Full disclosure, I'm 47 and while not young, I'm not old either, but I do have some advice for the younger generation. Please add your own nuggets of wisdom.

1) List to your elders. Perspectives change as you get older and wiser, listen to the old gray haired folks and you can learn a lot.

2) Take care of your body, mine hurts every day. I have injuries I sustained from football, wrestling, powerlifting, etc. that have all been amplified as I get older and it sucks. I have suffered a spinal injury at 19 and dread getting out of bed in the mornings. Hind sight being 20/20, I would not have participated in some of the sports I chose.

3) Hearing Protection! When I was a kid, my uncle took my brother and I shooting frequently, without hearing protection of any kind or eye wear for that matter. I have began suffering from tinnitus and some days it drives me crazy. When I was young, I just thought I could hear sounds that others could not...Wrong!

4) Learn and respect money. Money is not taught in schools and nor are the life lessons that come with it. Money does not solve your problems, but not having it can make them a whole lot worse and life exceeding difficult.

5) You are NOT the center of the universe, GOD holds that position. You need a lasting relationship with the almighty to make this life worth living. There are trials and tribulations that we all face and need to seek his guidance and forgiveness.

6) All politicians are crooks...period!

7) The world could care less about you. Be self reliant, don't expect the Government or someone else to bail you out. You made the bed and you will sleep in it.

8) Family means everything. If you came from a crap family, in time, you get to make your own and the responsibility falls on your shoulders as to what you make of it.

9) Don't blame others for your mistakes. If you screw up, own it and correct it and deal with the consequences of your actions.

10) Kids under the age of 3 could care less about what they get for presents. A big refrigerator box provides endless hours of entertainment.

11) Keep your kids away from the electronics and take them outside, for a walk in the woods, fishing, camping, hunting, kicking around a ball or chucking rocks into a pond. Teach them to be a kid not a mindless tech zombie because you are too lazy to parent.

12) Save your money early in life, as soon as possible. Time is the killer of everything financial. A long amount of time and a small amount of money will be worth more than a large chuck of money and a short amount of time. Chances are, the bulk of use aren't going hit the lottery.

13) Do like Bruce says and "Get some damn grease!"

All good advice, and unfortunately, all a waste of breath.

I posted a rant relative to this in What's Your Deal. Bottom line is, VERY few people of any age learn from other's mistakes. Gotta pee on the electric fence for themselves.

T'was ever thus.

It is amazing how much smarter I get as my teenagers got older.

If you can't pay for it don't buy it. Charge cards are VERY dangerous.

Those are great.
Wish I had those POUNDED into my selfish, proud teen aged brain when I was younger.
Many tried but I was pig headed and now @66yrs old it is just should a!

14) Don't smoke or chew any tobacco. And this includes "Second hand smoke". It will damage your body many years from now.

Had enough of a clue to try to learn from the mistakes of others early on. The sooner this is realized, the better it will get for anyone of any age.

I have never used/done/had/paid:

drugs.

rent.

alcohol.

credit cards.

tobacco.

car payments.

coffee.

night in jail.

peed on an electric fence.

* Well I have taken an Advil and rented VHS tapes from Blockbuster.

I could be the most boring member of SigForum...

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Had enough of a clue to try to learn from the mistakes of others early on. The sooner this is realized, the better it will get for anyone of any age.

I have never used/done/had/paid:

drugs.

rent.

alcohol.

credit cards.

tobacco.

car payments.

coffee.

night in jail.

peed on an electric fence.

* Well I have taken an Advil and rented VHS tapes from Blockbuster.

I could be the most boring member of SigForum...

Could be. I have paid rent, possess 2 debit cards, bought my first new car on credit, and once grabbed an electric fence. Other than that, I'm much like you. I don't think of myself as boring, and I suspect you don't think you are ,either.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Had enough of a clue to try to learn from the mistakes of others early on. The sooner this is realized, the better it will get for anyone of any age.

I have never used/done/had/paid:

drugs.

rent.

alcohol.

credit cards.

tobacco.

car payments.

coffee.

night in jail.

peed on an electric fence.

* Well I have taken an Advil and rented VHS tapes from Blockbuster.

I could be the most boring member of SigForum...

I have done everything on your list to excess, does that make me the most interesting or just the dumbest?

I learned too many lessons the hard way.

I'm trying to avoid that for the future.

I am blessed with two wonderful children. Both are well behaved and sweet at heart. They live with their mother but are with me as much as possible. I try to instill good habits.

We took them rollerskating Sunday and my wife bumped into one of her old college roommates. The friend was there with her stepdaughter who was 15, and commented that we need to enjoy this period while we can, because in a few years the kids (8 and 11) will be too busy with life to want to hang out with us.

It made me sad. I kept them an extra day, even with having to work that night and the next night. Waking up with 5 hours of sleep to their smiling, giggling, faces is better than anything else in the world.

Hopefully the time we get with them is enough for them to learn from us.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
All good advice, and unfortunately, all a waste of breath.

I posted a rant relative to this in What's Your Deal. Bottom line is, VERY few people of any age learn from other's mistakes. Gotta pee on the electric fence for themselves.

I’m one of the younger guys based on the age poll posted a few days ago. A lot of these were forced on me by my grandfather when I was young. You reap what you sow has always been an important focus in my life because of it. You don’t like something? Fix it.

I had to learn the hard way on money, luckily I wised up after getting around 10k in debt on stupid crap I didn’t need and trying to impress women.

Number 11 is applicable to me as of 8 months ago. I’ll take any more kiddo advice you have!

Don’t just listen to your elders, spend time with them, there is so much you can learn about life from them. I used to spend every Monday with my grandfather and grandmother. They both passed away last year and not a day goes by that I don’t miss them and cherish the time we spent together.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Don’t just listen to your elders, spend time with them, there is so much you can learn about life from them.

I grew up spending a lot of time with my grandfather. He was 65 when I was born, so knew him through his 70s and 80s. One thing he always stressed was not doing stupid crap that will get you injured. He worked in the iron mines for 42 years and managed to avoid an accident. Whether it's job related, home projects, or sports, those moments of stupidity in youth and middle age will haunt you in later years.

BTW: He lived to be 89 and took care of himself in his own house until 6 weeks before he died.

Plastics.

14. Study and Learn History There is much to be learned from the mistakes made in the past. Also learn from history, why the founding fathers did the things they did and why they wrote them in to the constitutions and Bill of Rights.

1) You can die at any moment, so live accordingly while you can.

2) Respect others but hold no head higher than your own.

Seems like anything else I can think of at the moment relates to the above.

NO ONE OWES YOU ANYTHING!

Shut the fuck up. Listen. Work hard. Earn your shit.

Don't think you are smarter than all who came before you. Once you start thinking you are you are about to make a fool of yourself

Put your cellphone down and walk away from it for at least a couple hours a day. During that time, try to experience the rest of the world around you.