Advice to My Younger Self

What more than 100 people wish they knew earlier.

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Karsten Anderson

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The question

“What is a piece of advice you would give to your younger self?”

I asked every client that question on the river. Over years of guided fly fishing trips, more than a hundred people answered honestly, often more honestly than they intended to.

This book is the memoir and journal of those conversations: the water, the waiting, and the advice people carry but rarely say out loud.

A Line From Every Chapter

Nine chapters, nine truths — one line from each, pulled from more than 100 conversations.

“You might feel you are lost now, but you will accomplish 1,000 times what you originally thought you could do.”

Believe In Yourself

“The difference between waiting 10 years and being the first to take the leap is everything.”

Take the Risk, Fail Fast

“Never compromise on your integrity. It is one of the few things you are truly in control of.”

Be True To Yourself

“Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Don't Chase Comfort

“A person's wealth is measured by freedom, not money.”

Money Isn't Wealth

“You don't just marry the person. You marry the world that helped create them.”

Love and Marriage

“You'll have plenty of time to be self-sufficient, but you only get to be young once.”

Disconnect

“Be quick to forgive yourself and others. Holding on to anger or guilt only weighs you down and keeps you from moving forward.”

Love and Loss

“Every dollar you don't spend buys you freedom.”

Save Your Money

From the book

I would tell my younger self not to lean so heavily on the opinions of others, because I could see my vision and dream very clearly, and I could gain all the motivation I needed from within.
But when I shared that with people who weren't living my dream or didn't have the life I was looking to live, they didn't have that vision. They'd talk it down, and while that may seem easy to ignore on the surface, it can influence your decisions and lead you into careers that please other people rather than allowing you to be true to yourself.
Being true to myself has helped me find who I am and where I should be on the earth, and that is what has led me to be successful.
Tall pine trees seen from below against a pale blue sky

Chapter 1

Believe In Yourself

Fireweed wildflowers glowing magenta in dappled forest light

Chapter 2

Take the Risk, Fail Fast

Macro detail of a brook trout's spotted flank, gold fading into deep orange

Chapter 3

Be True To Yourself

Wide alpine meadow with wildflowers beneath a mountain ridge and storm clouds

Chapter 4

Don't Chase Comfort

A green steel bridge arching across a forested canyon under a stormy sky

Chapter 5

What Lies Were You Telling Yourself

View from a drift boat looking across the Upper Colorado River toward a split-rail fence and hills

Chapter 6

Money Isn't Wealth

Two empty chairlift seats side by side, riding above a summer pine forest

Chapter 7

Love and Marriage

A quiet, empty river running over stones between grassy banks

Chapter 8

Disconnect

A bald eagle perched at the top of a pine tree against a grey sky

Chapter 9

Love and Loss

A small remote cabin in a wide mountain valley surrounded by forest

Chapter 10

Save Your Money

Karsten Anderson, fly fishing guide and author, with a client on the river

About the author

Karsten Anderson

Karsten Anderson is entering his senior year at CU Boulder. Growing up on a farm in the Front Range, he learned fly fishing at an early age. He has spent three years guiding for Minturn Anglers on the Roaring Fork, the Upper Colorado, Gore Creek, and the Eagle River. Somewhere along the way, one question became a journal of advice — passed down from CEOs at Forbes-recognized companies, C-suite executives, and people across many other fields.

Get the book

Advice to My Younger Self

100 real conversations gathered over a summer of guiding
Ten chapters, each built around a different theme — confidence, risk, money, marriage, loss, and more
Voices from all walks of life: surgeons, veterans, entrepreneurs, parents, and more

$25

Donating $1 per book sold to Eagle River Watershed Council

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Wear the journey

Merch

A hoodie inspired by the book. Design is still in the works.

Hoodie

$80

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design & link coming soon