7 Badass Skills to Learn in 2024 and Beyond
For an aspiring badass, the most important thing to focus on is becoming capable.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The game is all about building skills. Building as many of them as possible, to become as capable as possible.
However, acknowledging that is only step 1. After all, there’s a million different skills out there. A million different things you could be learning, and time is limited.
So, the obvious next question then becomes: where should you start? What skills, specifically, should you be spending your time on?
While searching for answers to this question, I think there are a few important things for you to consider.
The first is where your interests lie. It’s easy for me to tell you to go and learn how to write code, but if you’re uninterested in computer science and prefer to work with people, that probably won’t be something that you’re motivated to stick with.
So make sure any skills you decide to pursue are things that connect with your interests.
The second consideration is what’s actually useful and what’s likely to be useful in the future. Where should you be placing your focus now to get the most bang for your buck over the next 10 years?
As technology improves and AI takes over, certain skills will become more valuable and others will become less so. For example, driving is something that pretty much everybody should know how to do in the modern world. But with driverless cars on the horizon, skill behind the wheel will likely become less useful over the next 10 years.
Conversely, digital skills have exploded onto the scene over the last few decades. Skills that revolve around websites, social media, video, and digital marketing are all now insanely useful.
So with the above considerations in mind, let’s go through the top 7 badass skills to learn in 2024 and beyond.
*Note - I’m putting this list in order, starting with the least important (but still very important) at number 7 and working my way up. Who doesn’t love some dramatic effect?
7 – Written communication
Writing is everywhere – emails, texting, resumes, dating app profiles, etc.
And whether you realise it or not, you’re selling yourself in every one of these. This might be more overt in your resume and your Hinge bio, but it’s true in other mediums as well. Hear me out.
Your best friend might not judge you for bad grammar or replacing ‘you’ with ‘u’, but other people might. A poorly crafted text might be exactly the thing that loses you the date with an awesome girl or the opportunity to network with someone important at your company.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you should start treating your WhatsApp conversations like a life or death struggle where everything needs to be perfect. But I am suggesting that you’ve got a lot to gain by learning to write well.
Learn how to construct sentences in a logical manner. Learn how to persuade. Expand your vocabulary and learn how to alter the meaning of what you write. There’s nothing stopping you from reverting back to a simpler style when needed, but having the ability to communicate effectively can only help you in your day-to-day life.
6 – Weight Lifting & Strength Training
Badasses need to be strong and physically fit. I’ve said it a million times but I’ll say it again because it’s not changing anytime soon.
Besides the obvious perks of improved confidence and looking good naked, it’ll prepare you for all the other things a badass should be able to do.
You’ll be ready to help your friend move house because they were too cheap to pay for movers. You’ll be ready to pick your kids up, one over each shoulder to run them to the playground. You get the picture. Manly shit requires manly strength. Be ready.
5 – Digital Skills
This is the big one for professionals out there. If you want to have career success or make a bunch of money, it pays to have digital skills up your sleeve.
Think of all the things that have popped up over the last decade or two – websites, social media, video streaming, digital marketing, phone apps, etc.
The world will continue to become more and more digital and you’ll need to adapt or die. Start by adding some digital skills to your arsenal. Maybe that means becoming hot shit with AI. Maybe it means getting great at building audiences on social media. Whatever it is, learn some skills now and get paid for it in the future.
4 – Martial Arts & Fighting
Although it’s important to be able to defend yourself and those you care about, the odds of you actually having to fight someone on the street aren’t that high (assuming you live in a western country).
The real benefit behind learning to fight is actually just the immense confidence gains that come along with it.
Once you’ve experienced the physicality of training and know you’re able to handle yourself, you begin to carry yourself in a different manner. Think of the way an action hero moves in a movie, with the confidence that he can handle whatever situation arises. That’s a kind of confidence that can only come from physical experience.
3 – Understanding Psychology & Human Behaviour
Just like written communication, this is one that’ll help you in all aspects of your life.
It’s quite simple really: it pays to know how human beings work beneath the hood. It pays to understand how we think and the mental traps we fall into.
Building this knowledge will help you better understand yourself, which in turn can help you break free from old behavioural patterns. But it also helps you better understand other people, which then helps you better choose the people you want to have in your life and then communicate with them effectively.
This could be one of the most impactful skills to learn in 2024.
2 – Communication Skills (in-person)
Speaking of communication, I can’t understate this one. Your ability to communicate is everything. It dictates how people see you and therefore determines your identity, at least in a social context.
Not to mention that you have to communicate in every single aspect of your life, from dating, to work, to family, to ordering your coffee from your local cafe.
Communication is everywhere. If you’re bad at it, it creates roadblocks in your life. If you’re good at it, it creates opportunities.
Given both the prevalence of and potential impact communication has within your life, it’s amusing to me how few people put the time into improving their communication skills.
This is something Vinh Giang (incredible communication coach) talks about on his YouTube channel. Check out this clip:
If you don’t want to listen to me, then listen to Vinh. Devote time and energy to working on your communication skills. Future you will love you for it.
1 – Learn How to Learn
If becoming capable is the most important element in becoming a badass, then the ability to learn is the most important skill for becoming capable.
Your ability to learn is your greatest weapon and something that you absolutely should spend time developing.
With this in mind, I recommend reading ‘Peak: How All of Us Can Achieve Extraordinary Things’ by K. Anders Ericsson. It’s by far the best and most comprehensive book I’ve ever read on the science of learning.
Go through it and practice applying all of the key principles Ericsson teaches. Get used to learning actively rather than passively, and pay attention to the results you’re rewarded with.
That’s a wrap! Those are my top 7 badass skills to learn in 2024. Start spending time working on each of them now, and become one of the new generation of badasses conquering the world over the next decade.
Good luck, stay frosty!