52 Kids are Reflections on Your Future

Published: Oct. 30, 2015, 4:07 p.m.

b'Today we\\u2019re going to discuss: How are, or did you raise your kids? It sounds like I\\u2019m actually talking about raising kids. Wait, it\\u2019s really going to be about you and success, but it\\u2019s a great way to do it analogically (if that\\u2019s the right word).\\n\\n\\n\\nAt times it is useful to reflect on how you educate your kids if you want to see how to have business success\\n\\nRemember a couple of episodes ago when I talked about immigrant mentality, and the strong desire to be better and succeed, and how they did this? But there was a generational problem. One of the things that is a problem is that passing on to the sons of the sons, or the daughters of the daughters, etc., that\\u2019s lost over time. \\u201cI want to make sure my kids have all the things I never had,\\u201d has that ever approached your lips, or how many people have you heard say it? If you really want the kids to have the things that you want; you have to let them build upon what you built; build beyond what you did; take what you teach and bring it on further. This is tough, particularly with peer pressure both on you and your kids.\\n\\nIt\\u2019s interesting, you go and take a look, forget the kids for a second, but just think of what happens when somebody buys a new house. Every neighborhood I\\u2019ve moved into, I\\u2019ve noticed that right away\\u2026 Now, there were new homes in the neighborhood so that may be part of it, but anytime somebody does that, what do they do? They stretch themselves far beyond their means, something that really can\\u2019t quite afford yet, but they\\u2019re figuring they can afford it in a year or two after their increases in salary. Within six months, all of those people buy a car that they can\\u2019t afford on top of the house that they couldn\\u2019t afford, and they still haven\\u2019t received their pay raise, and it\\u2019s all peer pressure.\\n\\nDo you teach your kids how to fight peer pressure? You\\u2019re facing it, too. You teach them, you also are teaching yourself. For example, there was one situation, there was a young girl who was halfway through middle school, who was a little bit concerned because she was a follower. She followed all of her friends. One of the things we told her was we talked about peer pressure. Did anybody every tell you: \\u201cYou\\u2019re scared\\u201d, \\u201cYou\\u2019re scared to do this\\u201d, \\u201cYou\\u2019re scared to do that,\\u201d or: \\u201cCome on, come on, what are you afraid of?\\u201d What I did was say: \\u201cTurn around to them and say: \\u2018I\\u2019m not afraid. I\\u2019m telling you no,\\u2019\\u201d and then point to the rest of people that are standing around calling her \\u201cchicken,\\u201d or whatever, or \\u201cafraid,\\u201d and say: \\u201cThey\\u2019re the ones that are afraid. They\\u2019re the ones that are afraid to stand up to you.\\u201d That\\u2019s the kind of thing I\\u2019m talking about.\\n\\nYou have to do the same thing in your own environment, that is, not cave nor try to keep up with the Joneses. Part of it happens with the way people talk to each other and address each other. In a little more sophisticated way as they are with adults, such as the thing with the car. I\\u2019ve had people say to me in that same situation: \\u201cYou going to get a new car?\\u201d I\\u2019d say: \\u201cNo way. No. It works great. Bought it for cash. Bring it in and get it fixed up regularly. Heck, I hope the thing gets to 200,000 miles.\\u201d I\\u2019m probably never going to go that far, but the idea is that you have to push it off, and you have to show your kids and other people around you that you\\u2019re just pushing it off. Then I follow up with: \\u201cI don\\u2019t know anything on any of my cars, on anything, actually, except small mortgage that feels great.\\u201d You\\u2019re setting and making a statement. The idea is that you have to fight it right away, and show your family, show your kids that you\\u2019re doing it. It\\u2019s not just your kids success, but yours as well depends on strong independent decisions.\\n\\nWhat happens with this generational loss of this crucial motivation? One example was my Great-Grandfather was extremely wealthy. I didn\\u2019t know this until I was a little bit older, and I verified it with other relatives.'