What do you recommend I should invest my time and knowledge into at 18, that will impact my future for the better?

What's your end goal? Do you want to be a great employee? Or a business owner? What kind of a business owner--hands on, or Olympian?

Big differences.

Specialized skills are what's necessary for being a great employee or hands-on business owner.

If you want to be a leading, delegating, deal-making business owner, then you need a different skill set.

In either case, simply knowing what you want and being able to articulate it will put you ahead of 99% of the pack.

Most people have no idea what they want and drift from thing to thing...their next job is similar to their last, or the first one that was offered to them...

You can literally shave years off your career path by being ultra-clear on your target and going straight for it.

I've had employers create custom roles for me four times. Each one knocked several years off my career path. It's why I was a production manager with six supervisors and over 150 floor employees reporting to me at 26. I created that job, by sending the employer a package detailing my plan and requirements.

Want to partner with the best to learn specialized skills? Sell them on the idea of why they need to hire YOU and only you.

Want to learn the art of deal making, delegating and other soft skills? Sell the right kind of business owner on why they need to hire YOU and only you as their assistant.

Get IN.

Once you're IN, you will get a completely different view of the world. For example, I worked for a national electrical wholesaler for four years. A guy was an accounting clerk when I started, and after awhile he got promoted to assistant to the GM for an area with 11 branches.

That guy instantly got access to all the high level data and IN on the decision making at that level. He got to see the issues, information, solutions, and people who played at that level.

Near the end of my time there I did a stock tracking project and worked with him. On my first day, I was shocked to see all this data. I was suddenly IN. Nobody else in my department got to see this data. And it was "no big thang" for these head office guys; they worked at this level every day.

Set your target and get IN. I bet you cut 10 years off your learning curve by doing so.

The first questions you need to ask yourself are:

1- What do I truly want?
2 - What does that look like?
3 - What about this is important to you?

Once you have a clearer understanding of what you truly want, then you can work your way backwards to see where you should invest your time. You mentioned looking into business principles. When you think of business, what aspect of it excites you?

i could give long answers. But in short :
Try new things.
Take a lot of risks.
Read a lot of books.
Find "you" and be "you'.

For the past years I have teenagers doing what the think is best for without an adult consultation. Firstly I'd say know what you want, seek advice from an adult, strike your goals and become what you want , the key to success is consistency and perseverance. Invest your time and knowledge wisely, and you'll be well on your way to a bright future.

I would work as someone's assistant. Someone you think you could learn a lot from, and someone who is very demanding. Even if it's an internship, you will learn a lot.

I think that's better than a sales job, because you need to learn how to deliver under pressure, how to be a leader, and how to be better at almost everything.

Learn how to code and do design - its forever relevant . Even a 50 dollar udemy course would do the trick, then do as many internships as you can starting now to figure out what you hate doing -- the faster you figure out what you don't like the faster you'll figure out what you like!

Having a passion for what you are doing is the best thing to have. I help people create their purpose in working in their passion. When these two things come together you will really enjoy what you are doing and also see the different possibilities that are out there for you to make. I recommend that everyone have a job in the service industry. I feel the restaurant industry helps people learn customer service and sales really well. Love to speak with you what area you may want to get started in. Shawn Huber

Find a mentor who you can look up to and learn from. This may sound like a cliche but it's true – hang out with folks who in your opinion are successful, rather in life or in business. Get to know them and pick up their habits. Always go out and network – it's not what you know, it's who you know that will accelerate your career.

Lastly, go learn some basic programming skill.

This video may answer some of your questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKc7kMczCg

Patience and persistence are important, and it is important to gain knowledge and skills in a specific field.
At the same time, you want to look at who you are. Whether you are going to become an entrepreneur or work in business or industry, you will want to consider basic personal skills. These include your emotional intelligence, physical presence and ability to build trust. These skills help you connect with other people, and it is these connections that help you to be successful in any field you enter.
Each of us may believe we are strong enough in one or more of those categories, but additional study can be very valuable. Learn what makes up emotional intelligence, what leadership or personal presence entails and how you build trust. As you have different experiences in whatever field you choose, continue to monitor and improve these skills.
Get objective viewpoints and feedback so you know where to begin and where you want to go. Working with a mentor or coach can be very valuable for you.
Good luck.

Talk to people, like you're doing here by posting this question :) Nice job putting yourself out there and taking the first step! In addition to talking to people, read about the experiences of other people who have successfully done what you think it is you'd like to do.

Think about your passions and don't be afraid to follow them. However if you do, make sure you can build a viable business around them first, before throwing your valuable time and your or other peoples' resources at them. Do this by validating your business ideas as you dream them up.

