10+1 things to learn from Bill Gates
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically- correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it. (A good way to start when addressing to teens. No more "I am a victim" shit. Life was never going to be fair. Some will get a headstart, while some will always stay rich, while some will have a broken home to contend with. You play with the cards you are dealt with. Real advantage is not the cards you hold but the mindset you have.)
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.(True, no touchy-feely shit cause that ain't gonna cut it. Only you can make yourself feel OK about yourself, no one else can validate you. The sooner you learn that only your two feet can make you stand, the sooner you will get over complaining over the lack of crutches and hand rails.)
Rule 3. You will not make US$60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.(Not so much a problem in Asia, but more so in Western developed nations where teens tend to drop out and not finish high school. There is nothing spectacular about universities or higher degrees except that it tells the world you can read, write and memorise about a small topic. One should aim for a degree for the fact that it opens up a plethora of options for one's future.)
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.(Never look down on anyone's job or based your perception of someone on the job they hold. Every job is an opportunity to prove yourself that you can do better. Sooner or later, someone will notice you.)
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parent's fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.(Nobody owes you a living. Not even your parents. If they provide for you - good; if they don't - too bad, grow up already. Even investors in stocks sometimes bitch about the markets, again the markets do not owe investors a living, it is not there to guarantee your livelihood.)
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they now are. 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 your parent's generation created, 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 does not bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. (A hard warning but relatively true. Work life is tough and there are many things they won't and can't teach you which you need to be prepared for in order to survive well. How to teach street-smarts?)
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.(Nice one Bill, my advice to all, girls at different age groups will look for very different type of guys. The teenage girls, girls in the first 2-3 years of working life, girls about to hit 30 and ladies past 35. Know this causal relationships, especially if you are a nerd in high school.)
Salvatore_Dali
