Thanks for the advice, Brewer12345, and everyone else. I hope you've been well. The grindstone and wise investments got me to where I wanted to be financially a few months ago.
A few ideas that I found helpful along the way:
1) Listen, listen, listen. You can gain from others' thoughts, whether they're right or wrong.
2) Take calculated risks.
3) Accept advice gratefully, but make your own decisions.
4) You win some. You lose some. Sometimes life just sucks. Just make sure you don't lose everything.
5) Just because you mess up doesn't mean you're a 'bad' person. You're going to be judged a lot. Don't let it get to you. Keep on keeping on.
6) Maintain friendships. I've tried to be a good friend as much as possible, and it's paid back in spades.
I still have a long way to go intellectually, but now that I'm where I am financially, I'm starting to think about next steps. Maybe there's some way I can use that Biden infrastructure money to create a win-win-win situation.
