This is what I would tell my child to do with their life.
- Create a foundation within yourself. So you are able to rely on yourself in case everything crumples apart.
- Smile each chance you get.
- Live life as an experience. When you live life as an experience, you have no limitations.
- Acquire knowledge and data from every experience.
- Live without expectations. Without expectations, there is no disappointment.
- Trust others but only with information you wouldn’t mind having leaked. People can and will back stab you for no reason at all.
- Be humble, hungry and honest. No one likes a cocky and arrogant know it all.
- Make friends. The world is lonely when you’re all alone.
- Don’t compete with others. Instead, consistently improve upon yourself.
- Learn how to become a story teller. Facts tell. Stories sell.
- Sleep 8 hours a day.
- Eat 2 or more meals a day.
- Exercise a few times a week, preferably everyday. Even a fifteen minute walk is fine.
- Forget the future. Don’t dwell in the past. Live in the present.
- Think of at least three things of which you are grateful for each morning.
- Save some money for a rainy day. You’ll need an umbrella because I ain’t buying you one.
- Spend some money on things you enjoy.
- Have an attitude of abundance.
- Tell the people whom you are grateful for that you are grateful for having them in your life.
- Forgive the people who have wronged you. Even if you don’t want to tell them, forgive them in your heart. It is toxic to dwell on things.
- Help others in need.
- Pay things forward.
- Don’t let your career or education define who you are.
- Find love. It’ll be worth it. Even if it doesn’t work out now, try again.
- And last of all, always know that you are loved by mommy and daddy.
The only problem with telling your kids what to do with their life is that a lot of kids don’t listen to their parents. I listened to my grandpa Robert L. Landis because I was his special child, but I know I didn’t listen to my grandma or mother when I grew up. So if I tell them all this stuff, they might do the exact opposite. That would mean that I might end up with another delinquent, like myself. Oh no!
Or were you thinking more along the lines of a job or career for them to choose?
Quite frankly… Who cares what they do. A job doesn’t define who we are anymore. It is just where we go check in for a paycheck. Some of us get quite talented at our crafts as well. If my kids do, then all the better.
However, I don’t really care for what happens with my kid’s life. When I grew up, my aunt, uncle, grandma, everyone… They all had gatherings when they had friends come over and all they did was play a game of “Keeping up with the Jones.” People would say things like my son joined the football team or my son got into Stanford or my son is an investment banker.
Let’s be real. Who cares what your kid does. I don’t. And I know you don’t care what my kids do either. You just want to brag. Only problem is I don’t have the attention span to listen. So as long as my kids are happy doing whatever it is that they do, that is all that matters.
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Originally posted on Quora.