Wisdom from Bill Gates to a class at a High School

[Grandpa Troll]

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won'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.

After finding out that my source was indeed falsified, I simply share some good advice for those preparing to exit High School

[Solomwi]

Snopes check results in 3... 2...

[Grandpa Troll]

Snopes check results in 3... 2...

Well, if its incorrect by snopes, then it is still great advice

[Asher]

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.asp

[Grandpa Troll]

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.asp

Thanks Asher and Solomwi


Still great advice, even though Bill Gates didnt share it, according to Snopes

[Grandpa Troll]

If a MOD or Staff or Admin could change title, so as to not falsely credit Mr.gates with this wisdom

Thanks

Grandpa "Officially Corrected" Troll

[KrazyHorse]

The reason I was about to call bull**** was this:

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..

OMG A CAR PHONE? YOU MUST BE RICH.

[Grandpa Troll]

The reason I was about to call bull**** was this:

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..

OMG A CAR PHONE? YOU MUST BE RICH.

I agree, you could have a lemonade stand with your best buddy Bubba, he owns it and you are the Vice President with a pay as you go cell phone...........

Of course, $ 60 K might be a bit much but not if you both have a day job and part time night job and sell lemonade on weekends, you might make $ 60K before expense are taken out

[Solomwi]

The reason I was about to call bull**** was this:

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..

OMG A CAR PHONE? YOU MUST BE RICH.

At the very least, that's reason to call outdated.

[Asher]

60k out of high school is a bit much. But certainly not university.

[Grandpa Troll]

60k out of high school is a bit much. But certainly not university.

I agree

Our daughter is a P.A., 4 years UNC Chapel Hill and 2 years medical school Bowman Gray (Wake Forest School of Medicine and she is over $ 90K

This I agree

The point I like about these points is the kids dont get a free ride in society as some did in school.....

But, it is good wisdom to share irreguardless of the source, the central truth remains the same, you have to work for what you want, not many get it handed to them

[Seeker]

Very old...

BTW some responses,

- My boss is a total ***** cat. She gets yelled at and bullied all the time. In fact, given all the directors and liaisons and managers and what not it is extremely difficult to tell who is, in fact, 'the boss' on a given day. For smart asses, 'the guy who signs my paycheque' is a system called Unitopia. The guy who hired me was Rick 'cause I could match him shot for shot and talk fantasy hockey. The people who could fire me are a rapidly changing group of at least half a dozen people with little in the way of clear lines of authority.

-'Summers off' LOL I get 12 weeks a year off. In fact, counting holidays and test days I get more time off now then I did in High School.

-You won't make 'xxx' money right out of... well maybe. There are quite a few people I know who did start making money right away.

There's something I don't really like about the 'tone' of this piece. It seems to be targeted at some sort of American middle class stereotype teenager that I have rarely ever seen existing in reality.
It's like its message is:
-don't care about causes just do what we tell you.
-you will be average like everyone so just prepare for your cubicle now. Don't even think of starting your own business while still in school or following an alternative economic/financial path.
-Obey authority.
-You will have a grinding tedious job with a tyrannical fascistic boss, no free time, and will have your spirity broken JUST LIKE MUM AND DAD 'cause you're not better.

Just pointing out what I feel was the subtext.

lol, I REALLY hate unearned, illegitimate 'authority'. Maybe it comes from dealing with tin-pot Caesars in the immigration department so often.

Here's my advice to the Class of '09:

-To hell with whatever your guidance counsellor said. If ya ain't doing your own research by now, start.

-**** authority. Ain't never this world going to change if we all bow down and take it up the ass. You wanna make money and be happy? Do the Different, and Do it Better Than Most People. Or, as an alternative maxim, Pick One Thing, and Do that One Thing Better than 90% of the people out there. It doesn't really matter what that thing is.

-Make your own mistakes and learn from them. Don't make other peoples mistakes.