Whatever “important, but uncomfortable” truths you have learned, I suggest you instantly unlearn them again.
The five worst words parents can say are: “It’s time to grow up.”
It’s the ultimate form of all the things people tell you you “can’t” do:
- “You can’t become an astronaut, Neil.”
- “It’s bad manners to leave your drink standing around, Frank.”
- “Bartender isn’t a real job Mark, maybe try being a carpenter?”
Well guess what, Neil Armstrong did become an astronaut. Leaving his drink out on the porch over night is how Frank Epperson gave us the popsicle at 11 years old. And if Mark Cuban had gone through with becoming a carpenter, he wouldn’t own the Dallas Mavericks today.
Whenever people tell you: “Life ain’t easy, but that’s how it is,” what they’re really saying is: “I once used to believe in this like you do, but I’ve failed for so long that now I don’t.”
They think they’re doing you a favor, but they’re only projecting their own excuses on you to feel better about themselves.
Children don’t give a damn about the rules of the world. They find out through experimentation which ones apply to them and which ones don’t.
Children aren’t afraid of being wrong. They know what’s true for others doesn’t have to be true for them.
I say screw all these lessons, all these rules created by the limits of other people’s reality. Be a child, go as fast as you can, bash into the walls and when you do, learn for yourself.
Make your own rules. May you never grow up.
