What I Would Tell My 17-Year Old Self - Part 1

As a hypnotist I have helped many people with many problems over the years. I’ve learned a great deal about what pitfalls beset many people. So when I recently came across a young man asking “What would you tell your 17-year old self?” I decided I would share what I have learned.

While many of the principles are universal, this list is for men. And not just any young men: These are for young men who desire to become men of substance and importance. This advice is not for the man who desires nothing more from life than Xbox and weed. Those young men will be the dependent class of the future until he looks around, or looks inside, and says “I can do better than this. There is more to me than this.” If you do that, and know that it’s true or can become true, this list is for you.

These principles are based off of years of helping people with problems. Had they been made aware of this advice as young men, and been smart enough to take it, many of those problems would have been avoided or lessened. When I was 20 I didn’t listen to anyone. But you may be able to reach in and understand the value of these, and may even be able to take some of it to heart.

1) Avoid Debt

How many young people these days have enormous students loans and a low paying job? How many have thousands in credit card debt? Too many. Not only does this cramp your living style, but it also prevents saving up for big ticket items like a house or starting a business.

College might be worth it, particularly for those in STEM fields, business, finance, or other high-paying jobs. But more and more, the payoff just isn’t worth the investment. What if you took that $200,000 and started a business? Used it as a down payment on a duplex, lived in one side and rented out the other? Put it in market index funds? Let’s say you just use half of the cost of college, $100,000. What will that do for your future?

Contrast this with those who start $200,000 in debt and spend 30 years paying it off. Who can buy a house first? Get married? Have kids? This matters, and it matters in a big way.

What if you became a carpenter or electrician and started making $30k at age 18? 5 years later you are up to $45k (and remember, zero debt). By age 28 you are making $60k and probably bought a house or traveled. And a 28 year old man with a house is rarely single. Then you start your own electrician company. By age 40 you’re making 6 figures and are debt free. And jobs like electrician, plumber, HVAC, welder, carpenter, and the like are very hard for machines to replace.

Now, to do this you have to think LONG TERM which is difficult for most young people. But this plan works and is viable. So don’t assume college and debt is the way to go. Evaluate it for yourself and make your own choice.

2) Avoid Modern TV and Movies

Stop for a moment and try to think of a recent male TV or movie character who is competent, respected, and mature.

I’ll give you a little more time.

Nothing came to mind? That’s because there aren’t any. The last 20 years has seen a shift by portraying men as incompetent, immature, incapable of leadership, and generally problematic. There is nothing good for you there. No role models, no life lessons in your favor, nothing to teach you how to be a man. Everything pushes a narrative of putting women in charge. In movies and TV, female characters routinely beat up male characters. In real life, that almost never happens. In movies and TV, the men are buffoons and screw things up while the women show how capable and authoritative they are. In real life, the majority of high leadership positions are men, despite dramatic efforts to give women a structural advantage through laws and diversity initiatives. Keep those destructive social engineering programs out of your head because they are designed to make men weaker, and you want to be stronger, don’t you?

Many Hollywood writers and producers are trained in hypnotism and influence. Here are some movies and TV shows just off the top of my head whose core messages are that women should replace men as the directors of society:

1. Moana
2. Wreck It Ralph and Wreck It Ralph 2
3. Star Wars episodes 8 and 9
4. Toy Story 4 (are you seeing a pattern here with Disney?)
5. Madam Secretary
6. Dr. Who
7. Queen’s Gambit

Turn off that garbage and put that narrative out of your head. If you want to be a man of substance and importance, put in your head examples of men who are, and who do what that caliber of men do. Watch the Jason Bourne movies, Cobra Kai, and some of the BBC shows that still have balance and perspective. Most classic movies are great for this, especially old Westerns with Clint Eastwood. What you put in your head needs to take you where you want to go, not fight what you want to become.

Guard your mind against the politically motivated messaging and connect with what will improve you and help you become who you want to be.