Evil meme strikes again!!

…and this time from Skippy-san. Shocked, it does not have anything to do with women or Rob Pongi like antics.

Actually, this is quite a cerebral meme. Very civilized. Funny thing, last month I remembered a night where I walked around the town I went to college in. Sober. All night. My last semester, thinking about where I was going and what was going to happen; thinking to myself, “I hope this works out right.” I was lucky; I had lots of options post-undergrad. I took the path not recommended by many peers, and not one that was a family tradition. Last month, I talked back to myself back then. I think on average, the 22yr old Phibian would not be disappointed. Good question from Skippy though; about the concept of talking back. Here is the guiding paragraph of this, to be honest, quite deep, meme.

List 3-5 things that you would put in a "Back to the Future" type letter from you now, to your younger self you, say 20-21 year old you about to graduate college or any other similar pursuit. There are only two caveats here: 1) you cannot direct your younger self to do anything or violate the principle of free will in decision making and 2) you should not try to reveal specific events in the future since, in theory, if any of your advice is accepted it will already screw up the time line and the events won't happen at all. This should, however to allow you to give your younger self some advice, and in the process force some introspection into your own existence. It can be as shallow or as revealing as you like, and feel comfortable with.

Economic:Subscribe to Investors Business Daily NOW and know the CANSLIM method. Ignore some of the static, value based analysis of your Keynesian Econ professors. Start saving via direct deposit 10% of your gross income minimum. While you are single, 20%. Subscribe to Money magazine for 2 years until you are comfortable with CANSLIM, then go with the system and drop Money and stay with IBD. It is all you need. Oh, and tell Mom that she should sell her business by age 62 and let someone else worry about it. Talk them into buying some long-term care insurance.

Personal:Grow up and get over the ego fluffing from your female “friends.” You are wasting their time and yours. Trust your instincts on what you need to do. Don’t second-guess yourself to death. Sometimes in life, you do find the grand prize behind the first door you open. Speaking of doors, quit over-intellectualizing your faith. Find a solid Bible study group where you are comfortable and go. Get a New American Standard study Bible and come armed. Argue, discuss, but keep an open mind. You will know what to do from there. Pick up the tennis racket again now that your vision is fixed. Take a couple of lessons and surprise you Dad next time you’re home and go play tennis.

Professional: Up to this point in your life, you have skated by on your luck with the genetic lottery. You can do fine without trying, but you are wasting your God given gift. Work as hard as your friends and you will lap them. Good enough isn’t. There is no substitute for excellence. In the real world, pack+ will get you nowhere. You’ll figure this out by 25, I’m giving you a head start. Get off your spoiled tail and get moving. The gravy train will stop sooner than you think. You have been blessed with a superior education. Quit abusing the privilege. As for the Navy, you are on the right path, trust your instincts.

Now, the big question is; would Phibian hear this? At 21-22, yes. Before 21, doubt it. Hey, I’ll be honest; I have been blessed and lucky. I don’t think I would change much of anything. I am a big believer in “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.”
Good, bad, ugly…I’ll take all that life has sent my way so far. It is what makes me, well, me. Mostly good. The bad and the ugly is just life in an imperfect world.

Mmmm, who to bug? The introspective types (who I think like memes) would be Anne, Ninme, and for old-fart-isms – Mr. Salty at The Bowramp. Don't blame me. Skippy started it.