What’s the Best Advice You’d Give to Someone Younger Than You?

It would be the same advice I always tried to give my kids: do your best at everything you do.

Shit happens. That’s life.

And, in general, other than a small group of people—mostly family, hopefully—the world doesn’t really give a shit about you. So don’t go through life expecting that you’re entitled to anything.

Find a job you’re good at and, if you’re lucky, one you actually enjoy. Don’t rack up a mountain of debt. Make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in. Nothing lasts forever, and the rough times will eventually pass if you remain consistent and diligent.

Money is important. We all need it. But don’t let it control your life or become your primary motivation.

If you spend your life chasing money, you’ll always be chasing it. And you will never catch it.

Love someone for who they are. None of us are perfect, and expecting someone else to be perfect is a pretty good way to guarantee disappointment.

Communicate. Always.

Share the same vision for your life and work toward it together. What works for you doesn’t have to work for everyone else, and honestly, what anyone else thinks about your life shouldn’t matter nearly as much as you think it does.

Do your best.

Take responsibility for your choices.

Don’t spend your life trying to impress people who aren’t paying attention.

And when life inevitably kicks you in the ass, get back up and keep going.

That’s about as much wisdom as this old guy has accumulated so far.