To make up for it, check these out:
(taken from: http://wordsandlinks.com/2010/07/03/101-things-i-would-like-to-teach-my-children-to-make-their-life-easier/ )
- Stay in school. Don’t even think of dropping out.
- Don’t have a baby until you’re married.
- Don’t ever quit a job unless you have another lined up. And if you follow 1, 2, and 3 you will never live in poverty, according to statistics.
- Have an honest interest in everyone you meet.
- Give to charity.
- Read. Read. Read. Everything you can. From instruction manuals to the newspaper. And learn to enjoy it.
- Have compassion.
- Value your family and friends above all else.
- Learn about money. How to make it, save it, and spend it.
- Trust your parents. They have been where you are now.
- Take good care of your body. It will have to last you a long time.
- Learn to be adaptable. Situations will rarely be what you want so you must learn to make the most of them.
- Teach yourself to drive a stick shift.
- Learn at least basic physics. It will come in handy often.
- Find a sport or sports that you enjoy and make time for them.
- Learn how to do at least a few magic tricks. You will need to entertain a child sometime in the future.
- Understand how your car works, and learn how to fix it.
- Don’t be afraid to take menial jobs early on. If you keep your eyes open you will get valuable experience from them.
- Set your goals early, but don’t be afraid to change them.
- Learn to use the English language to the best of your abilities. Perfect grammar and usage may not always be noticed, but mistakes are.
- Learning how to take tests is half the battle. Most of the tests you will take in the real world are multiple choice. Even if you don’t know the information you can do well on these.
- Learn how to play at least one musical instrument.
- Memorize all your basic math facts. It makes the more complex stuff easier.
- You will never know when the most trivial and useless bit of information you have will become useful.
- Always keep learning new things.
- Have confidence in yourself and don’t let other people limit you.
- If you borrow something, return it in better condition than when you got it.
- Keep your credit rating good from day one. You will need it later on.
- Go to college even if you’re not sure what to study. The experience alone is worth it.
- More than one time in your life you will need first aid skills. CPR is also a must to learn.
- If you have a natural talent in something, develop it.
- Don’t ever drive drunk, high, or especially tired. Someone will give you a ride.
- Driving is a skill. Always work on improving it.
- Always show respect for others.
- Have a good sense of humor and share it.
- Make sure to make some time for yourself.
- Learn how to make a few great meals.
- Learn self discipline. That’s a big one.
- Work at at least one hard, physically demanding job in your life.
- Don’t be afraid to go to the doctor when you need to.
- Chose good people to develop friendships with, whether the janitor or CEO.
- Learn the tricks that “psychics” use to read minds. Always impressive.
- Remember that your first true love won’t be your last.
- Don’t try drugs or alcohol. You will, but don’t.
- Do not ever start smoking.
- Make sure you always appreciate what you have now. Even the small things.
- Your interests will change over time. Learn to adapt.
- Learn how to write a simple computer program. It will teach you logic and how to work within strict rules.
- Basic home repair is easy and mostly common sense. Don’t be afraid to try.
- Present yourself as if you are successful and you are half way there.
- Your time can be as valuable to others as it is to you. Don’t be shy about volunteering for a good cause.
- Exercise regularly.
- Practice good personal hygiene.
- Find a good balance between what is good for you and what you enjoy. If you can make the two meet, excellent.
- You will make mistakes both small and huge. Fix them, apologize if necessary, and move on.
- Be soft spoken and don’t swear. If you ever need to make a point those two options will make people take more notice if seldom used.
- Never complain without having a solution to the problem at hand.
- Nothing good happens when you are out late at night into the morning.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Give help freely when you see others in need.
- Learn to appreciate real art.
- Travel whenever and wherever you can. Keep your eyes open when in new places.
- Always try to have something saved for a rainy day.
- You can be critical, but be sure to do it in a positive way.
- Give honest compliments freely.
- Try to have one sales job in your life. The experience will be valuable.
- Learn how to use the telephone. Being strong on the phone is a good skill to have.
- Each moment is a new opportunity to change anything that you are not happy with.
- Tackle the hard jobs before the easier ones.
- Understanding basic psychology will go a long way to helping you along.
- Avoid arguments. They seldom resolve anything, and usually make you look bad even if you are in the right.
- Never be afraid to try new things if you think it might be a good idea.
- Be 85% in the present, 10% in the future, and 5% in the past.
- Failure is absolutely guaranteed if you never try.
- Positive thinking will accomplish things that you won’t expect.
- Try to have a backup plan, especially when it comes to making a living.
- Learn to type as soon as you can.
- You should always be proud of your actions, so take responsibility for them.
- Keep on top of new developments in technology.
- Keep up to date with the local, national, and world news.
- Share your good fortunes when they happen.
- Never hold a grudge and always be quick to forgive.
- Don’t concern yourself with what others think of you. If you are doing your best the negatives coming from them reflect their own shortcomings.
- Remember that the experts are no better or worse than you. They just have been doing it longer.
- You can and should question what seems “funny” to you.
- When choosing a mate, if you are thinking “I could live with this person forever” you are on the right track. “I can’t live without them” might mean you have some more thinking to do.
- Learn the rules inside and out. This makes it easier to win.
- Enjoy teamwork and be supportive of your team.
- Try to make what you are doing fun.
- While you are in school, try to keep in mind that this is the fun time. Work gets harder from here.
- Become an expert in at least one subject.
- Be good at sharing.
- If what you are doing is important to you, be enthusiastic and passionate about it.
- Once in a while try to see things through a kid’s eyes.
- Learn from mistakes instead of wasting the experience.
- Be kind to animals and if you can, keep a pet.
- No good comes of lying, but you might have to bend the truth to spare feelings once in a while.
- Enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.
- Learn about basic financial principles.
- Educating yourself about science is never a waste of your time.
- Make great plans, but make better contingency plans.
- Never forget about the people who love you.
Peace.
