Dear Youngsters of America,
I was born in 1955 and blessed with a mother and father who taught me and my brother and two sisters the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and the simplest rule, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Mom and Dad also taught us that “Giving is better than receiving” and I realized how true that was when I did something for someone in need. It was a win-win!
My parents also taught me the value of hard work and earning a living. My first paying job was at 8 years old cleaning stalls at a nearby horse ranch for $.50 an hour, but the immense pride of buying my first bicycle a year later was powerful. I developed a strong work ethic to carry me through a successful career that I recently retired from.
Which brings me to my final advice to the Next Generation: If government and society will still allow you to earn a living in the future, make sure it is doing something that you love, because then you won’t “work” a day in your life.
Sincerely, Paul Golde
Dear Next Generation,
“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” —Edgar Allan Poe
When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is quit digging.
Listen to people older than yourself. Learn from their life experiences. Don’t repeat their mistakes.
Listen to those who have a different opinion than your own. Listen to understand, not push your own point of view.
Travel to places that are different from where you grew up.
Learn that there will always be people who are richer than you. Don’t try to keep up.
The world doesn’t care what you look like, but people care about how you treat them.
The world will kill you if you give it a chance.
Don’t cheat. The rules are there to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity.
Laws are in place to keep society in place. If you break a law, society will punish you. Be ready.
Learn how to apologize sincerely.
Learn to forgive yourself; don’t let your bad decisions define who you are going to be tomorrow.
If you do something wrong, fix it and make it right, no matter who you wronged.
Don’t die like a moron.
Don’t ever say, “Here, hold my beer, watch this!”
Marriage isn’t about love, it’s about commitment. Love, sex, and your body will all fade away. In marriage, your body belongs to your spouse. Treat it as such. Men, love your wife. Women, respect your husband and his decisions. Don’t have children unless you are ready to take care of them. You can’t return them.
Your body is not a playground, it is a temple that houses something Holy. Take care of it.
Have blind faith, like a child on Christmas morning.
It’s never just about you. Narcissism never ends well.
God disciplines those He loves. Use difficult circumstances as learning opportunities.
Education is expensive; being stupid is even more expensive.
Be honorable; do the right thing even if it hurts.
Read a lot of different books—travel, science, philosophy, fiction, history. Increase depth of wisdom; get out of the shallow end of the pool. Stay away from Twitter and Instagram. Read history books that were written by the people who experienced it, not those who interpret it. Compare and contrast Fyodor Dostoevsky and Jordan Peterson.
Good luck in your future endeavors. Remember that when we old folks are gone, your future will depend on your children, and your crazy neighbor’s children.
Peace be with you.
Craig Brougher
======Decisions we make become the lives that we live ...
Bob Friedman
