George Bernard Shaw once said "Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children." We have board members here of various ages. Generational boundaries are getting closer and closer together. FOCUS: If you are over 30, what wisdom would you like to impart to those board members who are under 30? What things would you like to tell them about your generation that you have learned that they have not yet? RULES: If you are over 30, post your wisdom in this thread. If you are under 30, you can respond to that wisdom here, but post your own wisdom in the other thread.
Seat belts save lives. Cliche, I know. However, this has officially happened to me twice in less than a decade, and in both accidents there is no question I would have been deader than a black guy in a horror movie. When you're a guy and you turn 30, nothing happens. Nothing whatsoever. You feel nothing different and you change in no way whatsoever. It's just like getting married. When it comes to goals in life, never EVER set a deadline. "I should have my own place now", "I should have kids now", I should have that promotion now", BLAH BLAH fucking BLAH. What's the rush? When it happens, it happens so don't get bent out of shape when what you fantasized about for years inside your own head doesn't happen when it's "supposed to".
You don't know half as much as you think you do, and probably only a quarter as much as you give your parents credit for. And that applies to anyone of any age.
Things you learn from having children: [1.] You need much less sleep than you ever thought you did. [2.] 5:00 a.m. is not a bad time of the morning. [3.] On the flip side, at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m., you will really feel those two or three beers you had the night before. Things you learn from being over 35 [1.] Crowded trendy places stop being appealing. [2.] People spend way, way more money than they have any right too. Those people with nice cars and nice houses are either living off their folks' wealth or in hock up to their eye-balls. [3.] Student loans really suck. It's doable to pay a third of your income in loans when you're single and living in a shared apartment. It's much less feasible 10 years later (although, hopefully, you're making more money). I really don't know what's going to happen in 7-10 years with all these kids with $100k+ in student loans. If you're contemplating law school or B-School, you MUST minimize the loans. With limited exceptions, if you're contemplating grad school, don't do it without a fellowship.
For the record, I just turned 41 Sunday. Live on your own for a minimum of at least 3 years. No room mates, no help from mom and dad, no live in girlfriend. It teaches you how to be independent and self-sufficient, and shows you that you don't fucking need anyone but yourself. If you have any kind of game at all and can get laid pretty much when you want to, do NOT get married. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? My mom said those exact words to me when I was dating my wife. As much as I love my wife, I should have listened. If you like children so much, become a big brother or sister. Being a parent sucks. On the flip side of that I can honestly say the word love means nothing until you have a kid of your own. It's a very strange double edged sword, so be prepared. You are never prepared to have kids. Money isn't everything. Possessions are just stuff, you really can't take it with you and most likely those you leave behind will get rid of most of it and fight over the rest. Everything is over rated except breathing.
Learn to be comfortable with who you are and have the confidence to do your own thing. Don't be a pussy who's afraid to go eat or catch a flick by yourself. Don't sit there on your ass doing nothing just because nobody else is around to do it with you. Learn to not give a shit about what people think, and stop fucking over your life because of it. Go and LIVE LIFE. There is a lot to do out there, go enjoy it. Get the fuck off the computer and go do something tangible. I recently had a PM that basically said "what the fuck don't you do?" What can I say, I've been busy with life. I've gone out and dabbled in a ton of shit; the military, scuba diving, flying, parachuting, hunting/fishing/camping, competitive firearms, rugby, sailing, music, auto racing, etc. I may not be a master in all, but I have more than a passing knowledge of those (and more) subjects. The question I have is, why don't you? Along those same lines, don't make bullshit excuses. Learn how to deal with adversity. The sooner you realize that life is nothing but one big problem solving exercise, the better. The successful ones learn how to overcome. By the same token, learn when to throw in the towel. Recognizing the inability to succeed is not the same as failure. And learn from EVERYTHING. Take time out to stop and really think about shit. Don't be vain and shallow. Those rockin set of tits on that 19 year old will get old soon enough... dig deeper into who people are, and don't be so quick to judge based on trivial shit. Be nicer to people. The media is trying to make you afraid of strangers. In 99.9999% of the cases, that stranger that's having problems with their car is someone just like you. If that person on the side of the road is struggling to change a tire, why AREN'T you stopping to help out? Start small... common courtesy... hold a door, say "thank you", let someone else go ahead of you in line, wave "thanks" to someone in traffic. Along the same lines, cut the useless "friends" from your life. The ones where you are the one putting in all the work. If they don't do the same shit for you, then get rid of them. They are a cancer. Life is not a popularity contest... having a small number of REALLY good friends is so much more rewarding than having a ton of acquaintances you think are your friends. Life has enough drama in it already, don't set yourself up for more of it. Don't take the easy way out just because it's easier. Go and create something. Anything. A poem, a shitty bird feeder, a garden, a crappy song... anything. Just create something. You'll feel better about yourself, and it'll help this "rip everything apart" attitude that's pervading society today. And keep creating stuff. Strive to be the leader, not the follower. Never stop improving on yourself. Keep learning shit. When you've stopped doing that, you've died, and are coasting. Stay the fuck off my lawn. Why? It's not a humour thing, it's a respect thing. I care about it, and spend time making it look good, and take a lot of pride in it. If you walk all over it, you're disrespecting me, and going out of your way to not being nice or civil. Hell, just have more respect for others, in general. And finally, learn to look people in the fucking eye when you're talking to them, and have a firm handshake.