Understand that it's possible to make a living and be happy doing it. I'm just learning this at age 42 and kind of wish I learned it sooner :)

Find a supportive mentor or group of mentors. Find people who are supportive, yet will still challenge you. While you want people who will support you, you don't want people cheering you on as your continue to run full speed off a cliff ;) These people may be your family, they may not be your family, be open to both options.

Keep an open mind. Don't be afraid to fail, learn and start again. At the same time, understand that success is possible. Surround yourself with people who think this way too.

Give as well as take. Help people that you can help along the way, without expecting anything in return.

Time is your friend and at 18 you have a lot of it ahead of you. Use it well and best of luck to you on the journey!

Have no idea? No problem, spend 2 to 3 hours a day and subscribe to podcasts of "wild" thinkers such as: Tim Ferris, a16z, the startup chat, art of charm. Listen to them for a week you will have a clearer vision or idea of what the next step should be. On contrary to all belief do not rush yourself, have more fun and party more you are only 18 once ;)
Work can always wait...

socially , male many friends,,, learn from people from different opinion.

psychologically, learn to be tough in hardship

physically, learn to be strong, try not to believe in pharmacist or md, learn more about natural healing

side effects of benzo, thalamide

financially, have a plan and focus on your own study, trust yourself, bankers, and investment counselors have their own bias.

volunteer with msf.ca
or become a inventor
it all depends on u

I would tell my 18-year-old self to spend more time identifying what I enjoy doing. In your case, I suggest you do the same. Identify what make you feel fulfilled? Then answer the questions, how does it align with what you would like to do or how you see yourself 2 years, 5 years or 10 years from now?

Don't get caught up doing what everyone else is doing, instead spend time exploring your different interests, dream BIG and don't limit yourself.

Invest in two things: building skills and learn by doing. How you acquire skills depends in part on what type of learner you are (look up the 4 types online). Play to your learning style and learn. President Lincoln perhaps gave the best advice to someone who asked him how to become an expert in the law. Lincoln said "The answer is simple, but it requires work. Read, read, and read." The same applies to your situation: learn, learn, learn whichever way best suits you. Then put down the books, videos, classes and DO SOMETHING, TRY SOMETHING. By 16 I owned my first company, nothing big - an antique restoration business - but I learned about marketing, selling, assessing customer needs, negotiating, being organized, being focused, and working diligently. At 18, you do not have to invent the next Google, you need to be in business, learn to think like a business person, learn to make decisions like a business person. Good luck!

I was born into and raised by a nepotistic, privileged, royal, dynastic, private, secret, familial, society, founded in 1066. It guaranteed a great job for life, with a great pension on one's retirement, and I became chief instructor on attaining age 50.

And what was it I knew that everybody else wanted to know? How to become a millionaire? Nope! How to make everyone love me and make me their leader? Nope! How to make ladies throw themselves at my feet and want to have my babies? Nope!

How did I survive as long as I had? Yep! You've got it! You have to survive the slings and arrows of outrageous fate / fortune / destiny / whatever to even arrive at the age I had attained.

You are intelligent. You know what I have just said is right. You've had days when you've been so miserable you've stopped caring whether you are live or dead. When you'd rather be dead than the way you've been feeling. When you've walked absent mindedly across a road or a railway without checking first to the left and the right if a vehicle isn't charging towards you. When you've gone swimming in a river fully clothed because you've had too much to drink.

You have to find a way of guaranteeing your survival 'for the long run' because qualities of patience, persistence, business acumen, and positive outcomes mean nothing when the chips are down.

A quarter of the people on earth are mentally ill at any one time. That's a metaphor for 'feeling suicidal'. There is such a massive stigma against the word suicide that nobody will use it to describe how they feel.

So what you need to know before you start looking for that Midas touch to revolve a business around is how to keep yourself away from feeling suicidal, from churning thoughts that'll throw you in front of a bus from sleep deprivation.

Check this URL out http://bit.ly/2au1qS5 - if it works pump up the volume with this one http://bit.ly/1p7Tcl2 - you'll be glad you did.

