Dear Next Generation: Learn by Leaning Into Life

Get outside, build skills, and don't be afraid of hard work

Dear Next Generation, an advice column from readers to young people. (Photo by Shutterstock)

Hello,

I am 74 years old and have traveled all over the world to 95 countries. I have taught many young people how to get on with their lives, and I have a pretty good batting average.

Lessons to live by: Learn self-responsibility and discipline and how to take care of yourself. Learn to do things with your hands instead of just a computer. I believe people with a skilled trade, such as carpenters, mechanics, welders, chefs, nurses, surgeons, and pilots, will rule the workplace in the future. Let’s face it, you can’t build a house sitting behind a computer. Warning: I am not politically correct, just truthful and honest.

Learn to read, and read for three hours a day. By learn to read, I mean learn to like reading and learning from reading, not from YouTube. My neighbor hounded me to read every day and gave me books to read and yelled at me for not reading.

“Reading is cheating,” he would say. Turns out, he was right. People always ask me, “How do you know that?” I tell them, “Because I read a lot.”

I truly believe that the most important lesson in life is learning to do things that you don’t want to do. Most people don’t like to cook because they don’t know how to cook. Learn to cook, and you will love cooking. And everybody has to eat, so it is a great skill to learn.

Pay attention to the job market. Look in the help wanted pages and see what is needed in your town. You will find that it doesn’t say “young lazy person with zero skills.” Learn to get up early with the sun and go outside and experience the new day instead of sleeping the day away. Learn to take over the chores of the household you are living in. Mow the lawn, clean the house, do the laundry and shopping.

Learn to do things that you do not want to do and you will become a very successful, productive person in life. I am passing this along because older people saw potential in me and became mentors in my life, as long as I learned to listen and do things I did not want to do.

Finally, don’t forget to thank God that you are here and learn to become the person he wants you to become.

Blessings always,

William H. Addeo, Florida

___________

What advice would you like to give to the younger generations?

We call on all of our readers to share the timeless values that define right and wrong and pass the torch, if you will, through your wisdom and hard-earned experience. We feel that the passing down of this wisdom has diminished over time and that only with a strong moral foundation can future generations thrive.

Send your advice, along with your full name, state, and contact information, to [email protected] or mail it to: Next Generation, The Epoch Times, 229 W. 28th St., Floor 7, New York, NY 10001.