Wisdom. Knowledge. Understanding. What I wish I knew when I was a teenager.

"Information is not knowledge."

~Albert Einstein

With free time until a new assignment November 1^st  I have been working through a “MeDOs” list.  Except, it seems my two teenage daughters have decided that they are in one crisis or another defined as "stressed out" to them:

A) HOMEWORK: After job, boyfriend, friends 

B) SLEEP: Cell phone alarm doesn't work 

C) BOSS: Won't switch shifts because of A) 

D) MONEY:  Equals clothes, gas, entertainment 

E) CAR: Gas drains from D) because of A)

I bet you know of cures or recommendations.   Trust me, they’re teenagers.  They don't want it.  They want to be heard and understood.  They certainly don’t want you to tell them how to solve anything.  

My father passed away a year ago October 28, 2011.  I miss him.  We would always have these great conversations.  He was 76, just shy of 77.  He seemed to always call when Mom was out playing bridge and between his beloved Vancouver Canucks games (or baseball, etc.)    When I was the same age as my daughters, he went to work and that’s all I remember really.  Everything else revolved around me.  Hmm, let’s see, homework (check), working (check) … you get the picture!  I don’t recall asking his advice or if I did, what that advice may have been.  I doubt I was listening.

It was the past 5 or 10 years that I started to ask his advice.  Perhaps retirement and aging brings out the glory days of wanting to revisit them, share them, or just plain have your kids learn from them?  Most likely, nature evolves into a pattern where we want to hear about everything from our parents.

I’d rather my kids learn NOW what I know several years later, wish I knew or paid attention to while I was in my teens.  Most likely, that will arrive when they hit their 40s, with families of their own.  Miraculously, if they were to listen, this is what I would say:  

MISTAKES:  Everyone makes them.  When you admit them and learn from them, that is when you will grow.

INTEGRITY:  Is something that you have and nobody can take it away from you.

LEARN:  Be a sponge, ask questions, then more questions, clarify if you don’t understand, restate it in a way you comprehend, finally share it.  There is always something you can learn from anyone regardless of age, station or background.

SUCCESS:  As soon as you think you’ve “arrived” you have just limited yourself.  Always have goals, with ladders or specific goals within those goals.

FAILURE:   Is normal.  No, it isn’t cool.  Yet, the coolest people can count the number of failures they’ve had.

REPUTATION:  No matter how far you reach, how far you’ve come, there will always be someone out to discredit you, take you off track, or suck you into negativity or character assassination.   If you keep a steady path, you will see it for what it is.

CHARACTER:  Be known for being a person of character.   It is within your own control.  Beauty, wealth, athleticism fade long before character.

YOUTH:  Youth is not a look, it is a spirit.  Like words in a song:  there are young people wise beyond their years and old people immature.

PERSEVERANCE:  Continue no matter what.  It doesn’t matter how often you face challenges, it is more important how you face them.  

HUMOUR:  Always and often.  Find ways to laugh so hard that it is contagious.

COMMUNICATION:  Listen more, speak less.  You may not realize what you're missing if all you hear is yourself.  Write often to inspires yourself.  Nobody else has to read it to be of value.

DECISIONS:  (My dad’s favourite)  “What’s the payoff?”  What is the worst that could happen?  Instead, focus on what could be the best.

HUMILITY:  Be humble.  There is no such thing as saying “thank you” too much.  When people ask how you are, they’re not asking for a play-by-play.  Let others brag about accomplishments, if they’re meaningful, you won’t have to.

INTELLIGENCE:  Is not IQ.  It is a measurement of what your brain can absorb.  Your attitude determines what you retain.

“Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says “I’m possible”

~Audrey Hepburn

 “MeDOs”


HEALTH:  Annual Physical: Usually schedule around my birthday.  Life is a gift.
AUTO:   Maintenance: September is a good goal to have. Back to everything.
CLOTHES:  Sort through clothes I no longer want.  Donate to charity
PAPERWORK: Organize paperwork in advance for tax season.  Proactive.