Straddling the confusing cleft between youth and childhood, the age marks an overnight Ascent to Adulthood. So, you decide to chill, putting off financial queries and worries till another day in employee paradise. It is the management that separates the rich from poor, the adults from youth.
This is the most critical money management skill for later life and will help you if you are leaving house to pursue higher studies, be it in India or abroad. It is just a record of incoming and outgoing money and the amount saved. Rs 3,000 a month and have fixed expenses like travel, food and entertainment.
Budgeting is a simple exercise. Take a diary, use an Excel sheet or a budgeting app on your mobile phone, and keep a record of the money you have at the beginning of the month, the heads under which you spend, and how much you are left with at the end of the month. If you feel you are spending too much under one head, you can make the necessary adjustments in the next month.
Find out how much it costs and how much you will have to save every month, and you can calculate the time in which you can purchase it. Alternatively, you can fix the tenure and find out how much you need to save every month. Instead of keeping the money at home or in the bank, opt for a simple instrument like a recurring deposit to make your money grow and it will take less time to buy it.
If you do not know about inflation, you will not understand that the money you save for a goal 20 years away may not be enough by the time you reach it. This is because inflation reduces the value of money and you can buy much less with the same amount. Rs 1 lakh today. Similarly, you will delude yourself into believing that you have a high earning or profits if you are not clear how taxation can eat into these.
Read articles on personal finance, research online, watch TV programmes, attend workshops or seminars. Learn how not to lose money, instead of making it grow. If you do have a regular source of money like monthly allowance or earnings through freelancing, start with simple investments.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath

At 18, you are just about beginning to understand how the world really works/operates. At this time, focus should be to learn whatever you find yourself doing. Every single experience, good or bad, will help you grow up.

At 13, my father suggested I learn typing. Computers were not prevalent at that time. I did it because he suggested and the typewriter training school was not too far from where we lived. A few years on, it has helped me in my software career. Small thing but trust me, I have seen folks struggle with typing !!

With so many things evolving around you, keeping an open mind, avoiding distractions (social media, TVs, addictions to name a few), and avoiding judging (it narrows your world view) are very important. We do not realize how the minutes spent on social media add up to hours, days and even months if not years. Stay very aware of this slippery slope.

There is going to be a high churn in your thought process; you may want do one thing now and then realize there is something else that interests you. It is very natural and necessary as well.

Continuing to strengthen your learning mindset, which is what schooling may have helped you develop is going to be the key to your continued success.

I am happy to discuss further with you; feel free to reach out. Good luck.

PS - No one can assure the outcome; so to have patience and persistence in fair weather only is detrimental.

Learn about AI and GEN AI

how to use it ? gain from it

Plan a routine for yourself

Learn Python programming language coding you shape your way of see things and mindset

At 18, invest your time in developing key skills like communication and problem-solving. Focus on areas you’re passionate about, seek continuous learning opportunities, and network with diverse individuals. Finding mentors can also provide valuable guidance. These steps will greatly impact your future success.

Formal education makes you living. Self-education makes you fortune.
Try to work on your self-awareness, self-image, self-love, self-respect.
Self awareness means everything that which describes with "My..." comes with expiry date.
My body, intelligence, mind.
My roles, relationships & resources,
My attitude, skills & knowledge.
And that which describes with "I...." is eternal.
Success is ability of human being to build capabilities to monetize unique gifts given by creator, family, parents and your life experience.
Creator's creation is so perfect, there isn't even 10% of our version exists anywhere. Each one us is unique so we shouldn't waste our time in copying, comparing and competing with others.

10 years ago, you asked one of the most important questions anyone can ask:
What should I invest my time and knowledge into at 18?

Here’s my answer — and a question back to you:
Did you end up doing what you loved?
And if not — do you still carry the same question today?

What I Think You Deserved to Hear Then
You already had two rare things at 18:
✅ Patience
✅ Persistence
What you were missing — and what most answers didn’t help you find — was clarity around what makes you feel alive.
So let me say it simply:
👉 Do what you love.
👉 But make sure it can feed you, grow you, and challenge you.
Don’t just “join a sales job” unless it’s teaching you something that matters.
Don't chase business for the sake of being in business.
Chase something that lights a fire — then build the business around that.

🔍 What the Other Answers Missed
Most replies gave reasonable advice:
✅ Learn to code
✅ Get a mentor
✅ Try internships
✅ Improve emotional intelligence
✅ Understand money, failure, and success
❌ But very few talked about love or passion.
❌ Most answers skipped the why — they focused on what to do, not who to become.
And that's dangerous. Because if you build a business (or a life) without a sense of purpose, you’ll wake up successful — and miserable.
📩 So Here’s What I’d Love to Know:
You wrote that post a decade ago. If you’re reading this now:
✅ What did you end up doing?
✅ Do you still wonder what to build your future around?
✅ And most importantly… did you find what you love?

🧭 Final Word
If you’re still on that journey, you're not alone. It’s never too late to realign.
Schedule a call if you want help finding the through-line between what you’ve lived… and what you’re meant to build next.