It’s Not Where You Start, It’s Where You Finish
My son often tries to remind me that, “You and mom don’t live in the real world” because of my success and our lifestyle. And I’m fond of reminding him that I lived in the “real world” for a very long time, and think about it every day, because it makes me appreciate what I’ve been able to accomplish every day. This ain’t my daddy’s money.
It’s not surprising what discipline, hard work, and talent can accomplish. My high school sweetheart/wife and I both wanted to get the hell out of Union City, New Jersey. We did. And that’s why my son and daughter’s “real world” were huge steps up from mine! That’s why I had to pay off my college debt for years after school, and my kids were graduated with zero college debt from private schools.
“I know,” my son used to say, “you walked to school barefoot and used coal to write on a shovel because you had no paper.” Not quite. But I did go to school in a former cheese factory where we constantly had to put bait in the rat traps all over the building and clean the erasers by going outside in all weather and pounding them on the side of the building.
I get a kick out of my son looking at suites I stay in or cars I drive and telling me I’m not in the real world, when I had to listen to my parents arguing vehemently about how to beg, borrow, or steal the $40 rent money or we might be evicted.
My cars have huge windshields to look ahead, but also rear view mirrors, so that I can see what’s behind me. It’s important to consider where you came from.
