Turning 25? Ankur Warikoo shares 5 articles he says can change the next 10 years of your life

Your mid-twenties can feel like a crossroads. One decision can shape your career, another can redefine your relationships, and a simple habit can influence your financial future. While there's no universal guidebook for navigating this phase of life, entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo believes a handful of carefully chosen reads can make a lasting difference. In a recent social media post, he recommended five articles that he says every 25-year-old should read at least once, and perhaps revisit every year.

According to Warikoo, turning 25 often means making some of life's biggest decisions, whether about your career, your time, or the people you choose to surround yourself with. He pointed out that very few people are taught how to make these choices well.

He encouraged readers to set aside an evening to go through the recommendations slowly, adding that none of them takes long to read. Most can be finished in under 20 minutes. Yet, he believes those few hundred words, read at the right stage of life, can reshape the way a person thinks for the next decade.


Here are the five articles Warikoo recommends and why he believes they are worth your time.

The Tail End by Tim Urban

Warikoo described Tim Urban's The Tail End as a powerful reminder that the time we have with the people we love is far more limited than we often realise. The article encourages readers to think differently about time, especially the moments spent with parents, siblings and close friends. Instead of measuring life in years, it asks readers to consider how many meaningful interactions may actually remain, offering a fresh perspective on relationships and priorities.

How to Do Great Work by Paul Graham

Another recommendation is Paul Graham's essay How to Do Great Work, which Warikoo called a timeless guide to discovering meaningful work and becoming exceptionally good at it. The article explores how curiosity, consistent effort and deep focus often matter more than chasing prestige or external validation. It encourages readers to pursue work that genuinely interests them and to master it through patience and deliberate practice rather than shortcuts.

Do Things That Don't Scale by Paul Graham

Warikoo also highlighted Paul Graham's well-known essay Do Things That Don't Scale. The article explains that extraordinary businesses and careers frequently begin with small, manual efforts that may seem inefficient at first. Instead of searching for instant scale, Graham argues that founders and professionals should focus on creating exceptional value in the early stages, even if that means doing work that cannot be easily automated or expanded.

1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly's influential essay 1000 True Fans also made Warikoo's list. According to the recommendation, the article challenges the belief that success requires millions of followers or viral fame. Instead, Kelly argues that creators, entrepreneurs and professionals can build sustainable careers by earning the trust and support of a relatively small group of loyal followers who genuinely value their work.

The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius by Paul Graham

The final recommendation is Paul Graham's The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius. Warikoo said the essay argues that curiosity and obsession often matter more than natural talent when it comes to producing remarkable work. Rather than focusing on intelligence alone, the article explores how deep interest in a subject allows people to notice details, solve problems creatively and persist long enough to achieve exceptional results.

Warikoo's message to young professionals

Alongside the reading list, Warikoo reflected on why these essays matter at this stage of life. He said that by the age of 25, people are making major decisions about their careers, how they spend their time and the relationships they build, yet very few receive practical guidance on navigating those choices.

He suggested saving the list for a quiet evening instead of rushing through it, adding that these articles are best read slowly and revisited once a year if possible. In his view, while each essay takes less than 20 minutes to finish, the ideas in them can influence the way a person thinks and makes decisions for years to come.