Introduction: What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20
By Tina Seelig

Imagine being handed a blank passport at twenty, no rules, just endless visas waiting to be stamped by bold choices. That’s the promise—and the reality—Tina Seelig delivers in What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20. This book isn’t a list of “shoulds” or a sermon on success. It’s a map for turning constraints into creativity, problems into possibility, and confusion into confident action.

Seelig, a Stanford professor and serial innovator, draws from the classroom, the boardroom, and real-life experiments to challenge the way young people see the world—and themselves. She reveals that success isn’t handed to the smartest or the richest, but to those who reframe problems, step into ambiguity, and create opportunity where others see limitation.

This book is an invitation to stop waiting for permission. To stop believing there’s a set path to greatness. And to realize that your twenties aren’t a waiting room for “real life”—they are your real life. Full of case studies, bold reframes, and practical provocations, Seelig gives you the entrepreneurial mindset you need to make your own rules and leave your mark.

It’s not about having all the answers.
It’s about knowing how to ask the right questions.