When you're young you are told "the world is your oyster" and opportunities seem endless. But as we grow older there is more pressure to decide what to do with your life and determine your path. What an extremely hard thing to figure out. You know what your interests are but when you read about a job related to those interests you may feel as if you won't enjoy it.
Even young people who have a plan (to be a doctor or lawyer) don't really know what will happen. Life doesn't always go according to plan, and while a few people might actually do what they set out to do, you never know if you will be one of them. Other things come along to change you, your opportunities and your world. So if you can't figure out the future, what do you do? Don't focus on the future. Focus on what you can do right now that will be good no matter what the future brings. Make stuff, learn new skills, go on an adventure, make new friends... these things will help in any future.
One of the most important skills you have develop is being okay with discomfort and uncertainty. The best things in life are hard, and if you shy away from difficulty, you'll miss out. If you can be accustomed to a little discomfort, you can do anything. How do you get good at this? Do things now that are uncomfortable and hard, on purpose. When you find yourself avoiding discomfort, push yourself a little bit more.
All of this information is useless if you can't overcome the universal problems of distraction and procrastination. You might seize and opportunity, but then not make the most of it because you are distracted. Actually, distraction and procrastination are just ways of avoiding discomfort.
Most people don't realize that fear controls them. It's hard to change your mental habits if you don't always see what's going on in your head. Learn about how the mind works, and you'll be much better at all of this.
Making money can be difficult. You have to make someone believe in you enough to hire you or buy your product. Which means you have to figure out why you are worthy of someone believing in you. And you have to learn to communicate that to people so they will actually want to hire you.
When someone hires someone that is unfamiliar to them, their biggest fear is that the person is not trustworthy. They'll come in late, and miss deadlines. Someone who has established a reputation might be much more trusted and more likely to be hired. Learn to be trustworthy by showing up on time, doing your best and being honest. If you do that, you'll build a reputation and people will recommend you to others.
When opportunities come your way, have your eyes open. It's a chance to build something with someone, an idea to start up something new or a new skill to learn and turn into a business.
The idea behind all of this is you might not know what you are doing with your life because you may not know what you'll be passionate about, who you'll meet or what opportunities will come up. But know this... if you are prepared, you can do anything you want.