Summary
Use your mental fortitude to reach your full potential. This episode of How To Twenty-Something brings on Parker and Sam and how they turned their desire to have it all “figured out” into a mission to help other twenty-somethings navigate their lives. Together, Sam and Parker founded Elevation Nation, where they coach young adults to use their mindset and mental fortitude to achieve their goals, create a life they want, and elevate their mindsets and conquer the real world.
Key Takeaways:
- What to do when your life isn’t what you wanted it to be
- Changing your mindset to tackle YOUR goals
- The role mental fortitude plays in young adult so you can continue to elevate your life
- How to use your vulnerability and habits to elevate you every day
- Using your mindset to help you through a tough phase of your life
- Listen to the mentors in and around your life (even if they are a stranger on a podcast ;))
Why does adulting feel so much harder than I expected, even though I did everything "right"?
It’s a really common experience, even among people who checked every box (good grades, a solid degree, a corporate job). School doesn’t teach the self-awareness and mindset work needed to navigate uncertainty, purpose, and identity outside of a structured system, so the gap between expectation and reality can feel jarring even when nothing has technically gone wrong.
What is "mental fortitude" and how do you actually build it?
It’s essentially a combination of self-awareness (knowing who you are), vision (knowing where you want to go), and fuel (knowing what drives you). It’s built less through reading about mindset and more through consistent practice: journaling, honest self-reflection, and putting yourself in unfamiliar situations that force you to grow.
How do you stop measuring your life in "good days" vs "bad days"
One reframe that helps: instead of labeling an entire day as good, bad, or okay, notice that most days actually contain a mix of good, bad, and neutral moments. Aiming for a “full” day (one where you feel a whole range of emotions) rather than a uniformly “good” one takes pressure off any single moment to define the whole day.
Related Episodes
Ep. 64 Your Sneakiest Fear: The Fear of Success
Ep. 88 In the face of rejection
Ep. 1 Overcoming Your Negative Self Talk
Ep. 76 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Ep. 79 Mental Health in Your Twenties with Dr.
Lauren Chasexxx