Are the 20s your 'defining decade?'

'The Defining Decade' by Meg Jay
'The Defining Decade' by Meg Jay
Book cover courtesy of publisher

Meg Jay turns the notion "30s are the new 20s" on its head when she says your twenties are critical to defining your future. In her new book, "The Defining Decade," she uses case studies of her clients and draws upon the latest science and economics to explain why the 20s are one's defining decade.

"We know that 80 percent of life's most defining moments happen by age 35," Jay said on NPR. "We know that 70 percent of lifetime wage growth happens in the first 10 years of a career. We know that more than half of Americans are married or living with or dating their future partner by 30. Our personalities change more in our 20s than any other time. Our fertility peaks. Our brain caps off its last growth spurts ... The things that we do and the things that we don't do are going to have an enormous effect across years and even generations."

Jay joined The Daily Circuit to give advice to those in their 20s and assure those of us past 29 that we are not out of luck.

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