Guys- what skills do you wish you'd learned earlier in life?

[CaptainHenreh]

It really is a quite useful skill to have. And will be even more so going forward.

Bah, you might think so, if you do it for a living. I'm sure carpenters think it's super important their kids know how to square up a truss, but I could give a shit.

Seems like an odd trade to pick to make your point. Carpentry is another extremely useful skill.

Never said it wasn't useful, it's just the "quite useful and more so going forward" bit. The average person will live a rich and fulfilling life with just a passing knowledge of carpentry. "Ah yes, I am aware that such things exist, they cut wood and shape it into pieces, right? I bet I could do that, given half a desire."

But singling carpentry out as one thing "you should definitely learn" isn't, you know, a priority. In my mind, at least.

i'm feeling pedantic this morning.

Only this morning?

Maybe particularly so today?

[Apoc]

Compromise

[V1GiLaNtE]

- Financial Awareness (ie the cost of this now worth it for the future?)
- I wished I had appreciated learning the piano when I was younger.

[Maengelito]

- financial management. not because i got into a bad spot, thankfully, but because i could have started off way ahead of the game by the time i got into college
- welding
- web design
- self confidence

^^ these things. Well maybe not the web design part.

And also carpentry was brought up earlier. I'd love to have half an idea what I'm doing around a wood shop and know how to make things out of lumber for fun. Perhaps sometime down the road...

[G.Irish]

Spanish
I didn't really try to learn Spanish very well until maybe freshman or sophomore year of high school. I was living in Panama from the 5th grade so I could've learned a lot better if I put in the effort. I'm at a conversational level but not "fluent".

To not be a "nice guy"

How to avoid burnout (maybe I still haven't learned that one)

How to constructively channel competitive rage
I used to be insanely competitive, but I mellowed out around 7th grade. But I think what I needed to do was to channel that competitive fire rather than turn it down. TURN DOWN FOR WHAT

[Maengelito]

How to constructively channel competitive rage
I used to be insanely competitive, but I mellowed out around 7th grade.

Is that when you realized that you sucked at Street Fighter 2? :bootyshake: :lol:

[Goodspeed]

I'm seeing a lot of people say knowledge of finances etc....does anyone have any good reason why that's not taught in school more? Of course kids can be taught outside of school, but if parents don't know the basics of investing etc they might not be able to pass along much knowledge. Really surprised it doesn't seem to be part of regular curriculum - how to save, budget, invest, etc. etc.

Conspiracy by the predatory banking industry to keep people dumb?

/tinfoil hat

[CaptainHenreh]

I'm seeing a lot of people say knowledge of finances etc....does anyone have any good reason why that's not taught in school more? Of course kids can be taught outside of school, but if parents don't know the basics of investing etc they might not be able to pass along much knowledge. Really surprised it doesn't seem to be part of regular curriculum - how to save, budget, invest, etc. etc.

Conspiracy by the predatory banking industry to keep people dumb?

/tinfoil hat

I took "consumer mathematics" high school. Calculating interest, amortization of assets, how to balance a ledger, insurance coverages, basic investment, the works. My 800+ FICO and 5 years left on my mortgage says that class was :thumbup:

[JPolen01]

I took "consumer mathematics" high school. Calculating interest, amortization of assets, how to balance a ledger, insurance coverages, basic investment, the works. My 800+ FICO and 5 years left on my mortgage says that class was :thumbup:

I'm with Rex on this one. I took a similar class and also took many business classes where I learned everything Rex stated. In high school I had to create a budget for a family of 4 with a specific income. That was a big eye opener. I do wish it was part of the standard curriculum as I chose to take those classes; it was not mandatory.


Not to stray from the topic at hand too much. I wish I learned more mechanic skills when I was younger. I can do minor car repairs, but I'm nowhere near as advanced as some of you. I had no one in my life to show me that when I was young so I blame that.

[G.Irish]

How to constructively channel competitive rage
I used to be insanely competitive, but I mellowed out around 7th grade.

Is that when you realized that you sucked at Street Fighter 2? :bootyshake: :lol:

Maannn you've been riding that one victory out for like 10 years! :evil:

[Steve85]

Play an instrument. For the fun but also to better appreciate music itself.

I also think about programming a lot. In 8th grade I took a computer class with Commodore Pets and had to write a basic game as the final project. Mine was basically a copy of space invaders and wasn't 100% but I freakin loved it. Had a Commodore 64 at home and wrote programs like making a rocket take off. 3 hours of typing and 30 minutes to save the program to a cassette tape caused interest to wane.

Which reminds me... maybe not skills, but patience and a little more self discipline would have saved me a lot of trouble.

[PDenbigh]

Great stuff, minus Rex's paranoia that I want his username and ensuing OT about programming :lol:

So for me it was more small stuff, like learning how to fix a great steak (or first date dinner for that matter), learning how to dance, learning how to work a networking event, shoot a gun, basic self defense, not to be a dork around a hot girl, gentlemen's etiquette, men's hygiene, host a party, how to iron, how to sharpen a knife... etc. Plus the financial management comments.

