But funnel them down the same comfortable, predictable path as everybody else and expect a different result?
“People tell kids they can be anything they want to be.
But they don’t mean that.
They funnel them down the same, safe, comfortable, predictable path as everybody else.
And that’s why kids don’t believe in themselves or their dreams.
They’re hamstrung from the beginning.”
-Ray Zingler on X
“Be all you can be!”
Nah, you have to be “realistic”. You must do what’s safest. Follow this predictable path.
Notice how millions of kids each year attend <insert undifferentiated university> to get <insert undifferentiated degree>.
The context of this post isn’t to demonize college as it is undoubtedly for some (factually, statistically speaking, it’s not for most), but it is to make the point that you can’t do the same things as everybody else and expect a different result.
That is called insanity.
It’s sad that most people are more concerned about outside perceptions from peers who don’t even care about them, than they are with what is best for their kids.
Again, it sounds a lot better to tell your neighbor your kid is going to <insert undifferentiated college> than it does to tell them he’s doing a 2-year paid welding apprenticeship, that will feed into a 6-figure salary in his early 20’s.
Take a guess which kids fares wildly better in the real world?
The kid making a $150k at 25 with a tangible skill that is only increasing in value, or the kid who is $250k in debt at 25, using your credit card to go “get gas”.
I remember it in my own life with my mother (a career public educator) pushing me to go to college.
I know her intentions were pure and she wanted what was best for me, but I attribute attending college as one of the biggest mistakes in my professional career.
I left $150k+ potential earnings on the table during the 2 years I wasted in classes that weren’t teaching me anything. That was another starter home, at that time.
I was fortunately still able to build my business, but I had to do it around school, which looking back, was purely idiotic.
While I was still able to get a great jump on my career in my early 20’s, buy/flip homes, leverage real estate, set up my investment portfolios, & fund my retirement accounts…
How much further ahead could I have gotten if my parents didn’t push me to follow the crowd?
Teach them to be trailblazers.
Not followers.
With a mindset of “you cannot fail, you can only learn & grow” anything is possible.
