I figured with parenthood and childbirth being the hottest topic discussed in the office lately. As well as Education taking a lot of strain, with teachers striking, students protesting, Cosatu’s “ingenious” education plan (I had to laugh when I heard about this). I came across the following excerpt and thought it appropriate, considering the source

Bill Gates speech: 11 rules for your kids.

For those of you who have never heard of Bill Gates he is the co-founder of Microsoft Corp estimated to be worth a net value of 53 Billion Dollars and Forbes second richest man in the world. I have a feeling that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to being successful in life.

  • Rule 1
    Life is not fair – get used to it!
  • Rule 2
    The world doesn’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.

I think a few adults could learn from these rules too. The lesson I got from it, is you need to stop the mindset that you are more special than anybody else, that the world owes you. The world owes you nothing, you need to earn it. Get rid of the packet of Simba chips on your shoulder and you will find that the world is a much better place to live in.