It's all stuff I'm good at now, but it'd been nice to have someone shown me the 80/20 start to them ("do this 20 of the skill and it'll get you 80% of the way to perfection, then work on the rest if/when you want"). Versus firing up YouTube and getting 20% right and having to learn the remaining 80%. I feel like I could have saved a lot of time and been a lot more effective overall.

At one time "Finishing Schools" were popular but have fallen out of style now.

Or maybe it was that I was brought up in a small rural town, but I tend to think that this applies also to those brought up in cities - maybe just different skillsets (how to run a chain saw, drive in the snow/offroad, use a drill, etc).

Anyone agree or disagree?

[D_Eclipse9916]

I had no one in my life to show me that when I was young so I blame that.

I know you are being funny, but just gotta dive in deep with a project car. I never had anyone to show me (trust me a lot of mistakes were made when I was in high school). My dad is all business and didn't change his own oil and my mom was financial management and was the same way. You will get there :thumbs up:

I wish I had learned self confidence earlier. I know it's hard to believe but I used to be super shy, never talk and would even do worse on things to not be in the spotlight. My fathers death made me reel for 2 years and then had good friends and family to pull me out and change my perspective. Life is too short to not do what you want. I am super fiscally conservative but race. Find the fiscal balance to ensure security but also enjoy the moment. Didn't know that when younger. If you want to do it, do it now.

[Ken]

Great stuff, minus Rex's paranoia that I want his username and ensuing OT about programming :lol:

So for me it was more small stuff, like learning how to fix a great steak (or first date dinner for that matter), learning how to dance, learning how to work a networking event, shoot a gun, basic self defense, not to be a dork around a hot girl, gentlemen's etiquette, men's hygiene, host a party, how to iron, how to sharpen a knife... etc. Plus the financial management comments.

It's all stuff I'm good at now, but it'd been nice to have someone shown me the 80/20 start to them ("do this 20 of the skill and it'll get you 80% of the way to perfection, then work on the rest if/when you want"). Versus firing up YouTube and getting 20% right and having to learn the remaining 80%. I feel like I could have saved a lot of time and been a lot more effective overall.

At one time "Finishing Schools" were popular but have fallen out of style now.

Or maybe it was that I was brought up in a small rural town, but I tend to think that this applies also to those brought up in cities - maybe just different skillsets (how to run a chain saw, drive in the snow/offroad, use a drill, etc).

Anyone agree or disagree?

Absolutely agree. My foreign born parents were very strict on the matter. I had to watch a dining manners video several times when I was younger and was correct constantly at the dinner table. The positive was that my dad actually took my brother and I to his company's dinners (my brother and I were about 5 and 10) and people commented on just how well behaved and well mannered we were.

Some people give me shit now about how it bothers me, but it really does annoy me to see someone grabbing their fork like they're about to launch a javelin at their steak; especially in a nicer restaurant. Or the people who don't wait for everyone to receive their food and people always poke fun at the fact that I always thank the server for whatever they do (top off drink, drop off food); sorry, it's polite. End Rant.

[WRXtranceformed]

Haha etiquette is definitely a dying art. Who here went to Cotillion when they were a teenager? Ohhh my grandmother definitely made me do it and I was so salty about it..but now looking back I am glad I know proper table manners. Whether or not I always follow it is another story, but I definitely mentally judge people at a nice restaurant who don't use proper utensil technique or table manners :lol:

[Senor_Taylor]

Is being prim and proper at the table really relevant anymore? I don't know, I've never been to a nice restaurant.

[G.Irish]

Is being prim and proper at the table really relevant anymore? I don't know, I've never been to a nice restaurant.

Depends on the company. If you're dining with someone who can help you in your career, or even with someone of the opposite sex, good table manners certainly could help your cause. I've definitely heard women complain about guys with poor fork mechanics, 'He ate like a caveman.'

[WRXtranceformed]

Is being prim and proper at the table really relevant anymore? I don't know, I've never been to a nice restaurant.

Depends on the company. If you're dining with someone who can help you in your career, or even with someone of the opposite sex, good table manners certainly could help your cause. I've definitely heard women complain about guys with poor fork mechanics, 'He ate like a caveman.'

Definitely still relevant once you get into the business world. Shoot I have seen people get called out at business dinners for less....one guy who got ridiculed for ordering a filet well-done, another for ordering his steak with A-1 at the nicest steak house in Charlotte.... :lol:

[JPolen01]

Definitely still relevant once you get into the business world. Shoot I have seen people get called out at business dinners for less....one guy who got ridiculed for ordering a filet well-done, another for ordering his steak with A-1 at the nicest steak house in Charlotte.... :lol:

If you order any steak well-done you should be ridiculed. A-1 is also :vomit:

[WRXtranceformed]

Definitely still relevant once you get into the business world. Shoot I have seen people get called out at business dinners for less....one guy who got ridiculed for ordering a filet well-done, another for ordering his steak with A-1 at the nicest steak house in Charlotte.... :lol:

If you order any steak well-done you should be ridiculed. A-1 is also :vomit:

Fully agreed on both. Filet especially, the words well done should not even be in the same sentence