The best advice a CEO and former Googler has for people in their 20s is just 2 words

Courtesy of Liz Wessel

Liz Wessel is just 26 and already a CEO.

After working at Google for two years, the University of Pennsylvania graduate left to cofound WayUp, a site used by hundreds of thousands of college students to find jobs at places like Microsoft, Uber, The New York Times, Disney, and Google.

Currently the chief executive of her startup, Wessel attributes much of her success to following a certain piece of advice that she herself likes to give to other 20-somethings: "Say 'yes.'"

"Your 20s are for figuring out who you are — so don't be afraid to take risks, bounce around, travel, and try new things," she tells Business Insider. "I say 'yes' to as many new opportunities and projects as possible, and it has paid off every time so far."

Her other best piece of advice: Don't chase money; chase happiness.

She says that your 20s are the launching pad for the rest of your life. "You should be focused on finding an industry or career that you really enjoy. If you just optimize for salary or prestige in the short-term, you're potentially be selling out the rest of your life," she explains. 

"For example, I have a few friends who went to work in finance after college purely because it was a career where they knew they could make good money," she says. "Almost none of those friends still work in finance, and most of them had a pretty miserable first year out of college — except for the ones who were passionate about finance from the start." 

The further you go in a given industry, the harder it gets to make the jump from one industry to another, "so start doing what you love as soon as you can," she concludes.

NOW WATCH: 'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street