Advice from Harvard Business School's Class of 1963
hbs1963.com
hbs1963.com
"My one big mistake in life has been providing a trust fund for my five children. I’m very comfortable paying for an education for as long as they want to study in a reputable university. However, providing additional funds so they could have a lifestyle beyond what they have achieved on their own was a mistake." - DICK RESCH
I don't know how big that fund was, and it might have been a mistake in his particular case - but I can tell you that the opposite (not providing any financial help under the "you must get ahead on your own" mantra) creates a lot of bitterness - missing U$ 10.000 for a down payment to buy a house (which I wouldn't mind having loaned, not a giveaway) and having to keep on paying rent and toiling at an awful company, while your parent inherits several millions, hurts. So does not having the possibility of asking for seed money for a startup, and having other people deny you by saying "your wealthy father doesn't invest in you, so why would I?". (note: I'm 32, I know I should have some money saved away by now, but I did make mistakes - actually I think I prove my point, not giving money doesn't guarantee your children won't make mistakes :P )
It is fraudulent to make a down payment for a mortgage with borrowed money according to most mortgage contracts. IIRC even gifts from parents for down payments generally need to come with documentation clearly stating that it is a gift and not a loan.
But would I have acted differently if I knew there was a trust fund? I think I might have. Not having one created a sense of urgency.
Would a good policy be promising nothing, then giving it when you see it will be put to good use? I don't know – any parents figure this one out.
"Recognize opportunities and see trends before everyone else"
Sounds easy enough.
"Choose work you enjoy"
No kidding!
"One mistake is to stick with a highly profitable business model too long when the world is changing. Another is to abandon the old for the next new thing, particularly if the path to profitability is not clear."
So change is good. Unless it's bad.
"Happiness is the best measure of success."
So my Reddit Karma is worthless?
"The greatest gift you can give your children is to love one another."
AWWWWWWWWWW <3
Think about it game-theoretically:
If you live as if you'll die, and you don't, you'll have a much more interesting life, because you took advantage of it thinking you're living under the Sword of Damocles.
If you live as if life extension will keep you going, and it fails, you'll have a short, boring life, full of things you put off until it was too late.
Those are the extreme values of the matrix; if you work through the rest, I think you'll find that the most utility is always gained by living as if you'll die eventually.
(Living as if you'll die tomorrow is romantic and all, but it would prevent you from working towards any goal which takes more than less than a day to complete. It could also land you in prison, deported to a less-pleasant foreign country, or both.)
Procrastination is a human error. You can choose to live each day to the fullest without embracing deathism.
I never disagreed with this.
> You can choose to live each day to the fullest without embracing deathism.
I almost disagreed with this.
My point is that procrastination has its payoff as well, but, even if you don't die, the payoff from doing as much as you can is higher.
"Keep re-inventing yourself through self-education, because industries change quickly."
Comparing Facebook and Apple to ponzi scheme? Check.
Comparing founders and VCs to blood-suckers? Check.
Comparing Facebook and Apple employees to slaves? Check.
Zero useful information, 100% linkbaiting by stirring controversy.