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Raymond Klefstad, Ph.D. My Last Lecture Life’s Decisions. Your Life’s Path. When you're young, it is easy to float through life like a butterfly on the wind Many decisions you must make may seem relatively unimportant Looking back from here, simple decisions have dramatic consequences
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Raymond Klefstad, Ph.D. My Last LectureLife’s Decisions
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Your Life’s Path When you're young, it is easy to float through life like a butterfly on the wind Many decisions you must make may seem relatively unimportant Looking back from here, simple decisions have dramatic consequences Your decisions guide your life like a tiny rudder guides a huge ship
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Life-changing Decisions There are things in life we have no control over, such as Getting cancer prematurely But all these decisions are the result of conscious choices made by each of us Each has very far reaching effects
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. When making any decision remember two things: Don't screw up your life. Do things that improve yourself or your life. These are in order of importance Like the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. How to not screw up your life These decisions made my list because recovering from them is very difficult and costly if possible Even if you are able to recover, there are always serious scars you must live with afterwards
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Don’t kill yourself Either on purpose Or accidentally
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Never do drugs The choice to abuse drugs or alcohol has ruined more lives than anything else I can think of I bet everyone who ruined their life from drugs thought at one point, “I will not be one of those who lets them ruin my life”
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Never commit any felonies Prison is no way to spend a big chunk of your only life No amount of money is worth that sacrifice
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Don't have children with the wrong person You are tied to them for at least 18 years
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Don't marry the wrong person Don’t even live with one… You will be miserable while you're with them for possibly a long time Divorce is financially and emotionally devastating, usually dooming you to financial ruin The lawyers get rich, while you and your children suffer
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Never smoke Easy to start, hard to quit It ruins your health Many years of suffering Makes you look much older Visit any hospital and you will see for yourself Smoking has no benefit to you and can only do serious harm Be careful about getting too much sun too
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. How to do things that improve yourself or your life You have probably heard all of these and you will hear them again That is because they really do add value to your life experience
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Choose good friends and be a good friend to them What is a good friend? Someone with good character (see below) Who encourages you to be a better person Good friends don't drag you down to a lower level
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Complete higher education Remember, you are not paying for a degree, but a chance to educate yourself Get the most out of your educational opportunity by learning as much as you can in each course You are investing a lot of time and money for the chance at a great education Why not find a major that leads to a good career?
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Get a good job Ideally, it should pay well But doing a job you enjoy is worth more than lots of money Be willing to change if you are miserable in your job
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Live in a safe neighborhood It is no fun having your stuff stolen Or worrying about getting jumped Or barking dogs, … A small house in a safe neighborhood Is better than a big house in a bad one
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Learn to manage your money Start saving when you are young You will be amazed how compounded investments grow! Avoid getting into debt, except to get an education or to buy a house You will be amazed how buying your first new car on credit dooms you to a life of slavery to pay for that car
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Marry a person with good character then treat them well
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Love others Love yourself, your family, and your friends Love is the conscious willingness to extend yourself for a person's welfare Wisdom is required to know what is best for a person Being "in love" is different It is a feeling, a wonderful feeling but it does not last
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Learn how to maintain yourself What you are doing now affects your futurehealth Learn how to cook and to eat for good health Processed junk food will quickly make you obese which has been shown to cause disease and to shorten your life Learn the value of exercise Do some exercise every day
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Good Character Traits Faithful Diligent Reliable Charitable Trustworthy Quick to apologize Confident & Secure Supportive of others Considerate of others Take responsibility for own actions
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Bad Character Traits Liar User Lazy Cheat Selfish Conniving Manipulative Thief (steals) Disobeys rules or laws Blaming others for own actions
Ray Klefstad, Ph.D. Make Good Decision!