I have an eight year old son and enjoy teaching him all the things he will hear from everyone else (including his mother) that he needs to ignore. Call me crazy but I believe we are raising a generation of go-with-the-flow, sit in back, don't make waves, don't give your opinion if it will offend someone, use credit to get what you want now and pay later, spend more than you make, instant gratification, blend in, follow the crowd kids. My latest and favorite is, "Don't talk to strangers!"
I'm teaching my son to talk to as many strangers as possible. I believe he/she who talks to the most strangers by the time they die will most likely be the wealthiest. Wealthiest not just monetarily but in relationships, legacy, career, and positive influence. Yes, I tell him to talk to strangers - just use judgement and don't get in a car with one. The best way for him to learn who is good or bad is to talk to a lot of people. I believe whoever talks to the most strangers will sell the most, make the most friends, have the best chance of finding the best spouse, and have more career opportunities even if not in sales. Think about it... if he wants to be an astronaut and talks to enough strangers at some point someone is going to say, "Hey, I was an astronaut and here's what I did to achieve that." or "Hey, my best friend was an astronaut let me give you their number." More strangers equals more opportunity, more doors opened, more chance for success.
Too many real estate agents are frozen when it comes to asking strangers for business or even approaching strangers. One of those strangers might change your life forever. I think we are scared because we were programmed to avoid strangers. That programming is part of what holds us from higher achievement. My son will be programmed differently. He knows to talk to as many strangers as possible. Call me a bad parent but I think I've lifted a mental barrier that would always hold him back otherwise. I've got a whole bunch of these type of "lessons" I'm teaching my son. Maybe we need some more bad parenting like this?
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