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Does an early marriage kill your potential to achieve more in life?

TJ Murphy

My wife and I got married at age 22.  The average age of marriage in the US is between 26 and 28.  That means we were very young when we got married.

I can’t say what happens to every couple that gets married young, but I can speak to my experience.  We both come from poorer backgrounds.  I grew up in inner-city Baltimore and relied on low income programs for a normal school experience.  I dropped out of college at 20.  Shortly before we got married, I was making two bucks over minimum wage.

My wife had a rough life growing up.  She had to abandon her original college major after family issues forced her to move home.  She managed to graduate on time right as we got married, but only after lots of evening and summer classes.

Then we got married.

My wife is starting her third year of medical school.  She will go on to become a full-fledged doctor and save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.  Her earnings will be commensurate with what you would expect a doctor to earn.

I’ve gone on to raise tens of millions of dollars in venture capital pursuing startups.  The products I’ve built have reached millions of people.  Every day I mentor up and coming founders.  And I love every minute of it.

Marriage is orthogonal to career success.  You can succeed in your career and fail at marriage.  You can fail in career and succed in marriage.  Life is what you make it.  It takes hard work, dedication, and a little luck.

I’ve been married for four years and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

https://www.quora.com/Does-an-early-marriage-kill-your-potential-to-achieve-more-in-life

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