Fifteen Things I’d Like To Say to High School Lazy Man |
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The other day I had a dream. One of my older friends, a scientist had figured out how to soup up a DeLorean. It was the mechanics for street racing or anything like that… but when it reached 88mph the car had the ability to go back in time! I know it sounds crazy, but go with me on this one. I thought about what I might tell Lazy Man back in high school and came up with the following:
15. Learn about Compounding Interest - There’s a reason why Einstein called compound interest “the most powerful force in the universe.” (In reality my high school math teacher pushed this on our class, so I did know this in high school.)
14. There’s a young woman who lives less than 8 miles from your home. You’ll end up marrying her, so perhaps you should get started now before she moves 200 miles away and ten years pass.
13. I know it seems like you are saving a lot of money now. You are really doing a good job, but expenses will arise soon.
12. The Internet company that gave you a raise to 90K at age 24, will end up laying off the entire department with in a year…
11. …so you probably shouldn’t buy that new sports car convertible - even if it is under 30K. Plus it won’t impress that girl nearly as much as you thought it might.
10. However, don’t give up that summer in Newport, RI. You’ll have so many memories that will last a lifetime.
9. You won’t end up associating with any of the friends you have now.
8. Day-trading Internet stocks (you’ll understand what an Internet stock is later) is fun - like gambling… because that’s what it will be. You’ll end up losing… Plus… doing your taxes will be a pain as well.
7. Stay away from girls from Maine or named Shannon. You’ll meet quite a few of each and neither will be good for you.
6. The Computer Science degree is great, but really look into getting a MBA.
5. Look into gathering domain names of generic items and concepts as soon as possible.
4. Avoid buying 250-300 CDs, you’ll have better things for money such as…
3. … buying real estate. Seriously look into a home as early as possible. Mom will help you if necessary.
2. You were far ahead of your time with that purchase of Founder’s Growth in high school. Excellent plan to put $50 a month in there. You’ll be even smarter by betting on Bill Miller in two years and getting 10 years of S&P 500 beating performance… just stick with it and don’t cash it all out.
1. Put some time into learning how to read quickly (without compromising comprehension) and write effectively. You are going to have a series of horrendous English teachers that will make you read books like Ethan Frome. You are going to doubt that there’s really anything of any practical use. Dig deep into what they are saying or learn on your own, because it will be more important than programming language you’ll ever learn.
Here are some things that others would say to themselves in high school:
- Rich Minx - agrees with the CD savings. Don’t tell Lazy Man and Health, but spending all your money on alcohol sounds link fun.
- Susanna in the comments says “don’t let your fiance run up his credit card balance.”
- Brip Blap regrets doing vodka shots with Russian Mafiosos. Yes, you read that right.
- Blunt Money sounds like she would tell herself to be more confident.
- Cannibal Crowley wish he tried out for the football team. I wish I did as well, not because I’m athletic, but because I love the game and would like to be closer to it.
- Smith’s Trading Posts had some great thoughts about high school.
- Hockey Mom seems to have remained friends with all her high school friends. That’s the exact opposite of me. Then again that comes as no surprise, since I’m about as far as a Hockey Mom as you can be.
What would you tell your high school self? If you write about it and drop me an e-mail or a comment I’ll highlight your story above.
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Propeller25 Responses to “Fifteen Things I’d Like To Say to High School Lazy Man”
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November 17th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
[...] other people’s sites. Significant traffic has been driven to my site by incoming links from Lazy Man and Money, Money and Such, Four Pillars, Saving For A Home of My Own and The Digerati Life, among others. [...]
November 8th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Totally agree about girls named Shannon…dated two of em, neither one worked out too well for me
October 6th, 2007 at 5:06 am
[...] I’d say to high school BB Posted in June 29th, 2007 by bripblap in goals, thoughts I read an interesting article at Lazy Man and Money this morning entitled “15 things..”. It got me thinking about what I would tell myself, aged 18 or so, if I [...]
August 29th, 2007 at 5:56 am
[...] more I read his writing the more I find we have in common. As an example, I wrote, Fifteen Things I’d like to say to High School Lazy Man and he wrote, What I’d Tell Myself if I Were 18 Again. I actually enjoyed his post more than [...]
June 26th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Don’t fall for that very stupid first high school boyfriend. Run, run away fast. But then if it wasn’t for my desire to leave home so early I wouldn’t be where I am today and whom I’m with.