This morning, Brian shared with me an e-mail that he had received this past week, containing some interesting tidbits from a speech that Bill Gates gave at a high school.  These things certainly aren't politically correct, but they are definitely "right on the money" (no pun intended)!  I have no idea where Mr. Gates stands spiritually, but I'm thinking he needs to team up with Alex & Brett Harris (of Do Hard Things) because he would certainly agree with them when they say that the world's expectations for teenagers are WAY too low these days.  Here are some "rules for life" that Mr. Gates shared:

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.

Interesting, huh?  I  thought so!  These are the very things that Brian and I were trying to instill into the hearts and minds of the young people at our church, when we were serving as Jr. & Sr. High SS teachers.  I was continually amazed, when looking for curriculum, how dumbed-down it has become.  It's really no wonder that kids have become so lazy and complacent, expecting life to be handed to them on a silver platter. 

EDITED: I stand corrected.  Mr. Gates isn't actually the originator of this list.  Thanks to my cousin, Felicity, for sharing this weblink with me.   Be sure to check it out for a more detailed version of the list above, actually originally created by Charles Sykes.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these rules (either list).  Please leave a comment...

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Mar. 15, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by 4sweetums

Oh! I think I have read this before, but what a great reminder. I think he is right on the money!!!! I see so much laziness these days. It really needs to be fixed. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Dawn

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Mar. 15, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Felicity

Bill Gates is great but he didn't write that piece. It's by Charles Sykes, an educator and author. His books are pretty interesting if you haven't read any before. Here's the original list (it's slightly different):

http://xqrx.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry060928-084532

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Mar. 18, 2009 - Good Advice...

Posted by proverbsmomof3

No matter who said it, how true they are. We need to make sure are kids are ready for the realities of what faces them outside our doors.
Thanks for the reminder.

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