Thursday, June 24, 2010
Advice From A Dad
Dads say a lot over the years, giving me some valuable lessons.
I am attempting here to summarize his thoughts...so call this a paraphrase of Dad's Life Wisdom:
* The bank is not your financial security. The best credit line available is the one attached to your emergency savings fund. Remember, the borrower is slave to the lender, and you do not want to be a slave to big banks. Take my word for it!
* Do NOT depend on government for making your life easy. In an emergency, don't be too proud to accept help, but do not make it a way of life.
* You can't depend on schools to provide your full education. You must self-educate beyond the lessons taught in school. Challenge your educators, and challenge your own thoughts. Read books. Read books contrary to your own opinion, so that you may learn another point of view. Read books on subjects you don't think you care about and you just may discover your passion.
* Getting rich rarely comes quickly. Building wealth takes time, and a lot of hard work. If you want to be successful in anything, you must work at it for hours every day - sometimes late into the night, and early in the morning. If you are happy with mediocrity, punch the clock after 8 hours, plop down in front of a television and waste valuable time until you fall asleep. Repeat this process until the weekends when you can do even more of the same.
* Be skeptical. Do not believe everything you read, most things you hear, and even a few things you see with your own eyes. Question everything. Nothing in life is black and white.
And, while we're on the subject of Dads, let me leave you with one final gift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nifq3Ke2Q30
Finish the race.