When I was 16, my parents moved from San Diego to San Francisco. I chose to stay behind… and they let me. I stayed in High School and for the most part I still got good grades. But I had to work every single day after school and most weekends just to have enough money to survive. Working and living on my own exposed me to a lot of adult situations that I was too young to handle. I saw things I didn’t want to see, like my drunk boss at a gas station rip people off. And I experienced things I should never have experienced at 16, like having the Iron Horsemen motorcycle gang come into the gas station where I worked alone, late at night, and gas up without paying.
Being young, naïve, and inexperienced was a handicap. But so was living on my own without parents. Sure I would call them once in a while, but I never wanted them to know I was scared and struggling, so I would just say I was fine. But I wasn’t fine and some of the decisions I made were terrible. I still cringe when I think about my stupid mistakes, but I also realize that if I would have had an older person to talk to, someone I trusted to give me advice, I could have avoided a lot of painful mistakes. I wish I would have had a “Mr. Miyagi” like in “The Karate Kid” to give me advice, but I didn’t.
Mr. Miyagi dolled out some pretty sage advice. For example, “First learn stand, then learn fly.” That was his advice to take things one step at a time. I didn’t have a mentor back then, but I can be a mentor now. And if you have a few young people in your life, don’t be afraid to reach out and offer them some sage advice. They may not take it… but then again… they might!
Some of the wiser advice I have received over the years…
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