And if you're going to have kids, don't let them grow up to be pussies. Read this: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/08/30/129531631/5-worries-parents-should-drop-and-5-they-should?sc=fb&cc=fp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/08 ... c=fb&cc=fp</a> Try to learn and employ some common sense, and don't become one of the sheep that is preyed upon by the mass media. How you raise your kids will have a direct impact on them walking on my lawn. And you know how I feel about my lawn.
Pull up your fucking pants. You look like an idiot. People have told you all through your teen years, "you've got plenty of time." Well that's wrong. Start looking into military or college no later than your sophomore year of high school. Trust me-I started college at 22 after working full time for 4 years and buying a stupid worthless no good new car. I wish I would have spent those 4 years serving in the US military. With that, save money, but don't be afraid to have a little fun. Don't be an idiot.
Put your phone down for a minuet or two and look around. Unless you have friends that live far away face book is stupid. There are a ton more important things than making money. TRAVEL.
I left that one out, but I could not agree more. Travel rocks. One of my few regrets is not having done more of it as a single man. Go everyfuckingwhere.
A wise man learns from his mistakes, a really wise man learns from someone elses mistakes. I have not mastered the second part of that but am trying to. Don't take financial advice from broke people. Two weeks of vacation a year is not even close to enough, take more and do not apologize for doing so. Forty hours a week is not even close to enough work so work more when you work. Work hard and Play hard, dont be a pussy and don't complain.
These two statements seem to contradict each other. Unless you are suggesting you only travel within a few hours of wherever you call home. For years I was too poor to travel because bills and savings always come first. I'm just now gettign to the point I can afford to travel anywhere. And I still can't afford to leave the country for any extended period of time.
OK, y'all can delete this post if you want, because I'm not 30 yet, but I have spent the last 9 years actively raising a child, and he isn't going to be a pussy on my watch. I think that good parenting is the foundation of any education in any field. A kid can act prim and proper and jump through all the hoops at school, but what about when they get home and play with their friends? Does the kid act well when elders aren't around to tell him/her what to do? Also, if you have kids, teach basic life-saving skills like learning how to swim and what to do-and-not-do in the event of an accident.
Just to quickly interject: unless you view travel as staying in 4 star hotels in Western Europe I am shocked you don't have enough money to leave the country. You can live off of >5k a year if you are smart and can always get a part time job abroad to cover expenses. No contradiction.
Just getting anywhere is too much for a lot of people. Flights to Europe are in excess of a grand, flights from Detroit to Costa Rica are $500. Tokyo $1200, same for Shanghai and Buenos Aires and Rio. You find it so hard to believe that some people can't drop $1200+ on 1 airplane ticket, not to mention meals, hostels, and entertainment at a shitty exchange rate? That said unless you are a permanent nomad there is too damn much America to see by anyone in a lifetime. Road trips are awesome and a cross country odyssey can be had for surprisingly cheap. Everyone should realize how god damn huge our nation is, and by extension the rest of the world. Not exactly a substitute for foreign travel but something amazing in its own way.
You should only have 1 credit card. Ever. And if you can't afford to pay it off, don't fucking use it.