“Don’t tell me how to live my life! I’m 17 and know it all!”
That was probably me, at 17. It was definitely me in my teen years – a know it all attitude and bad temper (to my parents). You could pass your wisdom and experience to me and I wouldn’t hear it – “what worked for you isn’t how things are done now, you dinosaur. I’m gonna change everything – create the path for myself and do everything right!”

So young, stupid and arrogant.

Even when I started this blog, I think I still felt a lot of that. But I don’t feel it nearly as much anymore – I’m much less in the “this is how I do it and that’s my way – and it’s the ‘right’ way” as I am “this is how things are done, and I need to conform”. And I don’t mean that in an individualistic, loss of identity kinda way…I’m just realizing that wisdom and experience are just that – and I should (and do) respect it much more.

I used to find myself reading these things on the internet about life, how to live it, mistakes people made, goals to success, etc. I used to think most of it was crap. Actually – not crap, but not applicable to me. Y’know, me being so much awesomer than the average joe.

I realize, when I read these things now, that they’re much more accurate to my life – I just didn’t know it at the time. So when I read this kinda stuff, I don’t take it as “that’s not me, that’s not my life”. I take it as a “that’s not me right now – but it could be, and it would be wise to heed these warnings, advice, wisdom, and experience now rather than later. Embrace the feedback, don’t reject it”.

I really felt this way reading Joe Mad’s post about what he’s learned/his experiences
http://leseanthomas.deviantart.com/journal/TO-YOU-ASPIRING-ARTISTS-FROM-JOE-MADUREIRA-368733515 &
http://www.worldofwarren.com/?p=6252

I recently read these:
http://markmanson.net/surviving-my-20s
http://markmanson.net/10-life-lessons-excel-30s
and I’m trying to use this feedback, and other people’s experience, to help guide my life. What I don’t want is to repeat their mistakes or regret things in a way these people do – and as much as they’ve learned from their experiences, it doesn’t make sense to have an issue that could be preventable – it goes back to my “if I knew then, what I know now” that’s been running through my head…

Listen to other people’s experiences. Listen to the lessons they’ve learned. (and I mean that in a broad, consensus type way – not one person’s one-sided rant views).
Get as much “free experience” as you can, get as much “wisdom” as you can. These are things you can’t get quickly from non-conventional ways.

Read. Remember. Learn. Apply.
Turn your theory into a mentality through practice.

Change your life – but don’t do it letting things happen to you. Do it by bettering yourself.
Create opportunities for yourself. When the chance comes up for things to change, do you want to say “I’m glad I learned about this 6 months ago and I’m ready for this” or “I can’t do this…I need to do/learn this and this first”.

Taking my own advice – I need to so some reading!