I like Twitter.. having said that, I follow Chegg (that nifty online textbook rental company) and they posted a link to the following:
~~~
(theburiedlife.tumblr.com)
20 Things I Should Have Known at 20.
1. The world is trying to keep you stupid. From bank fees to interest rates to miracle diets,
people who are not educated are easier to get money from and easier to lead. Educate yourself as much as possible for wealth, independence, and happiness.
2. Do not have faith in institutions to educate you. By the time they build the curriculum, it’s likely that the system is outdated– sometimes utterly
broken. You both learn and get respect from people worth getting it from by leading and doing, not by following.
3. Read as much as you can. Learn to speed read with high retention.
Emerson Spartz taught me this while I was at a
Summit Series event. If he reads 2-3 books a week, you can
read one.
4. Connect with everyone, all the time. Be genuine about it. Learn to find something you like in each person, and then speak to that thing.
5. Don’t waste time being shy. Shyness is the belief that your emotions should be the arbitrators of your decision making process when
the opposite is actually true.
6. If you feel weird about something during a relationship, that’s usually what you end up breaking up over.
7. Have as much contact as possible with older people. Personally, I met people at Podcamps. My friend
Greg,
at the age of 13, met his first future employer sitting next to him on a
plane. The reason this is so valuable is because people your age don’t
usually have the decision-making ability to help you very much. Also
they know almost everything you will learn later, so ask them.
8. Find people that are cooler than you and hang out
with them too. This and the corollary are both important: “don’t
attempt to be average inside your group. Continuously attempt to be
cooler than them (by doing cooler things, being more laid back,
accepting, ambitious, etc.).”
9. You will become more conservative over time. This
is just a fact. Those you surround yourself with create a kind of
“bubble” that pushes you to support the status quo. For this reason, you
need to do your craziest stuff NOW. Later on, you’ll become too afraid.
Trust me.
10. Reduce all expenses as much as possible. I mean it. This creates a safety net that will allow you to do the crazier shit I mentioned above.
11. Instead of getting status through objects (which provide only temporary boosts),
do it through experiences. In other words, a trip to Paris is a better choice than a new wardrobe. Studies show this also boosts happiness.
12. While you are living on the cheap, solve the money problem. Use
the internet, because it’s like a cool little machine that helps you do
your bidding. If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, extend
that to three weeks instead of two. Then, as you get better, you can
think a month ahead, then three months, then six, and finally a year
ahead. (The goal is to get to a point where you are thinking 5 years
ahead.)
13. Learn to program.
14. Get a six-pack (or get thin, whatever your goal is)
while you are young. Your hormones are in a better place to help you do this at a younger age. Don’t waste this opportunity, trust me.
15. Learn to cook. This will make everything much
easier and it turns food from a chore + expensive habit into a pleasant +
frugal one. I’m a big Jamie Oliver fan, but whatever you like is fine.
16. Sleep well. This and cooking will help with the
six pack. If you think “I can sleep when I’m dead” or “I have too much
to do to sleep,” I have news for you: you are INEFFICIENT, and sleep
deprivation isn’t helping.
17. Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory. Do not trust it for what you “feel like” you should be doing. Trust only the reminder app. I use
RE.minder and
Action Method.
18. Choose something huge to do, as well as allowing the waves of opportunity to help you along. If you don’t
set goals, some stuff may happen, but if you do choose, lots more will.
19. Get known for one thing. Spend like 5 years
doing it instead of flopping around all over the place. If you want to
shift afterwards, go ahead. Like I said, choose something.
20. Don’t try to “fix” anyone. Instead, look for someone who isn’t broken.
(Written by: Julian Smith inoveryourhead.net)
~~~
I completely agree with most of these..they each have a lesson we will need to learn at some point, but the ones I list below I have more experience with (and I'm just going to skip over the money ones because we all know how bad I suck at handling money.. luckily I'm getting better though!)
:-)
-number 1 speaks volumesssss. If you aren't educated to some degree you will eat up what everyone else says, whether it's true or not. Take for instance, economics. I've always been intimidated by the subject... well I finally had to take a macroeconomics course and not only did I become less afraid of money markets and their jargon, but my professor said something along the lines of, "now that you all know this, you will constantly see misinformation on major news networks when they speak of the economy," and she is totally right. I'd give you an example but then I'd need to explain subsidies, GDP, and media bias which will definitely take more than a paragraph LOL.
-number 2 makes a great point... educational institutions are bound by state legislatures (for public schools). Coming back to economics, they need to make our education as cost effective as possible. So what's the next best thing? If you said EXPERIENCE, then you win! Get out there and find an extra-curricular group who's mission is something you are interested in. Whether it's politics, environmentalism, money management, swing dance, foreign language... 98% of the time there is a student group out there of others who are interested in the same thing.. and the best part? You as students get to decide what you want to do as a group (if your group is part of your student government, then you get funds to budget and further your cause, whatever it may be). The other 2%? If your group isn't on campus, you can start your own! See your student government for more details.
-for number 8 I would use a different word than "cool" because really, that all depends on who defines that slang term. How about, people that are better than you? Now I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but a mentor of mine taught me how to really shoot pool (billiards) and his number one advice is, "
always play someone better than you, otherwise your skills don't get better."
-number 15 is great advice not only for your own health, but so many people rely on box meals (Hamburger Helper, EasyMac, and the like) for their nutritional needs. Big mistake, and it comes back around to number 14 because your body would much rather have simple foods compared to boxed meals loaded with unnatural preservatives.
-number 17 can be done in other ways. Me personally, I'm a list-maker. If I don't make a list, I don't get everything done (if at all!). Whether it's the grocery store, chores, my bills, or errands... if I don't have a list, I forget. Have a calendar, or a reminder app, use alarms and the like to keep your obligations to a minimum... besides, what happens when you forget to pay a bill on-time? Your credit score goes down and you get hit with extra fees (more money that should be in your pocket!)
-number 19 I can vouch for because my philosophy used to be, "why only do one thing when you can do so many?" I have a lot of interests, but the main problem with doing so many different things is that you never have enough time to dedicate your time and energy to just ONE of them so you can consequently excel at it.
