The Difference between Well-Informed Kids VS. Ignorant kids

The Difference between Well-Informed Kids VS. Ignorant kids

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3 min read

There is a saying in a well-known, classic read that goes, "smart men not only learn from their limited life experiences, but also from experiences of other successful people around them, in addition to reading up on experiences of better men in history..." (I forgot the name of the book).

If you are not an avid reader yet, then, it's time to start, with Audible!

Books from Curtis Johnson (50 Cent), Helen Keller, and that Disney corporate executive's autobiographical works teach you how to kiss a** at the right time in front of the right people, while classic literary reads from Alice Munro is full of everyday wisdom. Don't forget religious texts like the Quran in Arabic and the Talmud in ancient Hebrew! Apparently many billionaires' kids are required to read the Talmud for better business practices in the families they were born into.

The more you read up on ideas of better men, rather, exceptional people in history, the more inclined you are at recognizing what is appropriate and what isn't. For example: I had one guy friend ask me why it is not okay to randomly ask for job referrals tactlessly when we were at numerous networking events together. His justification was that, "everyone was doing it."

Just because "everyone was doing it" doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do. There is a reason why only a small percentage of the kids in that graduation class landed jobs via referrals and it was definitely not through tactlessly asking corporative executives while they were trying to have a good time at a party with alumni.

Another example came to mind when I read another book about how it is socially inappropriate to comment on your friends' dating choices, money-spending habits and political views - I didn't believe this at first, but reality had proven me wrong many times. But hey, at least I lost friends who weren't compatible to me.

A third example is one that hit home for me emotionally when I was 21: I made a loyal female friend, whom at the time was a very prominent student organization leader, someone who was always busy, and buzzed with campus volunteer opportunities. When she and I got close, she confided in me how her father's extramarital affairs impacted her mental health.

I winced internally, knowing that I wasn't emotionally strong enough to take bad news about bad men in general - I grew up with an absentee father. Of course, at the time, she didn't know that she needed to talk to a counsellor; we both had very little knowledge on mental health. She later on introduced me to a guy friend of hers. And you won't believe what the guy friend confided in me about once we got close.

"My father is cheating on my mother again."

Misery really does love company. When you lack the knowledge to deal with different situations in life, the best thing to do is to read a lot of noteworthy books on how to cope and to have more self-awareness about your well-being.

I had to cut ties with that female friend and the guy friend she introduced me to. It wasn't my job to be a counsellor. They didn't know that it is outside of a friend's realm of responsibilities to listen to their massive family problems so they viewed my ditching as betrayal.

Stay awesome and read, my friends. <3