One oddity I was taught came from a friend. I said: as a new parent what is one thing you’ve learned that you can tell me, that nobody else will?


He said “That’s easy: nobody cares about your kids. You and your wife will, and maybe a grandparent or three. Don’t expect anyone else to”. And he was right!
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Get off the grid.

(And STFD and :-).)
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Don't let Perfection become the enemy of The Possible.

This one took me awhile to adopt. Compromise is not a dirty word or a failure -it is nearly a universal necessity.
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I really disagree with that....maybe I've been really fortunate, but there have been lots of people I know who have taken a genuine interest and care for my kids. These can be other family members, parents of their peers, teachers and educators, coaches etc.

I also know that as a child, I really benefited from people who cared for me even though they weren't my parents.
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Be selfish

Life as we know it is likely an unplanned cosmic opportunity and you only get one shot at it

So strike a balance between living your life now and working towards some ideal future state

When you're dying you're not going to be thinking about how great your retirement was due to solid planning when you were younger*, you're going to be thinking about all the things you wished you would've done if you had it over again

*you should definitely still plan for getting old
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Lord loves a workin man. Don't trust whitey. And if you get it go to the doctor and get rid of it.
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Life's a shit sandwitch and everyday you take another bite.
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Have sex with your wife twice a week.
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Make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life, because the moment you take your last breath here on earth and you haven't come to the realization that Jesus is Lord, you will wish you had. You will have all eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in a place far worse than this existence here on earth to regret making yourself god of your life. Your goodness apart from Jesus here on earth will not save you.

Mark 8:36-37

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul?
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Those that don't pay attention to history repeats it. It's hard to know where you're going if you don't where you are and where you have been.
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Have cash on hand, food & water in storage, and enough ammo to take down a small army.

A couple boxer dogs never hurt for protection and loyal companionship.
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Sweat the small stuff in classroom discipline. That way they do not become big stuff.

Quit looking forward to the next thing. You will wish your life away.

Don't be an asshole.

Every day you wake up is a good day.
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The way I heard this is:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those that do remember the past are condemned to be dragged into repeating it by those other idiots.
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Speak less
Listen more

and don't feed the flippin' trolls
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If I'm speaking to a younger me, my advice is to seek objectivity.

1. Quit being being a pussy about what objectively doesn't matter.
2. Exercise a little more prudence about what objectively does.

But that's just me. So if I'm talking to a random kid, I'd probably tell them the following.

1. Life is long and you get one shot. Consequences matter, but you get one shot at this thing.

2. Cash always spends. You can't be broke if you have cash in the bank. But never - ever underestimate the power of compounding returns.

3. You can never really contribute to any relationship if you can't function by yourself. Be mindful.
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