Ask someone five years ahead of you what they wish they’d known. Most people are flattered to answer.

Someone slightly ahead of you remembers details that people much further along have already forgotten. They know which parts were genuinely hard, which fears turned out to be nothing, and which small decision mattered more than it looked. Being asked for that is also one of the more pleasant things that happens in a working week.

Pick one person whose position you would want in five years and send a short, specific message. One question, not a request for their time in general. Then use the answer, and tell them later what you did with it.