It would be nice to hear more from HD readers who have been there and done that. And to answer the question, “Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?”
I would have been intentional about establishing and cultivating relationships with others that are better, smarter, more successful, more experienced, and more wealthy than me. I could have learned much more much faster. Also, I would have focused more on being more coachable.
I read once that you should take everything that you wish you could tell your 18 year old self and tell it to your son. That is what I have tried to do – he might have even listened to a little bit of it! 😏
From a total life perspective, it took me a long time to truly appreciate how much easier it is to be kind and thoughtful to fellow humans, and how much more satisfying it is. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I ever did cruel things (other than to my younger siblings, and that ended 55 years ago), but I certainly did thoughtless and hurtful things. I’d like a mulligan on that.
From a financial perspective, I am pretty sure that I had to make every stupid financial mistake in the book in order to knock it into my head that the only way to get wealthy is slowly, by saving, investing, and spending less than you have. Fortunately, I did figure it out in time.
M. Scott Peck’s book begins with a line containing this phrase: “Life is Difficult”. I read this in 1978 and realized that “while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
I’d experienced two very serious injuries in the 1950s and one nearly killed me. As a child I really didn’t know how to handle it, but I soldiered on and not only survived but was shaped by and was better for these experiences.
Frankly, I wouldn’t change a thing, although there were some stupid moves on my part that caused problems or discomfort for others. On reflection I would have avoided these. I did learn and I did alter my future behavior. We would say “They can be taught”. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it were not for the decisions made in the face of choices, and there is always a choice. As Peck states, there is pain and there is suffering. They are not the same. It is possible to transcend difficulties, no matter how severe.
I don’t think I would have made a different decision, but there was definitely a fork in the road back in the early 70s. I was a techie working for an international megacorp in my native UK. The BBC offered studio tours to prospective employees and I went because it was probably my only chance to see the studios. I wound up with a job offer. I turned it down, and a couple of years later the megacorp sent me to the US on assignment. If I had taken the job offer I certainly wouldn’t be living in the US now.
I would have been intentional about establishing and cultivating relationships with others that are better, smarter, more successful, more experienced, and more wealthy than me. I could have learned much more much faster. Also, I would have focused more on being more coachable.
I read once that you should take everything that you wish you could tell your 18 year old self and tell it to your son. That is what I have tried to do – he might have even listened to a little bit of it! 😏
From a total life perspective, it took me a long time to truly appreciate how much easier it is to be kind and thoughtful to fellow humans, and how much more satisfying it is. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I ever did cruel things (other than to my younger siblings, and that ended 55 years ago), but I certainly did thoughtless and hurtful things. I’d like a mulligan on that.
From a financial perspective, I am pretty sure that I had to make every stupid financial mistake in the book in order to knock it into my head that the only way to get wealthy is slowly, by saving, investing, and spending less than you have. Fortunately, I did figure it out in time.
M. Scott Peck’s book begins with a line containing this phrase: “Life is Difficult”. I read this in 1978 and realized that “while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”
I’d experienced two very serious injuries in the 1950s and one nearly killed me. As a child I really didn’t know how to handle it, but I soldiered on and not only survived but was shaped by and was better for these experiences.
Frankly, I wouldn’t change a thing, although there were some stupid moves on my part that caused problems or discomfort for others. On reflection I would have avoided these. I did learn and I did alter my future behavior. We would say “They can be taught”. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it were not for the decisions made in the face of choices, and there is always a choice. As Peck states, there is pain and there is suffering. They are not the same. It is possible to transcend difficulties, no matter how severe.
I don’t think I would have made a different decision, but there was definitely a fork in the road back in the early 70s. I was a techie working for an international megacorp in my native UK. The BBC offered studio tours to prospective employees and I went because it was probably my only chance to see the studios. I wound up with a job offer. I turned it down, and a couple of years later the megacorp sent me to the US on assignment. If I had taken the job offer I certainly wouldn’t be living in the US now.