Early

The first book I read (voluntarily) was, at the age of 16, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Bible of Bodybuilding. It taught me so much about fitness, which I've been able to put to work for the last few decades (gulp). If I had read that book later on in life, I'd be decades behind in my fitness.

I read Rich Dad Poor Dad when I was in college. While it didn't turn me into a rabid real estate investor, it fired me to no end to build/buy assets that could someday make me money. I invested every dollar I could. I built every side project. Most failed. But I learned countless lessons, and those lessons and those dollars were able to grow and compound for decades.

This whole "decades" thing is bumming me out. But here's one more.

I read Tim Ferriss' 4-Hour Work Week when I was 26 in 2007. It made me realize there's a future career where I could work from anywhere in the world - without the need for long commutes or mandatory office attendance. I started working remotely (for a US company) while living in Europe in 2011. Most of my career since then has allowed me to work from anywhere in the world.

My point isn't that you should read books. Even though you probably should.

But knowledge is more valuable when you acquire it earlier in life.

Knowledge, like money invested, grows in value with each day, week, month, or year you still have to put it to work.

So start now. Read, learn, build, stumble, try to get better at something, fail, start over. Learn more. Watch, read, ask.

Because it's still early.