How I Would Start My Life if I Were 18 Now
Published November 04, 2024 · 12:44 · 120,418 views
About This Video
Van started out in 1998, moved from Virginia to Brooklyn at 23 to pursue a career as a magazine writer. The thought experiment: what if he were starting at 18 now, in 2024, with his 49-year-old brain but his 18-year-old body? He does not know how to edit, use cameras, ride a shifter motorcycle, or build things. Starting from scratch on skills. But he has the wisdom.
Five things. First: do not go to college. Get a job, live with Dad in Waterford, Connecticut, save $15,000, then get out. Find a contractor, learn to build. The unconventional path that actually produced his life. HBO series, Guggenheim exhibitions, Tom Sachs collaborations, an independent YouTube channel at 50. That is the evidence. The tolerance for uncertainty most 18-year-olds have not developed is the price of admission.
Transcript
undefined undefined this episode is about starting out on our life's adventure and thank you betterhelp for sponsoring this episode
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help I started out in 1998 after college I moved from Virginia
to Brooklyn and pursued a career as a magazine writer I was
23 but what if I was starting out now in 2024 at 18 I have the wisdom of my undefined undefined
49-year-old brain but I have the bodily knowledge of my 18-year-old self so in
other words the things I've learned how to do with my body between the ages of 18 and now I don't know how to do in
this alternative 18-year-old van Universe which means I don't know how to edit I don't know how to use cameras I
don't know how to write well I don't know how to ride a shifter motorcycle even I know how to drive stick I don't
know how to build things or use power tools I'm starting from scratch with my
skills acquisition but I have the wisdom I have now I know how difficult and
important it is to make money and what it takes to make money I know the key to
my freedom and options is tied to my ability to make money and in this alternate universe where I'm 18 years
old in 2024 I know the importance of the experiences the profound experiences
that this 49-year-old brain has had here's the five things I'd do if I was
18 now first thing I'm going to do I ain't going to college I'm going to get a job I'm living with my dad and his undefined undefined
wife in Waterford Connecticut I'm going to give myself about a year to save up
$115,000 then I'm getting the hell out of my dad's house I'm going to get a job working for a contractor a good
contractor who makes a good living renovating houses and I'm going to aggressively learn every skill I can
learn as many tools as I can I will not screw up the easy stuff I'll be Mr reliability Mr punctuality Mr enthusiasm
Mr positivity maybe I'll luck out and I'll get to work on a crew and then Tucket and make really good money but in
any event I'll work myself to the Bone saving up that 15 grand in a year
utility truck utility truck all right there's a service utility truck with the headlights on that
Chevy second move now it's going to start to get a little scary and risky I take most of my undefined undefined
15K it's now about a year later and buy a utility truck also called a service truck and you've seen these trucks all
over the place a service truck or a utility trucks basically a modified pickup truck with a special bed that has
tool boxes integrated into it they're usually white these utility trucks and you see them everywhere especially in nice neighborhoods where people are
having work done on their houses it's like the pros kind of truck hey that GMC right there that's a perfect one
who probably early to mid90s I'm choosing the utility truck I end up with
based on budget reliability and soul I want want it to like look cool here's
one I found in Georgia 6,000 bucks he wants for it and I'm going to love my utility truck going to tweak it and
customize it during my free time but I'm not going to dump too much money into it because I got to hold on to What's Left of my 15K I'm gradually going to fill my
truck up with the tools I need to start some kind of carpentry business third undefined undefined
move I've got a truck and some tools I've got about a year years worth of carpentry knowledge and I know that's not much I know it takes like 10 years
to become a decent Carpenter I know let's say I've got about $35,000 left over after I buy the truck
third move this is the scariest and most radical part this is the belly of the whale this is where I feel like I'm going to die and I am going to die in a
way the old Towny van neistat Conneticut van neistat will die and the new
independent van neistat will be born I'm going to get the hell out of my dad's house I'm going to get the hell out of my town I'm going to get the hell out of
my state I'm not moving to New York I'm not moving to LA because they're too expensive I'm going to move to a college
