Reddit's Alexis Ohanian regrets not developing this soft skill: 'Would've been 10 times more productive’

If there was one soft skill that Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian wished he had developed when he was in his twenties, it was his discipline. Opening up during a recent podcast, the 41-year-old tech executive said that he would have been even more successful had he mastered it in his younger years.

“When I had free time, when I had more youthful vigour, if I had more discipline, I would have been 10 times more productive,” Ohanian said. “That’s one thing I would give advice to myself at 20 about.”

Citing an example, he said that as a student and young entrepreneur, Ohanian stayed up for hours trying to finish work that would have taken him 20 minutes the next day had he gone to bed at a reasonable time, CNBC Make It reported. He had built Reddit right after college and sold it a year later for $10 million.

Although at the time, his drive was fueled by a strong desire to have his mother -- who was battling stage four terminal brain cancer -- see him become a successful CEO. Now, however, Ohanian said he recognises that his lifestyle was not sustainable. It was unhealthy and contributed to stress and burnout, he added.