What Would You Say

What Would You Say

By Keith Bunn Jr.

January 6, 2013

If you could be in an auditorium talking about "life" in general, to a bunch of middle school to high school aged children what would you say? Believe it or not, this is what I've been thinking about for some time now. I think I've learned more in the past 10 years then I did most of my life. So what would I say? Here are 6 topics I've come up with so far.

How do you want to be remembered

How do you want your dash to represent you? You know, the dash on your tomb stone between the date you were born and the date you died. That small dash represents your entire life, no matter if you only lived a few days or to a ripe age of 100. How do you want to be remembered? To give you an example; I want to be remembered as a good provider and a loving husband and father to my wife and kids, as well as a good son and brother to my parents and brother and sisters.  A good friend, someone that could be counted on when my friends needed help. A hard worked to my co-workers, and a teacher to others. I want to be remembered as someone who had integrity, and told the truth, even when it meant I was going to get in trouble. 

In a nut shell, that what I'm talking about. So if that is how you'd like to be remembered too, you need to start living it. Because there is no way you can act one way and be remembered another way.

Continue to learn

Never stop learning! This is so important! And in today's world, there are so many ways you can continue to learn. We have the internet, books, college, seminars, workshops, etc... Today's market place, your value is based on what you know, not what you can do. Sure, there are a few exceptions out there, but if you look at who is making the top dollar in the workplace, it is the person who has some knowledge in their pocket.

Consider the opportunity cost

Now what does that mean? Well to give you a financial example; If you invested a $1000, you can't take that same $1000 and go on a cruse. The same goes with your life, there will be many things that come up in your life that you're going to have to sit down and make a decision on, asking yourself  "If I do this, I won't be able to do that. So which one do I want to do more and is the wisest choice for me today and my future?"

As adults, sometimes we have to make those hard decision. Its just part of life.

Do what you love to do

What I mean by that title is, do what you love to do as a way of making a living and supporting you and your family. We all spend a good portion of our waking time working and life is too short to be working on something you hate. Find what your passions are and do that. Your passion may or may not make you wealthy, but you'll wake up every morning full of energy and excited to get your day started. You will find the old saying to be true. "Turn your vacation into your vocation and you'll never work a day in your life!"

Stay out of debt

You knew this was going to be in here somewhere. Don't go into debt for any reason! If I would have learned just this one thing, my life would have been so much simpler  So don't fall for the myths out there that you need a credit score to make it in today's world. I know, you will be told by many people that you will need a credit score to get a car, a house, a job, etc... That is simply NOT true. If you don't have a credit score, that means you have never gone into debt. So put yourself in the shoes of the car dealer, the person selling their home, or the employer looking to hire you. If you are debt free and have money saved to buy things with cash, it is a win, win for everyone. You get the car you want free an clear, and you get the home you want free an clear. As for the employer checking your credit before hiring you, they are checking to see how much of a risk you are to the company for possibly stealing from them because of your debt load. But if you explain to them that the lack of having a credit score is because you're debt free, that's a huge plus for you because they don't have to worry about you at all. And if all they are going by to hire you is a credit score and they still don't hire you, then you don't want to work for those stupid people anyways.

Don't let Good get in the way of Great

I've heard many people say that they are doing fine, good or OK when asked how their life is. Or they'll give the same answers when you show them ways they can improve their lives, "We're doing fine (good or OK), we don't need that." 

And you know, those people could very well be doing fine, good, or OK. But what goes through my mind when they say that is, "Wouldn't you rather be doing Great though?!" Please don't ever settle with just having a fine, good, or OK life! There are always ways to improve your life. Some of them by what we've already discussed in this blog. 

Chris Hogan said it best. Chris had a football coach that always told the team, "Good, better, best! Never let it rest until your good is better, and your better is best! 

That says it all right there!

Questions

1) What would you say to a bunch of middle school to high school aged children?

2) Give me 1 or 2 things you would do now based on what we discussed?

I hope my posts inspire you to look at what you’re doing financially and if needed, make some changes that will cause you to win financially. I also look forward to reading your views on any articles or postings that I may post. For more money news, facts and ideas, follow me on Facebook, or Twitter. Thank you!