town somewhere relatively warm warm relative to Connecticut I'm thinking and
I've only been there once in my actual life my actual 49y old life Athens
Georgia home of the University of Georgia I remember Athens Georgia was a
beautiful place and one of my favorite bands um REM was from Athens
Georgia College towns have an unusual sort of economy a lot of college kids
though they're broken College are from relatively Rich families some of the professors are well off there's lots of
businesses in college towns that cater to the college kids so there's a big Market there's a big economy in in these
especially big division one college towns and the sororities and the fraternities tend to have money and the
sororities and fraternities need to have stuff build and made also colleges in 2024 are mostly women and in this
scenario I'm 19 or 20 years old and single and on the outskirts of college
towns you can usually find relatively cheap places to live that cater to the poorer college kids or the non- college
kids because everybody in a college town wants to live in the cool houses near school near campus so third move I move
to a college town maybe Athens Georgia on my way to Athens or maybe it's out of
my way I go to chasten handp painted he's somewhere in Georgia
and I get the most beautiful hand painted sign painted on the doors of my truck whatever the name of my business
is and then in parentheses detail oriented and then my phone number
beautiful handp painted doors and this is for my inspiration this is my Dumbo's feather fourth move I build my business undefined undefined
and I think my specialty is going to be I think I'm going to be a shelf guy I think I'm going to just build custom
shelves I might even call the business just shelves that might be what it says on the side of the truck I'm going to be
super reliable I'm going to have a contract that my client doesn't need to sign but it'll lay out exactly what he or she can expect from me I'm going to
charge in the beginning 50 bucks an hour little expensive but I'll be fast and reliable and I'm going to go wherever
this takes me this job takes me um maybe it's not just shelves I'm going to chase down every opportunity maybe it morphs
into something else entirely I take lots of photos I have a great Instagram page I meet tons of people tons of people my
age I'm living in a college town I have some kind of uniform for myself and then for any employees I might hire I start
making a good living likely this will take 7 to 10 years from when I started I
don't drink I don't do drugs I'm not even 30 yet but I'm trying to make a business like the got Junk guy or the
pinks Window Washers people but it's the like just shelves business I'm going to mark it to the sorority girls so they
all have tons of the little shelves for all their makeup and so forth and it won't be that expensive for them but it'll keep me it'll keep me busy it'll keep me booked undefined undefined
move five move five is called buying the magic beans my favorite thing that my brother
Casey ever made was the intro to the niep brothers HBO series uh in episode
one in Jack and the bean stock Jack and his mom own a cow it was a nice cow but it was all
they had when Jack was out to sell their cow instead of selling it for gold he sells it for a handful of
beans beans that were supposed to be magical for me that's where the story
ends yes Jack eventually grows a bean stock and he robs the giant gives all the stolen gold to his mom then he
murders the giant with his [Music] axe the point is he didn't trade the cow for money or a sure thing he traded the cow for a chance at something great and
buying the magic beans is like making that irrational decision that comes from
your gut and ends up steering your life on an unimaginable course and for me in
my actual 49-year life my magic beans was buying a video camera and an iMac
back in 2000 with all of the money I had and some of the money I didn't have nobody
was making digital videos in 2000 almost nobody I wouldn't start out now to make digital videos because everybody's doing
it and there's something out there now that almost nobody's doing and I'd be prepared if I was starting out now at 18
with the wisdom I have now at 49 I'd be prepared to discover my magic
beans and the big picture is I would set out to live a life where in the things
that are to come are too fantastic not to tell somewhere along the line I know
there will be girls Visions everything somewhere along the line the Pearl would
be handed to me on this week's patreon only video I'm undefined undefined
going to make one of these beautiful tables out of one of these ugly tables using a beautiful sheet of quarter inch plywood
Products & Tools Mentioned
- BetterHelp essential — sponsor
- iMac essential — bought in 2000 with all his money, 'magic beans'
People Referenced
Casey Neistat, REM
Films & Media Referenced
- HBO series, episode one intro referenced