A Tough Lesson
Today's generation is driven by text messaging, gadgets and social networking. But with the twenty first century emphasis on technology, kids today need to be reminded of a few simple rules to financial and future success.
In his book "Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write or Add," Charles Sykes came up with a list of rules to prevent kids from thinking life will be easy and instead prepares them for the certain failures and tests they will face when leaving the nest.
Over the years these rules have been attributed to Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates and Author Kurt Vonnegut, but it was Sykes who first penned the harsh lesson aimed at today's youth. And as each generation becomes more attached to their hard drive than their classmates these lessons become more vital.
Sykes warns about the reality of a salary after high school and the lack of a summer vacation. He says flipping burgers is a decent job and that teachers won't always be there to hold your hand. Continue reading to see more of his pearls of wisdom. They're important lessons to be learned before diving into the real world.
LIFE RULES
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem.. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were.. So, before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
(Brian Banmiller is a national Business Correspondent for CBS News Radio, free lance writer and public speaker. The former television business news anchor in San Francisco can be reached at brian@banmilleronbusiness.com .)
