I've seen this before.. but it came around the office again today so I thought I would put it up on the blog for your enjoyment.BTW.. these comments are NOT directed at my (fantastic!) kids or any of yours. This is just a good reminder of some basic truths.
It would be fun to hear the post-college blog readers weigh in on your thoughts, experiences and the most interesting differences YOU discovered as you transitioned from school to career! So - please share your thoughts via comments!
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. This concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
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.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
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.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. 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 of your parent's generation, 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 doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
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.
2 comments:
Some great lessons...do you think he would speak at KC?? Maybe 2011?
He's got some pretty sobering things to say for sure, though the delivery is a little blunt. But maybe that's because my experience in the business world has been in an environment that is pretty, well, awesome. But I have a feeling there are others out there who have had very different experiences than mine.
What has helped me approach these realities with confidence is understanding who I am really am: a loved child of God. I don't have to worry about how the world sees me because I know God sees me, knows me, and loves me just as I am. It sounds cheezy, but it's one of the fundamental truth of our faith!
Post a Comment