My 1 Month Reflection on College...

In partnership with

It’s Thursday, October 10th, 2024.

Almost a month and a half since I started college at The University of Illinois.

I’m writing this in my dorm room and my roommate is still asleep, so I’m going to try and type quietly.

Shhhh 🤫

But first, a quick word from this week’s sponsor:

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

• We scour 100+ sources daily

• Read by CEOs, scientists, business owners and more

• 3.5 million subscribers

Sign up today!

Ok. So how’s college been so far?

If I’m being honest, at first, I was skeptical. As many of you know, I went back and forth on whether going to college was worth the investment.

When I got here, it seemed like the top things on most people’s minds were drinking, partying, and hooking up. Nothing inherently wrong with those things, just not things I want to partake in at this phase of my life.

Let me tell you: Being sober at a party full of drunk people is a life-changing experience. It’s like seeing the Matrix.

Interesting to experience once or twice — but I knew I needed to find more like-minded people in other places.

I’m a simple guy. I like to read. I like to write. I like to stay active. And I like to work on my business.

So naturally, I started to hang out in places where those activities were normal. I went to the gym, I played pickup basketball, I went to a few startup/business clubs, I joined a run club, and I connected with some of the student content creators on campus.

For those who may feel slightly different from those around them:

“Living it up” doesn’t have to mean drinking, partying, and getting high.

“Living it up” can mean going to the gym, reading a good book, having a deep conversation, taking a walk, or getting lost in your work.

Don’t feel guilty because you have a different definition of “fun”.

Alright. Classes. How are the classes?

I’m a business major, so freshman year classes are a breeze. We spent a full 2-hour class on the ethics of business. Let me summarize it for you:

1. Don’t steal

2. Don’t cheat

3. Don’t lie

4. Don’t break your contract

I know, ground-breaking stuff. Being a business major was intentional though, as my main goal in college is to meet cool people around my age and still work on my business.

If anything, college has taught me how to be more efficient with how I invest my time. With classes, and clubs, and going to the gym, and client calls, and doing my laundry (lol), and creating content, and writing this newsletter… it’s easy to feel pulled in a million directions.

I think it’s awesome. Pressure is a privilege. I may not be taking hard classes, but I’m sure learning a lot about business, productivity, decision-making, and honestly… growing up.

What else? Oh, yeah. On the business side things have never been better.

I’m still running a boutique content agency for established entrepreneurs. I love the work. I love my clients. And I’m learning a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, I still occasionally feel impatient or restless. When I log onto social media and see other people crushing goals and hitting milestones, it sometimes gets to me. I’m human.

But I’m excited to continue carving my own path. I’m in this game for the long haul. A few things in the works:

1. Lead magnets. Creating free offers to incentivize people to sign up for this incredible email newsletter :)

2. Low-ticket offers. Not everyone can afford my done-for-you (DFY) service work, but I’d still like to help as many people as I can. So I’m creating some info products for those at the start of their journey.

3. Stick to my zone of genius. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from Noah Kagan is the power of focus. He’s hired an incredible team around him so he can stick to what he does best: Starting businesses and crafting the vision.

   If I look back at the activities that gives me the most energy, it’s researching, writing, and building products. So I’m working on building a team that will help me with everything else. (scheduling my tweets, tracking KPIs, repurposing my content, designing stuff, and managing my project management workspace). But more on this in a future newsletter.

4. Stay focused. There are a million things I could be doing. I could publish on LinkedIn. I could start making YouTube videos. I could offer adjacent services to my current clients. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past 3 years of my online business journey, it’s that grand plans rarely ever pan out. It’s far better to take it one step at a time, and focus on the number one priority RIGHT NOW.

This reflection is getting a little long, and I think I hear my roommate waking up. So let me wrap it up with this last point.

I spent a lot of time demonizing college.

It’s a waste of money. They’re brainwashing you to be wage monkeys. It doesn’t prepare you for the real world. Blah blah blah.

The truth?

College is what you make it.

If you want to spend your time going out and getting drunk… you can do that.

If you want to spend your time studying in the library and applying for internships… you can do that.

If you want to take easy classes and work on your business with your ample free time… you can do that.

For me, whether I’m in college or not, I know that I want to do these things:

• 4+ hours of deep work (writing, building, client work)

• Gym time

• Fun activities like basketball and hanging out with friends

• Reading/learning/following rabbit holes of my curiosity

If I can do those things on a daily basis, then does it matter if I’m in college or Austin or somewhere abroad?

See you next Sunday,

Jay “College Kid” Yang

Ps — One of the low-ticket offers I’m about to launch soon is The Viral Template Vault. It’s basically the exact content templates I use for both myself and my clients.

I’ve spent the last 3+ years curating and creating it. I wasn’t planning on ever releasing it publicly, but had a few people ask me to share it and figured why not.

Click here to register your interest.

Top Tweets of The Week

A great way to start writing online.

I’m a sucker for a good life advice thread.

Amen.

Different strokes for different folks. But I agree with Kieran, once you get a taste of that digital freedom, it’s hard to go back.

Everything looks saturated from the outside. Be better.

By the way, I’m curious, are you liking the “Top Tweets of The Week” section?

Forwarded this email? Sign up here
Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn