t be defined by what you didn’t know or didn’t do. You are deciding your life right now.