It's birthday. There was never rituals for that in the past. I'm slowly inventing more rituals ever since my folks left. This could be one.

In normal days I take pain to avoid giving unsolicited advice, so instead I'll travel back in time and give younger me's some tips they didn't ask for.

Do bizdev/sales but keep it short

Client-management doesn't suit you but you don't know it yet. Do just enough of it to know your limit, and then go back to engineering. Quit by the end of year-one if you can help it.

The idea is to be world-class at what you do. For that to happen you have to enjoy it. You don't enjoy laughing at unfunny jokes, so leave it for people who do. If you work really hard at it, at best you can be a middle brow average bizdev person.

Buy Bitcoin, not houses

It's not about going for the moon. The nitty gritty of managing property is not the same as managing Ubuntu clusters.

The property game is meant for non-abstract thinkers who draw gratification from seeing beautiful window drapes. You deal with abstractions, take advantage of that.

Get your feet wet with some Bitcoin around 2010. Make it substantial enough to get your attention, but not enough that you can't recover from it. You'll know exactly what to do after that.

Leave Sherry early

This woman is radioactive. You stand to lose half a tooth, a broken elbow and slicing up your friend's lip in half; all because your mind was clouded by her toxicity.

You need to learn about narcissists, it's a special breed. They don't care about you, narcissists are incapable of it. The longer you stick the further Stockholm Syndrome sets in.

Leave her by the end of year-one. I'm giving you the permission to.

Read The Prince earlier

Get hold of Machiavelli's The Prince, you're going to need it before secondary school ends.

Why? Because you're a wimp, that's why. You need mental models of how the world operates in order avoid being a doormat.

There will come a time when a stranger offers to tell you your fortune. You will end up giving him money even when you don't want to, but you're too much of a nice guy to say no. You will turn into a brooding kid afterward because you have to carry this shame.

The Prince teaches you the dark brutality of the world and how to play them. Don't worry about this turning you evil, there's too much wimp in you for that to happen.

While you're at it, get in touch with a man called Robert Greene. Convince him to write and publish 48 Laws of Power earlier. That book could've save you from making so many mistakes with people.